The force behind badaball.com and a UK sports basketball journalist with experience of various press work for BBC Radio, regional newspapers and various basketball web-sites. Also a big fan of Spanish basketball, read Badas take on what has really got under his skin this time....or what is floating his basketball boat!
That is heartening and with clubs rumoured to still be interested into joining European competition, it adds weight to the notion that while behind the pack by miles in a commercial and resources sense, the top teams in the UK aren’t miles behind in a supporter sense.
With GB and the European campaign on the horizon and 2012 further past that, what a big three or four years for the sport - a sentence that will be repeated many times.
But seriously, how far can we as a country raise the spectator numbers in the next few years? How much can we raise the profile, interest and reputation?
The league has a responsibility but so do we. As media, as clubs, as fans together and as individuals.
Just like those who watch their basketball in Zaragoza, they might be a million miles away from Euroleague despite now being in the ACB after promotion, but it is nice to know that supporter wise you are better than everybody else.
So seriously, while resource wise British basketball may well be destined to lag behind for many years to come - is there any genuine excuse for us as supporters to lag behind?
I don’t think so. The gap can be bridged. Get those tickets sold for GB games this summer for a start.
Just finally on the playing side, I have been looking with great interest at the FIBA mens rankings and looking at our Eurobasket opponents and I cant wait to see how we do but also because I am absolutely intrigued to see where Team GB are catapulted into those rankings later this year.
I mean Rwanda, Chinese Tapei? Another discussion topic on our forums. I am tipping GB to be in the World Top 20 ranking within 2 years.
15 June A Numbers Game
Firstly apologies for the lack of content at the moment but it is just such a quiet time of the year right now and I have been busting a gut to get our forums/message boards up and running.
Hopefully the pod cast with the Great Britain Skipper and Bridgey made up for this and as we move through the summer, particularly from late July, I will really step up the multi-media content.
I am a little disappointed that so many people who took time out and promised to subscribe have still not been in touch and consequently, that situation will be reviewed before the season but hopefully those who committed will eventually sort this out.
In terms of the message boards, it has been a quiet but good start and I would urge many of you to check out the badaball forums because we have some different types of boards and we do need some support on this so get yourself registered and spread the word!
One of the topics on the Geeks and Connoisseurs board at the moment is the subject of attendances and it is something that I want to talk about.
A list of attendances across Europe has been published and it really heartens me to see that the top seven clubs are all Spanish teams, further emphasising the decision of badaball to put some focus on the best league in Europe.
1. Basket CAI Zaragoza (LEB Gold): 10,200
2. Unicaja Málaga (ACB): 9492
3. MMT Estudiantes (ACB): 9120
4. Tau Ceramica (ACB): 8889
5. Real Madrid (ACB): 8440
6.CB Granada (ACB): 6990
7. La Fortezza Virtus Bologna (Lega): 6989
8. ALBA Berlin (Bundesliga): 6907
9. Brose Baskets Bamberg (Bundesliga): 6864
10.DKV Joventut (ACB): 6785
11.Pamesa Valencia (ACB): 6560.0
12.Scavolini Spar Pesaro (Lega): 6447.2
13.Bruesa GBC (LEB Gold): 6300.0
14.Capitol Valladolid (ACB): 5987.0
15.CB Murcia (ACB): 5537.0
16. Barons/LMT (Baltic League): 5235
17.Grupo Begar León (ACB): 5216
18. ViveMenorca (ACB): 5115
19. Iurbentia Bilbao (ACB): 5000.
20. Alta Gestión Fuenlabrada (ACB): 4991
It is also good to see that through the message boards, a number of you are choosing ACB teams to follow next year which is fantastic.
Back to attendances and the biggest shock for me is obviously that a second division Spanish team in Zaragoza are the best supported team in Europe - and to think that I stayed in the City for one night after the Copa Del Rey in February! Now they are in the ACB after gaining promotion. I feel a trip coming on…..
As a basketball nut, it isn’t just the game that fascinates me, I also love people and places generally but this type of information is fantastic. It really does stir up plenty of debate and highlights, just like in football, that the passion and loyalty of fans can be debated until the cows come home.
Many bang on about the bonkers nature of Greek support and at the big games, is there any better? But how loyal are they? Do they just get the firecrackers out for the glory games? Can they ever be as fanatical about their team as 10,000 Zaragoza supporters who turn up week in and week out?
The dearth of big name and particularly Euroleague teams in the top regions of the list is remarkable. It shows how much sponsorship, reputations and television deals rule on the Continent. Numbers of fans mean very little in terms of wealth and so forth. Maccabi? Hoardes of fans in yellow for Euro games, pushing 10,000 but just 3,000 for domestic games.
One of the reasons offered for Spain dominating the table is that perhaps price comes into it. Well maybe but I don’t think the sport is proportionately more or less expensive top any great degree by country.
I think that the difference in Spain is that basketball is a religion like football and unlike the more boisterous and sometimes sinister nature of basketball atmospheres in the Balkans and Greece, it is a ritual carried out more by families in Spain.
I always get asked about what it is like at basketball games in Spain and while I would genuinely love to experience one madcap game at Olympiakos or Red Star Belgrade when packed to the rafters, what you just cant replicate is that in Spain, they go mental but you can have three generations of the same family all shouting “falta” (foul) at the refs. Standing on their feet going ballistic.
Not that this cant happen in the BBL of course. Which brings me to the question of how far behind we are. At one end of the scale, ie Newcastle, crowds regularly in excess of 2,500 doesn’t put the club too far away from many leagues as an average across the season.
photo design by Karl Southern
