Quote:
Originally Posted by joshnky
Cincinnati is a pro sports town like indy. Any NBA team in Louisville will come in third behind UofL and UK when competing for fans dollars.
The best comparison to the Louisville would be Charlotte, which will always be third behind UNC and Duke. Does Charlotte do well in attendance? My impression is they don't but that may be due more to the fact that they're awful.
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I agree with these thoughts as far as Josh's post. I think UK- U of L would be # 1 and 2 as far as dollars.
As you said....the winning would play a part though.
I mean most of us love to watch our college teams as they are consistently near the top. If an NBA team was near the top then I think people would go to see a winner. I just dont think teams like Toronto for example, coming to town would be a big draw.
As far as other comments, some have mentioned getting local players. That "might" help but it all comes back to winning as the primary factor. While I am a huge UK, I wouldnt want to shell out big bucks in todays economy, to go see a team like Minnesota beat our NBA team (even if it featured the likes of Jones/Lamb/Sosa etc) by a score of 110-81.
Winning would be the draw. UK has shown that when you win and wear the UK jersey, it doesnt matter if you come from Chicago/Oregon or wherever. I think the NBA would be the same. The city gets a winner.....they can come from UNC/Duke/Kansas or wherever.
I remember quite a few years ago, listening to ESPN radio one night and they inteviewed Chris Webber after getting traded to Sacremento. Basically Webber admitted on the air, he was only going to play till his contract allowed him to move on.
However, they assembled over the years a team of Webber/Christie/Divac/Stojaković and Bibby and became a top team. They drew big crowds and Webber didnt want to leave and signed an extension.
So while I understand about the local talent and we could mix in one or two even if fillers, a competitive team would probably be whether the ship would sail or would sink.