The Shifting Sands of Basketball

With all the shifts basketball has seen throughout the years, i thought it would be interesting to think about the many different periods and forms it has taken as well as the effect of the enthusiasts and the most renowned participants. Quite possibly you will find out something you didn’t know. Maybe I will as well!
And so, let’s start at the start: Its usually agreed upon that eightieen ninety one is the date when basketball was first developed. Dr. Naismith was in fact seeking to devise a new activity to supply relief for pupils at a christian workers' faculty where he was a minister. Why he did not keep with the various other games that had long been devised such as football, tennis or badminton is anyone’s wager however it’s just as well he had a revolutionary way of thinking or the game of basketball may not have existed otherwise.

Fast-forward a few years to 1896 and basketball has become an established game and the very first professional game is going to take place near Trenton in Nj. During the sports very early years, the YMCA played an enthusiastic function in getting it to fresh places which in turn certainly aided it's expansion.

Basketball really didn't become a professional sport though till the start of the 1900s despite it's popularity as a university game. It wasn't till 1932 that the Federation Internacionale de Basketball, often shortened to FIBA was formed in Geneva. Just a couple of years later, The game of basketball was in fact showcased in the Olympic games, which in turn genuinely helped to improve its visibility as a sport

One of the first professional leagues was developed in 1937, one year following it first becoming an Olympic game. The National Basketball League was in fact sponsored by major brands including Goodyear. Active for a full 10 years, the NBL frequently organised professional matches which gained massive attendance at large arenas. Around the end of the time a completely new league developed in addition to the NBL named the BAA (Basketball Association of America) that was more popular seemingly. So much so in actual fact, that several of the NBL’s most important teams quit and became a member of the BAA instead precipitating the decline of the NBL. the surviving squads on the roster registered with the BAA also and so it then became the NBA that we all know and love these days.

Basketball turned out to be among the first sports to allow black players in the states. The first player of colour on the NBA was The Celtics Chuck Cooper. This was a milestone move for the sport and also the country) because the US was still extremely split at that point .Soon after this a couple more black players joined the National basketball association. Through the end of the 50’s and 60’s the game of basketball was pretty much a political microcosm of the nation overall, integration among backrounds was taking place though with considerable conflict and challenge coming from many places. In spite of the racial issues even though, a large number of basketballs largest players black.

Moving on through to the seventies, the game of basketball seemed to be even more popular than ever with lots of media coverage together with a continuously escalating fanbase.There were quite a few unfavorable factors starting to sneak in unfortunately. Around the 1970s players behaviour was a increasing reason to be concerned with all kinds of conflict including drug use and brawls.

By the 80s the NBA seemed to be beginning to try and recover its public appearance following on from the problems with the last era. This was accomplished partially with the aid of multi million dollar contracts with the NBC along with other TV channels and also thanks to players like ‘Magic’ Johnston who had become the first ‘superstar players’ Many superstar players left their mark on the sport but none quite as much as Michael Jordan. He joined the Chicago Bulls in 1984 and he swiftly earned popularity. It wasn't just about his exceptional skills on the court however, Jordan was obviously a really astute business man as well who managed to brand himself as a household name in a very short period of time.

Michael Jordan was unquestionably the earliest and urguably the most famous player ever in basketball but his achievement most certainly helped some other superstar players we have right now get the point at which they are.

A lot has changed with regard to the sport since the start; It is well-liked all over the world and it is a major world wide industry. Regardless of how over-blown it might be though, the heart of the sport remains the same. Scoring a basket from over the court is really a sensation unlike any other.

Basketball Balls and Creativity

As things begin to spiral faster, what do we have? Distractions.

I must confess to indulging in various distractions myself, the main being the sport of basketball. It is perhaps a triviality in these times of change but nonetheless i find myself inexorably drawn to the simple pleasures of dribbling a basketball ball around and shooting it at a suspended hoop.

I admit that this post is a disgrace to the finely crafted theoretical predictions woven into hyperbole of the last two but as Jesus of Nazareth himself said: we all must pay the bills.

There is a strange beauty in the fact that out of the need for survival comes a whole new way of  creating, such is the mystery of our consumer culture. something so ugly can, with the right eyes, pave the way for a beautiful new paradigm. So there it is, essentially a lie, but it allows for a new self, a way to play again.

As for basketball balls themselves, they play a small but important role in the whole.. The words 'basketball ball' have become inextricably linked to the forthcoming shift. Ridiculous perhaps but through a series of chance events and the need to put food on the table the phrase basketball ball has taken on a whole new significance. And here, i feel is the point about creativity, the cues are everywhere, you just have to be open. This whole existence is a game, a performance, a joke.

Anything can be crafted to become another part of an ever growing performance art that is life. There is something comforting in that.
The internet itself is a facilitator of this new paradigm. Call it creativity 2.0.

So, what do basketball balls have to do with this specifically? Find out by following this link .

Or maybe you won't find out at all. But if not you are looking with the wrong eyes. A basketball ball or basketball net or a football or even a birthday card is of course not the answer really. These are all just tricks but they provide direction.. We all need direction. It would be nice if we could acknowledge that each others directions are all different, maybe we would create a bit more harmony if we did. Maybe Basketball balls would become irrelevant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6xBo9EijIQ

You see?

Prophets not profits.

Is there such a thing as a prophet in today's times? The neccesity for money has certainly cheapened the image of the spiritual man. Cause and effect.

Religion is no more than a crutch. Nothing wrong with a crutch certainly, but Christianity has hoist itself with it's own petard many decades ago and now anyone with a micron of common sense can surely see it for the corrupt, dangerous corporation that it is.

So yes, there are modern day prophets. Just that the crassness of modern American culture has destroyed any subtlety. But the aim is no different. He who seeks a platform is seeking validation. Now money is validation. In this 'culture' it is a dangerous thing to not be competitive. In a world where everyone is fighting to be someone, if you don't put up a good fight you will be trampled underfoot. The modern day evangelists are (just as they always have) putting up an excellent fight.

All organised religions are a competitive, ugly mockery of humanity. The very idea of organised religion is a destruction of inner freedom.

 Crutches again.

With it comes security but sadly security is an illusion and as we wrap ourselves in warm blankets of religion, shopping, drugs, alcohol, junk food, dieting and whatever other escapes from the present we may seek, our beautiful free spirit is being smothered.

But....
Perhaps with the shift that is coming, the need for such crutches is decreasing. we will all find it difficult to adjust at first but it is unavoidable as we return to our roots whilst moving unequivocally forward that the blankets are cast aside..

New Paradigm?

This is the beginning.. I think it's finally here. Things have been growing for some time and we are more than ready.. Ready for what you may ask? 

Well there is an imminent shift occuring.

You haven't noticed? 

I'm certainly not the only one who has felt it.. The Mayans have long predicted a transformation.. 

The channels are so full of technological white noise, our communication has become so rapid and incessant that we are propelling our universe towards something. 

It seems somewhat ironic that i am speaking of the communication techno- shrapnel whose collateral damage is to increase the very universal vibrations that structure reality in such an analytical way when this post itself is part of that techno-shrapnel. 

But then maybe that's the point. 

Chicken or egg? 

Without zero there is no infinity.