Then when I got into high school I was so occupied with playing football and wrestling that I really didn’t have the time to watch much basketball. As a result, I wound up not watching any NBA games for a number of years – even though college and graduate school. In 2006, when I was finished going to school full-time, I took fleeting glances at the NBA to see if it could hold my interest and I was completely unimpressed. Aside from the fact that everyone is absolutely gaga for Lebron James (which is extremely annoying), I believe that the most disenfranchising aspect of the NBA is the utter lack of maturity among some of the players.

You only need to look at the ridiculous case of the Wizards players flipping guns around in the locker room for the perfect example of what I’m talking about. Here’s some stupidity from the linked article:

The New York Post has reported that Arenas and Crittenton drew guns on each other. When asked about that Saturday, Arenas said: “I can’t speak on that. But if you know me, you’ve been here, I’ve never did anything [involving] violence. Anything I do is funny — well, it’s funny to me.”

You’ve never “did anything violence?” Really? Are you sure that you’ve never “done anything violent?” Okay, I’m not the grammar police, but what about the content? Is it funny to flip a gun around in the locker room? Seems to me that’s about as funny as hosting dog fights…

At some point when I was in college I heard the NBA referred to as “Ghetto Ball.” I didn’t believe this adjective until I began to see this type of stuff: players jumping in the crowds to fight fans, uncontrollable marijuana use among players, children calling themselves “King” in high school because they’re a big fish in a small pond, players pulling guns on one another, etc. I don’t have time for this type of immaturity.

The other problem that I have with watching the NBA is that I’m not that into the Chicago Bulls any more. I’d rather root for the home team. However, the home team in New Jersey is the Nets and, well, they suck. On top of them sucking, this is a team that is trying its damnedest to get into Brooklyn in the Atlantic Yards development. While I think it would be cool to have a Brooklyn-based NBA team, if it means losing the New Jersey franchise, then that’s not good for our state, is it?

Anyway, until the NBA cleans its act up, I’ll stick to watching Monmouth University’s Hawks. Sure, it’s a different level of competition, but at least I know the kids don’t have guns flying around nor are they looking to get into a fist fight with the fans!

I’ve been in the building before in the Fitness Center when I signed up for a membership, so that area wasn’t new. However, I did find the elevator and take it up to the third floor where I was able to look at (though not get in) the 10 box suites that the MAC has to offer. They looked great from the outside. And looking down on the second floor track was pretty cool, too. The entire arena looked great from the third floor, as did looking out over the football field from inside of the MAC. They really did a great job designing a little balcony that you can watch football games off of while you’re inside of the MAC. Of course, you’re still looking at a football field that is trumped by many of the high school stadiums in New Jersey, but that’s another story!

In fact, I like the building so much that I’m probably going to buy season tickets for the upcoming men’s basketball season. It’s not that I’m any big fan of basketball (though I used to watch the Chicago Bulls in the 1990’s) or any big supporter of Monmouth University (hard to support an institution that ruined your graduation ceremony and which assisted in causing you to owe six figures in student loan debt). However, like I said in an earlier post on this blog, I did feel a sense of pride in seeing that building go up; a sense of pride which was only elevated after I walked around the MAC.

So why not get season tickets? I’m sure that the first season of basketball in the MAC is going to be great!