Spurs Win

I now live in the 37th ranked television market in the United States. So, San Antonio is not exactly the first place that you go if you want to make money selling advertising to people via TV. In fact, the Spurs-Nets NBA championship series in 2003 was the lowest rated TV-wise since like the early 1980s. I guess that's what happens when you have two tiny markets (suburban NJ and San Antonio) with relatively boring grind-it-out teams while all the big-market teams (LA, Dallas, Boston, etc) have been eliminated. Commentators are saying how bad it is for the league and ragging on NJ and SA for being such "boring" teams that noone wants to watch.

But is that really so? I don't think so (and of course I am biased). But, championship series like this year are a necessary part of every league -- even pro wrestling. If people don't believe that the small-market, underdog teams can atleast occasionally beat one of the better-funded big-market teams, then what hope is there of getting viewership in places like Sacramento, San Antonio, Memphis, Detroit and so on? You must have it or else your sport turns into the Harlem Globetrotters (LA) versus the Washington Generals. Sure, it's entertaining, but it sure ain't the athleticism that is drawing the crowds.

Another point is that it's interesting how teams like the Spurs and Lakers really represent the character of their city. LA is flashy, big $$, rap contract, movie-starring, overbearing. SA is nice guys, hard-working but you wouldn't look at these guys and be intimidated -- they are kinda funky; a strange hodge-podge of young people and old codgers on the court. So much we are the same as a culture across the United States, the differences are still there. It's neat, I think.

A good couple of weeks

It's been a great couple of weeks. Professionally and personally, I think Shandelle and I made the right choice to move down to San Antonio. Personally, the change of lifestyle has been terrific over the bay area. I just don't know that I could breath that pollution and sit in that traffic for much longer. I remember the 75 minute commutes from SF->San Jose as I drive home these days. In SA, it's 25 minutes max and I'm going across town. Professionally, it's great to have a completely new challenge to work on. There's a ton of stuff I don't know, but am trying to keep learning and adding value whereever I can. Eerily, I'm doing a bunch of what I was doing at BEA: strategy, customer data, product planning. There's a bunch of other stuff too: inventory management, supplier management, marketing, location planning and so on. Being in a small company is fun and the right fit for my personality.

I'm going to get back writing more (I hope), but my hands have been bothering me b/c of work. There's just so much handwriting, typing, etc that happens in the office and I've been having tendinitis flareups. Best to attempt to keep it under control.