# Lakers @ Panathinaikos; Bulls @ Madrid; Knicks @ Paris...



## SEOK (Apr 3, 2003)

http://www.as.com/articulo.html?xref=20031023dasdai_134&anchor=dasbal&type=Tes&d_date=

There's something similar in www.sportnews.gr/com 

Practically, since 2007, Panathinaikos, Real Madrid and a team from Paris will play in the NBA. This is what David Stern promised to the director of Real Madrid in Paris, two weeks ago. 

I'd like an opinion from supporters of these teams. Do you prefer your beloved club to play *into* the best basketball of the world, or would you prefer your great derbies with Olympiakos, AEK, Barcelona and Joventut? 
I guess it's an hard decision...

Ah, I don't like that at all. NBA started stealing to Europe the best players, now they want to steal the best teams we have. 
One month ago the idea was of building new teams: well, do that. Create in Europe the Milan Longobards, the Athens Acropolis, the Berlin Wallbreakers and everything else, but don't touch what we are having in our hands and hearths for decades... 
Want to see that NBA understood the Longobards would have had 20000 spectators the first game, 2000 the 2nd, and 200 the 3rd?


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## Zelena Hracka (Dec 16, 2002)

Liked the names. Honestly I don't think what as.com said is going to happen. Besides, it has been already been denied by the NBA officials. Recruiting a european team in the NBA by 2007 is an overambitious plan. And even if that was the case, has anybody asked PAO and Real if they wan to leave their doemstic leagues and Euro competitions to join the NBA? I think that even if indeed the NBA plans to bring european teams into the league, it is going to take way more time than just 3 or 4 years from now. On the one hand, nobody (I think) would like the traditional teams of PAO and Real to stop participating in their domestic/euro competitions but on the other hand, if new teams are created (e.g. Athens Acropolis, or Berlin Wallbreakers or whatever) I don't think that they will enjoy so much support from the fans. Europe is so much different from America. A fan cannot simply start supporting a team just like that. There must be something about this team, be it historical or whatever. A new-founded team will mean nothing to the average fan (and especially if they adopt the american-style names "City-Nickname" which sound pretty stupid to the europeans). 

I don't know.


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## SEOK (Apr 3, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Zelena Hracka</b>!
> Besides, it has been already been denied by the NBA officials.


Ah, this is good. 



> if new teams are created (e.g. Athens Acropolis, or Berlin Wallbreakers or whatever) I don't think that they will enjoy so much support from the fans. Europe is so much different from America. A fan cannot simply start supporting a team just like that. There must be something about this team, be it historical or whatever. A new-founded team will mean nothing to the average fan


I agree, it's what I've told in the other thread. And Europe is really different from the States, I really can't imagine a Greek or an Italian waiting two minutes for a tv time-out, with the cheer-leader (but the AEK's girl...) or a stupid mascotte on court instead of the players. Can you imagine a Greek "cicken" for example in OAKA, with 10.000 supporters who made an alliance (imagine PAO, AEK, OSFP's fans throwing chairs and coins against him/its  ). 



> (and especially if they adopt the american-style names "City-Nickname" which sound pretty stupid to the europeans).


Hey, "Los Angeles Lakers play vs Peristeri Princes Of West" isn't so awful    

How would you like your (m)PAOK to be named? :angel:


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## italianBBlover (Mar 5, 2003)

Hey, mascottes and "american-style names" aren't bad, I like it :yes: 

In any case we have already the cheerleaders in many arenas and some mascottes too ( i.e. Pesaro and Trieste) .
The name is more hard due the sponsors ...


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## Genjuro (Jul 17, 2002)

I don't believe it, 2007 is way too soon, but I'm sure Real Madrid would love to play in the NBA. Right now it's a team with a really poor fan base, and getting into the NBA would be going back to the spotlight for them.


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## Zelena Hracka (Dec 16, 2002)

> Originally posted by <b>SEOK</b>!
> How would you like your (m)PAOK to be named?


mPAOK Gypsies
mPAOK Two-headed Eagles
mPAOK White Towers
mPAOK Byzantines
mPAOK Bugatses (me krema)

:sour::nonono: :whatever: :hurl:


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## SEOK (Apr 3, 2003)

> Originally posted by <b>Zelena Hracka</b>!
> mPAOK Bugatses (me krema)


You've lost a friend 'cause your awful taste! 

Kremidopita rulez!


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

SEOK I'm sorry but what are you talking about. Most european teams already have cheerleaders and mascots. Haven't you heard of Thrileon, Olympiakos' cheerleader.

And I'm sorry but greek fans don't throw chairs. That had happened sometimes years ago but not anymore. And the fans of one team were throwing them to the fans of another team when they had a fight, not to the players  

NBA in europe would be a great idea no matter how you see it.


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## SEOK (Apr 3, 2003)

I know that... don't you remember that Peristeri too had a mascotte, a Pigeon, at the home games? And the cheer-leaders of AEK were the only good reason to go to watch this team during the season 2000-01. 

Despite that in Europe it's pretty different from the States: the dead-times during a game aren't at all the same, the tv time-outs break the games too much, and very often they dure more than 2 hours... too much. 

Ah, about chairs... I've spent two days on the taxi with the pesatas the AEK supporters threw against the Virtus fans in Barcelona (F4 1998), and I got one (chair, _OAKA original_) during Panathinaikos - Peristeri two years ago... 
Considering I've been lucky another time (SEF) getting only a fire-lighter....


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## Fatocesto (Oct 8, 2003)

i doubt if it will work, stern said tickets for the games would cost 100-150-200 euros, i can expect people paying it for lakers, spurs or similars....but will anybody go to see the warriors, nuggets, etc? :no:


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## qwertyu (Dec 29, 2002)

Well Giannakopoulos the owner of Panathinaikos said that he's ready to join the NBA so I guess it's true. It is a big surprise for me, but I'm sure it's going to work out. I know there will be many doubts at first about whether it will work but in time it will, I'm pretty sure about that. The basketball fans in Europe are starving for NBA basketball.

The only problem is the rivalries. In Greece the fans of the other teams will never support Panathinaikos. And I don't think the fans of Barcelona would be very fond of the idea of having a team in Madrid.
It might have been a better idea if Olympiakos was the team that would play in the NBA, because we have more fans, but the fans of the other teams would still boycott the games. By choosing a team that already has a history and many rivalries you alienate a huge number of fans (like myself) that otherwise would have been interested. That's my only concern. 
No gavros (fans of Olympiakos) will ever support Panathinaikos, so by choosing Panathinaikos as the team that will play in the NBA you lose 50% of the sport fans in Greece, not to mention the fans of AEK, PAOK etc.
If they made a team with a different name and different colors, I would be interested, even if Giannakopoulos was the owner. The team would play at OAKA in Athens and they could also play a few games every year at PAOK's stadium.

I can't imagine how good this will be for european basketball.


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## NYKBaller (Oct 29, 2003)

2010 I can see it happening, though they'll be a lot less interviews...


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## Ben1 (May 20, 2003)

IMO, this whole idea of having European teams in the NBA is awesome. The league is indeed trying its bid to go global and be part of every basketball fans' lives. 




Don't kno if you guys understand this but...
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How about introducing a big structured league, where whichever European team plays horrible in the NBA league, the team will be "relegated" to playing with other European teams the next season, and the best European team that year (playing against other European teams) will then be promoted to playing with the NBA teams the next season? That way different European teams will be allowed to play with the NBA teams, and different groups of fans will watch the games each year.


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