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- Nov 11, 2018
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My NBA only friends, upon being asked whether they are watching the ncaa tourneys, will usually respond with some form of the following:
"I'd rather watch the best in the world play".
At face value, this argument makes sense. I'm having a blast watching the NBA this year (at least the playoffs).
But when it comes to which style of ball I prefer, I defer to the Japanese notion of appreciating imperfection: Wabi-Sabi.
The imperfect in this case would clearly be college basketball.
Now there are extremes- really bad basketball is not good at all, neither is a hypothetical game where every shot goes in. But during the very good NO vs. OKC game last night, I noticed that I got the most excited during the "scoreless" portions of the game. When baskets are at a premium, for whatever reason, I enjoy watching it more. For those of you who go to AAU events, watching raw kids is almost more exhilarating than watching them when they mature years later.
This love of the "imperfect" is seen in all facets of life: for those of us who'd rather listen to Tom Waits over Andrea Bocelli, or drink an original coors instead of a fox farms, the imperfect is more relatable.
At times better is better- I do prefer MLB to college baseball (although the little world series is incredible).
But it's in CBB that I love this the most: I love that not everyone is 6'4" or taller: I love that free throws are iffy and I love big men who like to roam the paint instead of the logo; I love 3 point "specialists" because they are actually "special". You get my drift.
There is no right answer, but if perfection were really better, we'd be camping outside the lincoln Center instead of Indio.
"I'd rather watch the best in the world play".
At face value, this argument makes sense. I'm having a blast watching the NBA this year (at least the playoffs).
But when it comes to which style of ball I prefer, I defer to the Japanese notion of appreciating imperfection: Wabi-Sabi.
The imperfect in this case would clearly be college basketball.
Now there are extremes- really bad basketball is not good at all, neither is a hypothetical game where every shot goes in. But during the very good NO vs. OKC game last night, I noticed that I got the most excited during the "scoreless" portions of the game. When baskets are at a premium, for whatever reason, I enjoy watching it more. For those of you who go to AAU events, watching raw kids is almost more exhilarating than watching them when they mature years later.
This love of the "imperfect" is seen in all facets of life: for those of us who'd rather listen to Tom Waits over Andrea Bocelli, or drink an original coors instead of a fox farms, the imperfect is more relatable.
At times better is better- I do prefer MLB to college baseball (although the little world series is incredible).
But it's in CBB that I love this the most: I love that not everyone is 6'4" or taller: I love that free throws are iffy and I love big men who like to roam the paint instead of the logo; I love 3 point "specialists" because they are actually "special". You get my drift.
There is no right answer, but if perfection were really better, we'd be camping outside the lincoln Center instead of Indio.