No such thing as bad publicity

With no TV coverage of the NBL on free-to-air or even Foxtel at the moment, any publicity is good for the league right?

I was reading John Rillie's blog this morning about "ruffling some feathers" and there are a number of stories that are hot in the league at the moment. Firstly, Brendan Joyce's blow up in the Perth press conference on the weekend and more recently JR with the city of Cairns as he discusses the possibilities for the new league.

I also caught a little of The Morning Show on Channel 7 this morning and they were talking about brands as they compare to the NRL and AFL. The discussion basically talked about how teams need a bit of controversy to make them more appealing to the public. "Brand expert" Simon Hammond says you need a combination of a hard-working team, a good coach, personalities and even some bad-boy behaviour to make for a good footy brand. He pointed to two teams that have had their share of bad press over the last season, Carlton and Collingwood as having strong brands and being better for it (the bad press).

So it got me thinking about the two hot topics in the NBL right now. Sure, Brendan Joyce's outburst was out of line and he has since been told off (a little) by the league ... but it certainly has got plenty of media coverage. What's a little surprising was that Shane Heal, who the original story centred around, sat quietly in the press conference saying very little. Shane is used to playing the role of the villain in the NBL, you either love him or you hate him ... and most people choose the latter. He's not afraid to say what he thinks and he realises he's not just a sportsman but an entertainer, on and off the court. Anything wrong with that? No, its good for the game and for the league. The non-basketball following public know who Shane Heal is ... unfortunately they couldn't name too many other players in the league now.

As for JR and his current fued with the city of Cairns ... that's also good for the league. Sure, it may get a little personal (Cat called him an "idiot" and referred to Townsville as "Clownsville") but the discussions about what's going to happen after this interim season is positive for the league. The rivalry between Cairns and Townsville is healthy. The two teams met on the weekend, Townsville came from behind to win a close game which will only add fuel to the Taipans fire. There should be more of it!

I remember my time at the Bullets (who I've been a fan of for more than 20 years) and how the new crop of Brisbane players got on way too well with the Sydney Kings. Now, back in the day these two teams hated each other, the games were fierce and the fans circled the date on their calendars and came along too give the Kings heaps. The new players weren't around back in those days but they should know how much the Bullets fans hate the Kings. In my opinion, there's not enough of that in the NBL. In the AFL, the current stand-out sporting code in Australia, there are plenty of those rivalries ... Carlton vs Collingwood, Adelaide vs Port Adelaide, Sydney vs West Coast (before this season), Collingwood vs anyone, Essendon vs almost anyone.

We certainly don't need our basketball players carrying on off the court like some of the football players do but it doesn't hurt to have some villains to hate on and some fierce team rivalries. Sure, a lot of opposition fans don't like Chris Anstey and he sometimes shows he doesn't like opposition fans (with his one finger salutes) ... but really, are there any players currently in the league that you love to hate? Is there an NBL team that you can't wait for them to come to town so you can hate on them? Discuss ...