NBA: Why do we bother to watch anymore?

It's June. For kids, school's out, and for adults, they can enjoy their weekends relaxing at the pool. But one thing that brings joy to this time of the year to kids and adults alike is the NBA Finals!

The NBA Finals is arguably one of the most entertaining sports championships with monster dunks and deep three-point shots, but it hasn't been the same for the past four years, and that is because of the fact that the series has had the same matchup in each of those four years.

The fact is, for the average NBA fan, the playoffs is a time of watching the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors ease by their opponents so that they can meet in the NBA Finals.

Now, sure, both teams may have had a few hiccups on their way there. The Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers going to game 7, the Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics going to game 7 and the Warriors and the Houston Rockets playing to the final whistle of game 7, but nobody questioned the fact that LeBron would be facing the Warriors for the Larry O'Brien trophy once again.

That brings us to the question of why we bother watching the NBA anymore if we know who is going to be the best team in the conference each year, and it is for the hope and pride for our city.

Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. Example: me, an average NBA fan who was born in Indiana and grew up a Pacers fan and moved to Ohio in middle school.

Even though the Cavaliers were much better than the Pacers, I still trashed-talked with my friends in hope of a Pacers win. If they won, my Cavaliers-loving friends would blame it on the referees or the fact that LeBron had no help. But if the Pacers did end up losing, I wouldn't get to hear the end of how much "we sucked" until the end of the day, but regardless, I would still show up with my Victor Oladipo jersey on and a smile on my face.

Pride is a feeling or deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.

My example for pride might be a bit different but bear with me. Just recently I attended a Columbus Crew game. The Crew has the second lowest MLS attendance, but when I walked in, I thought there were 100,000 people. They had the loudest chants and songs that they sung from the stands, and even though the owner has talked about moving the team to a different city, the crowd acted as though everything was the same.

As you can see, a team's fans will support them through thick and thin, and no matter how they play, what their ranking is or what their record is, their loyal fans will always be there to cheer and root on their team.