4.23.2003

Making a mockery

Gregg Easterbrook's "Tuesday Morning QB" column on espn.com is one of my regular reads. In his draft preview special he laments on the Wizards' past season, and pretty much sums it up for me here:

"Not only do the Wizards lose, lose, lose, they look bad by the standards of losing. TMQ has never seen a professional team in any sport that tries less, hustles less or cares less. Jordan might be 40 years old, but during much of this season he was the sole Wizard on the court who was, technically speaking, moving. Four guys standing around thinking about their guaranteed no-cut contracts, watching MJ, watching the courtside dancers, or just staring off into space. And if the Wizards ran a back-door or pick-and-roll this year -- if they ran any play at all -- TMQ missed it."
Of course, they sold out every game, and the cheapest available ticket sells for $40. I was given tickets to one game this year as a gift, and got another game at half-price through work. With the exception of Jordan's occasional flashes of brilliance, this was truly some of the worst basketball I have ever seen.

I never thought I would miss watching the Atlanta Hawks play in the empty, cavernous Omni in the mid-'90s... but I do. I could spend $15 to see a more-than-decent NBA game. I even splurged on the most expensive available seat one year in the playoffs, and it set me back $35, less than the Wizards' cheapest regular season ticket today.

But, as with the Redskins, paying through the nose for good seats is a status symbol here, no matter how bad the team is.

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