Basketball would be right at home in a city with a lot of culture and young people
My father took us to see our grandparents, who were still alive and residing in San Benito, Texas, on our first trip to Mexico. We went over in the early 1990s to buy cheap medication and souvenirs from sellers. We grew up poor, largely in trailer parks and spare rooms at aunt and uncle's houses. But as we went into Mexico, I saw poverty on a magnitude I had no idea existed. As nude youngsters crowded around mothers, they hoisted milk containers hanging to tree branches for
That memory lingered with me till my next visit. This time, I was off to Mexico City to attend and evaluate the Material Art Fair, a contemporary art event that showcases rising artists of various forms. I had no notion what to expect when on assignment for Artforum magazine. I was unprepared for the magnitude of poverty I witnessed as a youngster in border communities.
What I saw was more comparable to a European metropolis than anything I'd seen in Mexican-American-centric Texas communities like San Antonio or Brownsville. Mexico Metropolis is a sophisticated city with beautiful architecture, world-class museums, and five-star restaurants.
There are several must-see attractions in Mexico City, including Chapultepec Castle, where Baz Luhrmann shot Romeo + Juliet, the Frida Kahlo Museum, Palacio de Bellas Artes, and The Angel of Independence. The city has emerged as a modern art center. World-class institutions offering exciting exhibitions include Museo Jumex, Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Soumaya Museum, Casa Estudio Luis Barragan, and Machete Gallery. This led me to visit Material and the city's famed Zona Maco art show.
Many artists from the United States have come to Mexico City in search of a more inexpensive way of life, raising concerns about colonial gentrification and linking the city to global art pipelines. Every year in February, the Material Art Fair takes place. It features the greatest up-and-coming galleries and performance spaces in Mexico City, as well as artists, curators, and gallerists from England, Germany, Portugal, and Puerto Rico. The event is held at Frontón México, a 1929 Art Deco edifice that hosts literary and sporting activities.
As the NBA considers where to go next, Mexico City could be a major contender for where the league sets a footprint. Former commissioner David Stern had the lofty goal of turning the NBA into a worldwide league. Mexico City gives an international city near enough in distance to the other 30 teams to meet these objectives. It also allows the league to grow professional sports outside of America for the third time, following the Toronto Raptors (established in 1995) and Vancouver Grizzlies (1995-2001). The advantages extend beyond monetary value. It's also about presenting basketball as an olive branch to a country that has a tense connection with America in terms of political conversation. Mexico Metropolis has a population of approximately 22 million people, making it the biggest city in North America, the world's sixth-largest metropolitan area, and the largest Spanish-speaking city. There is a chance to share the game's principles in another language while also incorporating Mexico's culture and values into the league.
The NBA began to create a relationship with the city this season by introducing the Capitanes de Ciudad de Mexico as part of the G League. They have also booked NBA games in Mexico City, which will allow the league to measure attendance for two of the league's most popular Hispanic teams, the San Antonio Spurs and the Miami Heat. The game will take place on December 17 and will be Mexico's 31st international-held game, putting it ahead of every other country except Canada. The game will also commemorate the 30th anniversary of the league's first game in Mexico, which was a preseason game between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks in October 1992 at Mexico's Palacio de los Deportes. The Capitanes de Ciudad de México now play in Arena CDMX, which seats 22,300 people.
Mexico City has the greatest audience of any city considered for a team bid, including Las Vegas and Seattle, all of which deserve one. A Mexico City-based NBA club has the ability to ignite the whole country of Mexico, as well as Central and South America, as the country's sole American professional team. The Capitanes de Ciudad de México are broadcast nationwide on Star+, which has a Latin American reach, and ESPN Mexico, which reaches 22.1 million Mexican homes. It's not difficult to see any NBA club calling Mexico City home having the same television access. That is an unmatched reach for a single NBA club, not to mention unexplored advertising potential with Latin American firms.
Mexico City is on par with Paris, Rome, London, and New York City in terms of elegance and magnitude, as evidenced by art fairs, World Cup matches, and fashion events. At the moment, expansion is not on the horizon, but given the league's tremendous development, it is inevitable. When this occurs, the untapped potential across the border must be taken into account when deciding which city will become the next NBA target city. In the case of Mexico City, the NBA requires it just as much as the NBA requires it. As a result, it is up to the league to see past stereotypes, fear-mongering rhetoric, and stupid assumptions to appreciate Mexico City as a destination for basketball, gastronomy, and culture.
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