[APG]

Originally Posted by Snaqwells

I never cared for either for the same reason. I like a good portion of R&B, Country (not Western, though), and the newer rock/pop stuff is growing on me.



I'm no Bieber fan, either, but he's no different than the bubblegum stuff from 10-15-25, or even 30 years ago.

Since the NBA used to be more popular than it is now, and has always had the same racial mix up, I don't think it's sinking popularity is racial in nature.

I think it has more to do with few converging factors: more media paying attention to the exploits of 19 y/o millionaires, less time in college for the player to develop some semblance of maturity as well as a following, and a relative increase in the money being handed out combined with perhaps a bit of jealousy on the part of the average fan.

There's plenty of horrible music in the rap genre...I won't deny it, but there's plenty of other crap in the other genres as well. I don't see those genres being blamed for the downfall of America.

To your point about NBA popularity, the NBA is experiencing some of its best ratings since the end of the Jordan era. Last year's game 7 of the NBA Finals was the most watched basketball game since the Bulls vs. Jazz game 6 game with the infamous shot from Jordan.
NBA Finals Game 7 Average 28.2 Million Viewers, Highest Since 1998


NBA's TV ratings up across all national networks - ESPN

The NBA says its three national TV partners all had their most viewers ever this season, topped by a 42 percent increase for TNT.ABC was up 38 percent and ESPN had a 28 percent jump, the league said Friday.

Arena capacity was 90.3 percent, its seventh straight year of 90 or better, and the 17,306 average was up 1 percent from last year and was its fifth highest.

NBA labor: Don't believe the hype - ESPN

And let's be perfectly clear on something, when attendance is up for the seventh consecutive season, when television ratings are up 38 percent on ABC, 28 percent on ESPN and 42 percent on TNT, when video views on NBA.com are up 140 percent from a year ago, when global merchandise sales are up 20 percent in the past 12 months, there can be no question that business is booming.