Understated No More
When you're in New York, there is a great tendancy to believe that all there is to see is skyscrapers, homeless people without medication and Brooklyn. Well, I am sorry to disappoint you when I say I'm a true blue-and-orange blooded Uptowner. I grew up in the Bronx, where people don't talk it, they do it. A big part of my life has been spent in Harlem as well, being raised in the church until mid-1997 when my family finally moved there after 20+ years of the BX grind.
I lay this down because I think of this blog (as many things I delve into) as I do of the places of my upbringing. The Bronx is greatly understated: it doesn't have much when it comes to tourist-friendliness (except for Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo) nor does it have much on the hype scale such as Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan. Folks don't even joke about it as they do with Staten Island. It's to itself, with a fighting spirit that even Philly has to respect. Considering that it is essentially a big-assed housing project (and growing up in one, I can say this), there's a grain of toughness and hustle in each Bronxite.
It also helps that it is the birthplace of rap and the hip-hop culture that grew from the music. Yet, it's underrepresented when it comes to its social status amongst the boroughs and the metro region. So what the hell does this have to do with anything in this blog? Well, plenty.
The Bronx, just as Harlem, Bed-Stuy, Tottenville and South Ozone (50 Cent is soft compared to some of these cats) is underrepresented when it comes to sports media. Just as the case in North Philly or Southside Chicago or Houston or Universal City in St. Louis... West Nowhere, Wyoming, Alberquerque, northern Louisiana... get the picture, yet? When it's said that sports athletes, players and figures* lose their luster, I always ask back to the TV to whom exactly? Ratings are down: really? Quality of play has suffered: are you sure? Apparently, no one comes to ask the folks in the neighborhoods where the athletes are from and where the people religiously follow their moves.
While on the business side, it seems important for TD Waterhouse to have luxury seats and for suburbanites to glue themselves to the TV screen, folks forget who buys the jerseys year-round and watch constantly. I won't sugarcoat it and say that there isn't race involved... but the folks who play it should be able to discuss it as much as the rest. That's what this is about.
The 9th Wonder broke down his flow for this, which will be mostly from a social impact. I will partake in that as well, but also I will break down the sports business. It's more than salary caps and naming rights, it's about why those caps exist and the rights are a fundamental part of the business now (or have always been). Why did the Magic change unis two years ago? What's with the ads on the screen? That's me, baby! You'll see some breakdowns of games, players and leagues as well.
My first post will be coming soon... I'll get at you later.
*There is a difference between the three, I believe, but that is for another post.
I lay this down because I think of this blog (as many things I delve into) as I do of the places of my upbringing. The Bronx is greatly understated: it doesn't have much when it comes to tourist-friendliness (except for Yankee Stadium and the Bronx Zoo) nor does it have much on the hype scale such as Brooklyn, Queens or Manhattan. Folks don't even joke about it as they do with Staten Island. It's to itself, with a fighting spirit that even Philly has to respect. Considering that it is essentially a big-assed housing project (and growing up in one, I can say this), there's a grain of toughness and hustle in each Bronxite.
It also helps that it is the birthplace of rap and the hip-hop culture that grew from the music. Yet, it's underrepresented when it comes to its social status amongst the boroughs and the metro region. So what the hell does this have to do with anything in this blog? Well, plenty.
The Bronx, just as Harlem, Bed-Stuy, Tottenville and South Ozone (50 Cent is soft compared to some of these cats) is underrepresented when it comes to sports media. Just as the case in North Philly or Southside Chicago or Houston or Universal City in St. Louis... West Nowhere, Wyoming, Alberquerque, northern Louisiana... get the picture, yet? When it's said that sports athletes, players and figures* lose their luster, I always ask back to the TV to whom exactly? Ratings are down: really? Quality of play has suffered: are you sure? Apparently, no one comes to ask the folks in the neighborhoods where the athletes are from and where the people religiously follow their moves.
While on the business side, it seems important for TD Waterhouse to have luxury seats and for suburbanites to glue themselves to the TV screen, folks forget who buys the jerseys year-round and watch constantly. I won't sugarcoat it and say that there isn't race involved... but the folks who play it should be able to discuss it as much as the rest. That's what this is about.
The 9th Wonder broke down his flow for this, which will be mostly from a social impact. I will partake in that as well, but also I will break down the sports business. It's more than salary caps and naming rights, it's about why those caps exist and the rights are a fundamental part of the business now (or have always been). Why did the Magic change unis two years ago? What's with the ads on the screen? That's me, baby! You'll see some breakdowns of games, players and leagues as well.
My first post will be coming soon... I'll get at you later.
*There is a difference between the three, I believe, but that is for another post.
posted by Jason Clinkscales @ 3:29 PM
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