From Abnormal to Atypical

[Jayhawker Soule]

Do you think heterosexual relationships may seem to imply an eschewing of same sex relationships in the minds of the more sensitive homosexuals?

To the extent that I understand the question, "may seem to imply ... in the minds of the more sensitive ..." is a pretty low bar. Perhaps I should simply presume that the question is rhetorical and allow you to make your point more directly.

 

[Ben Dhyan]

Ok, a very good reply, my point was a satirical one and you nailed it.

 

[metis]

I have a gay granddaughter who lives with her girlfriend, and we treat them the same was as with our heterosexual grandkids. Why should we treat them any differently? [rhetorical]

 

[lewisnotmiller]

How popular is the NBA in Australia? Does Australia have its own basketball leagues? I realize most U.S. sports aren't very popular abroad.

I'm gonna assume you have at least a passing knowledge of the NBA, but if not, just let me know.

Of the American sports, basketball is by far the most popular here in terms of participation, and the NBA is the most popular in terms of fandom. The NFL has a cult following (I'm a Niner fan) but NBA is far more popular than other foreign sports, with the English Premier League being the only thing close. But it's nowhere near as popular as our own sports (Aussie Rules in particular, also Rugby League).

Our women's team is ranked third in the world, and the women's world champs is happening right now in Sydney (my wife and daughter went to see Australia vs Serbia tonight, travelling up from Melbourne). Lauren Jackson is our greatest female basketballer, and was recently named in the top 25 WNBA players of all time. We have a good standard women's league here (the WNBL).

Our men's team won bronze at the most recent Olympics. Our best players of all time (in terms of NBA impact) would be Andrew Bogut, Luc Longley, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Ben Simmons....eessh..., and guys like Josh Giddey and Dyson Daniels are recent high draft picks, with Tyrese Proctor the likely next one (currently at Duke). The men's competition is the NBL, and recent rookie of the year winners include Lamelo Ball (who then won rookie of the year in the NBA) and Josh Giddey. It's a good standard of competition, well coached and organised, with good stadiums, etc. It lacks the top end funding of some of the biggest Euro-leagues, which is always a challenge, but we generally get decent imports (lifestyle and language help).

I coach (and play twice a week still, although I'm too old at 47...can't give it up). And my username is a basketball reference, and my username on a basketball forum I frequent. Makes less sense here on RF, but it feels like me, so I use it...lol
The club I coach at is the largest club in the Southern Hemisphere. To give you some idea of size on that, we have 44 Under 12 boys teams. Extrapolate that out, and you'll get some idea of the number of participants.
The club runs a junior tournament in January each year in collaboration with another large Melbourne club, and it is the largest junior basketball tournament in the world, by number of participants. Including the US.

All that can be a little deceptive, of course. Majority of the NBA players from Australia have come from Victoria, where I live. And my suburb is one of the key heartlands of basketball in this state. It's not as strong everywhere.

Still...basketball is a legit sport here, with a high level of junior participation across girls and boys.