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Even with the frequent articles about Andrew Bogut moving closer to playing in the NBL this season, it’s hard to believe the season starts this weekend.
Everyone knows the A-League is starting.
One reason for this is because the FFA pushed the fact that they’ve held off the first week until after the AFL and NRL finals.
The other is because they have teamed up with their dedicated television partner, Fox Sports, to conjure up a triple-header to open the most anticipated season yet.
Now, the signings of Bogut and Patty Mills have created some intrigue for the NBL – not close to the level Kewell and Emerton have, which is disappointing considering how highly regarded Bogut is in the US – but who could have imagined that the NBL, or basketball in general, would still be struggling for attention?
Interestingly enough, I found out that the NBL and ONE have their own triple-header to open the season.
Three games over the course of the weekend, all shown on delay at around 10.30 pm in Melbourne and Sydney.
The same markets, whose teams will play the first game in front of what will be a packed house at The Cage.
Good enough for you? I didn’t think so.
The only positives to this are that three games on free-to-air is decent, and that they’re on FTA HD (or at least on a channel that previously marketed itself as ‘One HD’), which as we know, AFL and NRL supporters haven’t had for what seems like ever.
When ONE first set 0.2% of Australia alight, they seemed to have an NBA game on every second day. Combining that with ESPN on Foxtel, an Australian basketball fan had a lot going for them.
Now that the NBA’s 2011-12 season outlook appears worse by the day, some ‘die-hard’ basketball supporters will hold out.
Others, like myself, have increased their interest in the local competition. Or at least we’ll attempt to.
I know ONE has had their focus shift away from sport, but they could do worse than show the Australian public some live basketball this summer.
Funnily enough, if they keep up the 10.30 pm airings, it appears as though they will do much, much worse.
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