Sports... Dominance or Parity.

[Diesel]

I listen to fans say that they want Parity in the leagues and they want a lot of teams able to compete.. However, I think Sports grow when there is dominant teams rather than parity..

For instance... Basketball grew under the Bulls Dynasty.. When Boston and LAL were the teams to beat.

This year, anybody can win and basketball seems to have lower ratings?

Football seemed to take off under the Cowboy and Patroit dynasty. Now with the Steelers/Seahawks/Giants/Colts being in the running, it seems like the game has lost fans.

Baseball grew the most when you knew it was the Yankees and the Braves. Now.. Parity.. anybody could win, even the Tigers and it seems like less attention is given to Baseballl.

Hockey. The strong years with the Avalanche and the Red Wings.. Now... You have NC and Edmonton in the finals... where's the ratings? They're on OLN?

Do fans really want Parity? Or do fans want Dominance?

You would think that fans of a franchise like the Hawks would want parity. I means we have a shot... But in our hearts, the sport is looking for the next dominant team.

[Plainview1981]

For instance... Basketball grew under the Bulls Dynasty.. When Boston and LAL were the teams to beat."

The NBA grew with MJ and fell after he left.

"This year, anybody can win and basketball seems to have lower ratings?"

Actually, I think the playoff ratings have been better this year. I'm sure they were up for the first few rounds atleast.

"Now with the Steelers/Seahawks/Giants/Colts being in the running, it seems like the game has lost fans."

That's easy. The NFL just isn't very exciting anymore.

"Now... You have NC and Edmonton in the finals... where's the ratings? They're on OLN?"

I don't think hockey has ever had high tv ratings, but they're even lower likely because of the lockout last year.

"Baseball grew the most when you knew it was the Yankees and the Braves. Now.. Parity.. anybody could win, even the Tigers and it seems like less attention is given to Baseballl."

The steriod issue and lack of players to cheer for.

[AHF]

The NFL has never been stronger and is definitely in a period of parity but I definitely get your point. The NBA has historically been strongest during dynasty sorts of runs where the dynasty was led by a charismatic star.

[b3bawla]

I'm not sure about this but I'd imagine that parity really helps ticket sales though. Like in football, teams actually have some hope in getting hot and winning a championship so the home crowd should take more interest. However, I definitely agree with you that it hurts TV ratings because you don't make big stars out of those one hit wonder teams.

[Diesel]

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I'm not sure about this but I'd imagine that parity really helps ticket sales though. Like in football, teams actually have some hope in getting hot and winning a championship so the home crowd should take more interest.

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I don't think so. The Heat were contenders and some games with Shaq were not sellouts because fans lose interest..

In Football.. The best years for the Falcons were when we had Deion Sanders here. Sanders when he was two sported ruled the Atlanta sports scene.. Because truth be told, it's about the personality... For years, the Hawks have been trying to build a "TEAM" to increase ticket sells. With Mookie, Deke, Smitty, there were some squeaky floors in the OMNI... However, Just like Primetime if you bring a guy to the Hawks with marketability, the stands will be full.

NOW I wonder, what's the Answer??

[Weez]

'squeaky floors in the OMNI' ~ maybe I'm just drunk or overly tired, but this allusion makes no sense to me...

what are you basing the Falcons' best years (with Deion) on...?

just curious...

[chillzatl]

all sports need a healthy dose of both in order to be truely successful. That's why the NFL went to the salary system they did, to enforce a parity and the NFL as a whole is stronger than it has ever been. It is unquesitonably the #1 sport in the nation now and parity is the sole reason for it.

In Jordans first 3peat with the bulls, the league was at a highpoint because of Jordan. The league foolishly turned into a marketing machine for Jordan and neglected other stars and the league faded. THe bulls were still champs and Jordan was as great as ever. But the league on a whole was on a downswing because people who weren't jordan/bulls fans weren't given anything. They felt like they were being shut out by the league, rightfully so.

Over the last few seasons in the NBA we've seen parity starting to develop. I think it's the by product of all the changes Stern has made in the last 6-7 years paying dividends. Rule changes, salary changes, age limits, etc are all improving the fun factor and quality of the games and the fans are noticing again.

But all sports need the favorite teams to emerge and come back to the spotlight, it's good for all the sports. The steelers making it and winning the championship this year was far better for the NFL than the snotty patriots winning it again. Sure TV ratings might be down in any sport when a national favorite team isn't in the spotlight. But that's only a small portion of revenue and marketing. Those teams make fans out of people who aren't otherwise football fans and they buy jerseys and tell friends and go to games and it builds and builds.

[Diesel]

The 1991 Falcons were 2 Legit to Quit. went to the playoffs. Were 10-6 in the regular season. I think they won the california trophy that year... But mainly they were Very well attended.

It wasn't until 1998 that the Falcons actually put a winner on the field and went to the superbowl. But that dirty bird team didn't have the attendance that Deion's Falcons did.

[Diesel]

Back to the money issue. You say that the NFL's salary structure was changed to increase parity.

OK..

Let's look at Baseball. There's no cap, no limit.. if you want, you can buy a champion. However, in baseball... The Yankees spend far more than the competition and most people hate the Yankees... BUT you have to have that team who can be most hated or most beloved to drive the sport.

Baseball by nature is boring because you just have SOOOOO Many games that are meaningless. If you don't have that team that people hate to see like the Yankees or this year Barry Bonds... then it takes the thrill out of the sport.

[macdaddy]

There's just a fundamental difference between basketball, hockey and football, baseball.

Parity is good for football because Americans love football and will attend games even for bad teams. If your team is just average then you have a lot of attention.

Basketball has hardcore fans but what pushes it over the edge in terms of attendence are stars. People didn't fill up the GA dome for an nba game just because the Bulls were a great team. That wouldn't have happenned for the Pistons or Spurs. It was a place to be seen because Jordan was there.

[Diesel]

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arity is good for football because Americans love football and will attend games even for bad teams.

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I agree with what you said, I just want to make this statement.

There has to be something in it's past that has driven football to the level of love that it has with it's fans. My only thought on the matter is the Dynasties.

The Packers, Browns, Giants, Colts have great histories with fans that won't go away.

[DJlaysitup]

Another thing (kind of in-between parity and dynasty - but closer to dynasty) is a great rivalry. How could you dream up a better scenario for the nba than the Celtics getting Bird and the Lakers getting Majic. Polarized the fan base wonderfully. You had rabid Celtics fans in Nebraska and rabid Lakers fans in Florida...fans all over the place.

True dynasties are close (rabid MJ fans versus the anti-MJ crowd). I agree with most that parity is good for the NFL but not so much for the NBA.

[TROUBLEMAN69]

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The 1991 Falcons were 2 Legit to Quit. went to the playoffs. Were 10-6 in the regular season. I think they won the california trophy that year... But mainly they were Very well attended.

It wasn't until 1998 that the Falcons actually put a winner on the field and went to the superbowl. But that dirty bird team didn't have the attendance that Deion's Falcons did.

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As a person who has had Atlanta Falcon season tickets for a long time, I have to say you are wrong. In case you haven't noticed the Georgia Dome has been sold out for 3 seasons in a row. There is a waiting list for season tickets. All this for a franchise that has yet to record back to back winning seasons. It is true that Jerry Glanville and Deion Sanders brought excitement to the franchise back in 91, but it is not even close to the excitement generated by Vick and Blank.