What Effect Will The Lockout Have On NBA Fans

When the NBA tips off on Christmas Day for the first time this season, not doubt it will do so in front of packed houses, despite the lockout. Of course the league will have lost a small percentage of fans, but of those fans it has temporarily lost, a fraction of them will never come back to the fold. The state of the economy and the high jobless rate across the country has left many fans with little patience to watch billionaires argue with millionaires over who gets the biggest slice of the struggling fans’ dollar. Many fans also have jobs that depend on the existence of an NBA season.

For many fans, the lockout will mean that they will be able to save money they normally would spend on going to the games, and save time that they normally would spend in front of the TV. Casual fans will switch their attention to college hoops in the meantime, and the lockout will barely be a blip on their radar. Probably the people who will be most affected will be the eventual NBA champions, because their trophy, won in an abbreviated season, will always bear an asterisk next to it in the mind of the fan.