I played pickup basketball a lot as a youth and the people who were better than me were better at fouling and getting away with it. I think that's every bit as much true of the pro game which has been dogged with refereeing scandals. It is better than professional wrestling but for many reasons I don't completely believe it such as: the "star" player grandstanding to the point where you think the other side isn't really making them work, the suppression of the full court press, etc.
(Not like my dad and I didn't love the epic rivalry the Celtics had with the Lakers in the late 1980s)
On the other hand I love going to men's or women's basketball games at my Uni where you can usually buy a general admission ticket and sit in the front row.
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