More Than A Game

Today, the NBA officially announced the cancelation of two more weeks of the regular season.  If this lockout continues, players and owners will not be the only ones affected.  It will have serious ripple effects that will be felt by many workers and businesses.

While the money tug of war between billionaires and millionaires continues, Mary Saenz is just worried about staying afloat financially.  She works as a security guard with the San Antonio Spurs and depends on the extra money she receives from that job to support her and her family.  Without the season, it's going to be really hard for her and her family to adjust to a smaller income, and she's not alone.  There are hundreds of other workers similar to her that are out of jobs and will go through hard financial times because of this lockout.

Businesses and restaurants near stadiums will be similarly affected.  Around a basketball arena, there are a number of shops and food joints that depend on fans to stop by as they go to a game.  Without a season, these businesses will lose many of their customers and, therefore, much of their income.  Mel's Diner in Sacramento is one of many businesses that is contemplating shutting down to try to cut their losses if the lockout continues.

It sickens me that billionaire owners could be so greedy and stubborn.  They seem to be content with canceling an entire basketball season despite the terrible ripple effects it will have on so many less fortunate people.  They are not just canceling  basketball, they are robbing stadium workers and businesses of their income, and the most ironic part is that they too are losers in this lockout, as they can't make money if there are no games.

Why would they do this then if it doesn't even benefit themselves financially?  Future orientation.  Americans all seem to have this notion that sacrificing in the short term for a better future is always worth it.  Therefore, we are always making decisions based off of what will be better in the long run, and the NBA owners think that canceling games will cause the players to cave, and they will get what they want.

On the other hand, their actions are very greedy.  The fact that they are taking hundreds of people who desperately need money out of their jobs shows that Americans are also very individualistic and think only about themselves.  This is because Americans seem to have this idea that they are competing with everybody else for money rather than cooperating.  Therefore, it's every man for themselves, and decisions, like the owners decision to cancel the basketball games and take many people out of their jobs, are always made selfishly.