The Intelligence Estimate

I'm not a big sports fan. I've tried to watch them, but they just never took. I 'll watch it if it's on somewhere, but I can't tell you what's going on from moment to moment. When I was in college I used to spend a lot of time in a sports bar in Ames, Iowa where I did stand-up. Every time I was in there I wanted to ask them why they paid thousands of dollars for all the fancy televisions and the best cable package if all they were ever going to watch was ESPN. But I wanted to keep that job, so I just faked interest.

"Hey, you watching the big game?" I'd ask.

They never caught on because they didn't want to look like they didn't know which big game I was talking about. They'd just immediately go to the programming guide and look up whatever sport was being televised at the moment.

"Hmmmmm...I guess he's really into Australian Rules Dwarf Bowling."

The other night I found myself in a deli near work where everyone was watching the NBA draft. I had NO IDEA this was as big an ordeal as it's turned into. Every now and again Commissioner Stern would walk out onto a lavish little stage and read some grand pronouncement like, "In the 24th round the Utah Jazz pick Maurice Smith from Eastern West Virginia State Technical College, Heating and Cooling Division." Then announcers would come on and discuss that person in minute detail as a highlight reel of their playing career flashed on the screen.

"Smith is a star center for the Eastern West Virginia State Fiery Furnaces. He leads the team in rebounds, assists and date-rapes. His lawyers say he should be disease free and out on parole by training camp."

Then things got a little weird. They started talking about the side deals and back room trades. Teams would trade draft picks for other draft picks, that's not news. The ones that got me were when teams would trade the right to a player. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds illegal.

"Maurice, you play for the Jazz now, but you can't vote anymore."

"That's cool, I never voted anyway."

That's when it struck me that the NBA draft is very similar to another cultural phenomenon that we don't see much of anymore. Think about it. There is a big gathering of (mostly wealthy white) owners and a big gathering of (mostly poor black) talent or, in more precise terms workers. The owners are trying to get the best workers for the least money. The workers themselves have very little say in what is going on in the lottery. They just sit patiently and wait to find out which team is going to buy them.

Where have I seen that before?




















By the way, today is the anniversary of the slave rebellion on the Spanish ship La Amistad.