News-Record.com

The NBA Finals have ended, and not a minute too soon. The series was over on Sunday, but by official policy, it had to continue until last night, when the Spurs secured the fourth victory required for resolution and termination.
The TV ratings were, as everybody knows, wretched. This might be the least-watched NBA Finals since the disco era. But that's not as interesting as a bit of social studies.
If asked to opine on the NBA, fans will invariably claim they want to see selfless, team-oriented play, concentration on fundamentals and an end to the marketing system that aggrandizes individual stars at the expense of old-fashioned, collective achievement. In other words, they want the San Antonio Spurs. Or so they say.
But what happens when the Spurs actually participate in the Finals? These same respondents watch "How To Build A Better Burger" or "The Deadliest Catch."
This sort of thing is no surprise to political pollsters, who have discovered that respondents will lie because they are eager to give the response that sounds more tolerant or makes them seem like better people. In Wisconsin in 2006, 51 percent of those polled in an October survey said they'd vote "Yes" on a ballot initiative to ban gay marriage. What happened in the end? A landslide. Nearly 60 percent of the electorate ultimately voted "Yes" on that question.
If a black candidate opposes a white candidate in a statewide race, polls are notoriously worthless because a statistically significant percentage of white voters will say they're voting for the black guy and then do the opposite on Election Day.
Then there's the example of the Miami TV station several years ago. In focus groups, viewers overwhelmingly expressed outrage at crime coverage. They said they wanted more "good news" on their TV news and less blood. The station boldly changed its focus, declaring a more "family-friendly" newscast that would de-emphasize crime unless a known or suspected killer was on the loose or another danger to the community was imminent.
You can guess what happened to their ratings. David Stern knows their pain.
The NBA's ratings offer more proof that it's best to wait and see before declaring a trend in sports. Years ago, it was alleged that the NBA was hot and would overtake baseball in our national consciousness. Just a matter of time before the NBA Finals beat the World Series in ratings, we were told.
The NBA Finals have beaten the World Series exactly once in the same year. That was in 1998, when Michael Jordan beat the Utah Jazz.
The lowest rated World Series of all time, the 2006 disaster between the Cardinals and Tigers, still beats four of the past five NBA Finals.