by Jerry Curtis

Created on: June 13, 2008

Television has transformed the game of basketball into a glitzy, commercial event with instant replay and instant access to statistics and records. It has also provided a collegiate recruiting platform for the big-money colleges during "March madness," and it has been an image enhancer for the NBA's community relations blitz. Likewise, cable and national networking has globalized the sport to where the US is no longer the dominant power in the only true American sport.

Thanks to television and modern electronics, we miss nothing. Instant replay shows any flaw in - or more often the correctness of - referees' calls. While we're watching that replay, we see the commercial ads rotating curtain-like on the bunting of the scorer's table. We can count on at least one commercial timeout each quarter, and in close games during the last two minutes, we will probably see at least three more commercials. (It may be only a matter of time when we see commercial decals and patches on player's jerseys.)

During half time of college games, we get a glimpse of why college tuition has skyrocketed as Division One colleges and universities show their wares with programs and equipment that rival NASA. Even though few college basketball players actually remain on the team long enough to receive their degrees, we get picture of college life as the student body, loud bands and perky cheerleaders smile and mug before the television cameras with "Hi mom! We're number one!"

The number one ticket for Black athletes to fortune and fleeting flame, is, of course, the National Basketball Association. Television has done much to improve the image of Black athletes, and in the case of Michael Jordan, for example, has extended some careers far beyond their playing days. In fact, more and more former Black stars (Charles Barkley, to name one) appear as commentators on ESPN, TNT, and ABC. Barkley has also embarked on a cell-phone ad campaign where he poses as a bored and overbearing ex-jock bothering the young newcomers.

Thanks to television, it is possible for the fan to get an enhanced viewing experience at home. Although attending a live basketball event has the excitement and immediacy of the crowd, live games are an expensive affair for the average fan. Decent seats can run into the hundreds of dollars and details of the game tend to blur a bit during visits to the concession stand. Television commentators and computer statistical graphics give the home viewer a complete picture and informative overview of what is going on and what has just happened. The view is better as well as the cameraman does all the work for the TV audience.

The game of basketball has changed greatly from the days before the shot clock, three-point goal and slam dunk. Now the game is not halted on every foul and the professional teams can use a zone defense. Each of the foregoing has sped the game up, increased scoring and made for more closely contested matches. Those improvements, no doubt, have been made in deference to the wider basketball audience provided by national and cable television.

So television, in additional to transforming communications and globalizing news and culture, has changed basketball from a local phenomena to a national and international commercial event. Today as professional basketball entices Black players from America's inner cities, it likewise lures white players from the wilds of Serbia and Byelorussia. (The LA Lakers center this year is a seven-footer from Spain who goes by the name of Pau.) Also, the US has not won the world or Olympic championships for a while. Blame it on television.

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