If NBA Cancels Entire Season, What Will Be the Fallout?

The NBA Players Union turned down the deal that was on the table to end the lockout. Sources say games have been cancelled through December 15th and odds are the majority of the season if not the season as a whole will be cancelled. 

The players clearly aren't seeing eye to eye with the owners and apparently they have not been for quite some time. The drama of this NBA lockout is unparalleled. The rift between Hunter and Fisher has not helped matters.

Every basketball fan worldwide is fed up. Whether you're a casual fan or you subscribe to NBA League Pass on DirecTV, you're fed up. Both sides are to blame for countless reasons. They have been stubborn, selfish, incompetent and childish.

They waited until the 59th minute of the 11th hour to kick their negotiations into fifth gear and the ramifications of such a delay will be monumental.

Here are five results of the lockout. 

The Loss of the Casual Fan

While the group of people in this picture may be a bit more than "casual fans," you get the idea. NBA television ratings last season, particularly those of the playoffs, were through the roof. The everyday NBA fan is going to the games and when they aren't, they are tuned in on television.

The casual fan, on the other hand, may rarely go to a game and they may tune in on television less than most. One thing that brings in basketball fans of all shapes and sizes is Thursday night double-headers on TNT, especially the pregame and postgame shows featuring the one and only "Sir" Charles Barkley.

The players, the owners, the agents and everyone in charge of ruining all hope and making this the ugliest lockout in sports history are forgetting one thing.

The casual fan.

Thursday nights will continue to come and go and the fans that used to stay home and watch the games or plan on hitting a bar with their friends will create new routines and new habits and when the NBA comes back. They won't be waiting.

Unfortunately for the fans, Hunter and Stern appear to have suffered some form of memory loss. Both men were in this same position in 1999 and both saw their sports attendance, revenue and television ratings decline rapidly.

The NBA cannot afford to lose the casual fan, but they may already have. 

Potential Increase in NHL and College Basketball Ratings

Many hockey fans have been saying for a few years now that "hockey is back," and thanks to the inadequacies of the NBA, it may truly be back.

ESPN's "Sports Guy" Bill Simmons has become an LA Kings season ticket holder this year to fill his winter sport void. He has gone on to say that the Kings may get his 2012-2013 tickets as well, over the Los Angeles Clippers (his former season ticket commitment). 

The same void that casual fans will need to fill on Thursday nights and Saturday afternoons, hardcore fans will need to fill as well.

In comes hockey and college basketball.

Television networks will instantly start plugging these sports into their now empty slots formerly occupied by professional basketball, and as a result, viewers will begin paying attention.

The domino effect is not certain, and none of this is guaranteed, but cooler heads always prevail and NBA fans, in this instantaneous society we live in, will move on to something else as soon as they have a chance to. 

Economic Turmoil Around Empty Stadiums

Indianapolis is one of the league's smallest markets, no doubt about it. The cost of living in the state of Indiana is not one of the highest in the nation, and the majority of people in the city of Indianapolis live humble lives, for the most part.

The city is estimated to lose a minimum of $55 million in revenue for local businesses around where the Pacers play. Take that monetary figure and imagine the inflation in cities such as Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles. 

The small business owner, the average American and the ordinary citizen that needs the NBA to sustain their income and to make a living have been completely forgotten. In an economy with a 9.1 percent unemployment rate (14 million out of work), the mockery and sham that the players and owners are making of this situation is deplorable.

Businesses around the nation will hurt because of the lockout and their hardship and the turmoil that comes with it will go under the radar. 

Loss of Revenue Amongst the Teams and the League

A Bloomberg News report conducted in late August had some troubling results for NBA owners and league management. News they have chosen to disregard entirely. The report said that teams would lose $1 million in ticket revenue for every game missed. That adds up to nearly $1 billion in lost revenue league wide.

This monetary value is solely ticket revenue, meaning that doesn't account for alcohol, food, apparel and any other purchases made by consumers once they enter the arena.

I blame both sides in this situation, and I hate to genuinely point fingers, but if Stern is claiming that the league is losing so much money, doesn't he realize they stand to lose four or five times as much without a season?

The owners of these franchises, these businesses, are being narrow-minded and ignorant when it comes to their current financial situation. They will feel the loss of income sooner rather than later, and although they appear adamant in their stance now, they may cave once they too start missing paychecks.

Nationwide Anger on Multiple Levels

The anger directed toward the NBA will come from multiple levels.

We know fans will be upset and angry. We know stadium employees (ushers, vendors, parking attendants) and team employees (trainers, managers, travel staff) will be hurt by the loss of paychecks that many need to pay rent and provide for their family.

What we haven't factored in is the anger that will stem from other corporations and big (potentially bigger) business across the nation.

Last season, Nielsen reported that a playoff game between the Bulls and the Heat drew an 11.1 for TNT, compared with an overall nightly average of 1.3. As of now, TNT is airing episodes of CSI: NY in place of their NBA programming.  

A New York Times article discussed the gaps in television programming that face many companies across the country and the moves they are making to fill such voids. Networks such as ESPN, TNT, ABC and FOX Sports all have real issues in the upcoming months, and they have the NBA to blame.

The NBA will feel this anger in one way or another.