Description of Topic.....

This integrated media series is about my interest in the sport of basketball and its continual growth around the World. There are a few factors that contribute to this growth, and this project will explain them.

THE NBA The NBA has created recent global expansion programs in order to reach fans in countries around the world. Teams travel to foreign countries for training camps, exhibition games, and public relations events. The NBA is widely regarded as the best basketball league in the World. Fans that become exposed to the NBA game are drawn to the sport. The NBA has expanded its market from small countries like Lithuania, to large countries like China.

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FIBA FIBA is the governing body of all basketball leagues outside of the NBA. They are also in charge of any international tournaments like the Olympics. FIBA has expanded and created leagues in many countries around the World. Fans outside the US can now cheer on club teams from their own countries, creating a passion for basketball. This attracts the fans who are not exposed to the NBA. Leagues in Europe, and other parts of the World, contain teams and players who are considered just as good as NBA players.

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“The Dream Team”The global popularity of basketball is said to have begun at the 1992 Olympics. At this venue, the World was introduced to “The Dream Team”, who amazed fans with their flashiness and skill. As a result of those games, more fans were attracted to the game, resulting in more players. Since then, the competition for the United States has significantly increased. For a country to defeat the Americans was considered a considerable upset. Fans felt great pride seeing their country compete with the United States.

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References.....Images1. http://www.emma.cn/2007/nba/images/nba_images/banner_nba2007.jpg2. http://hoopedia.nba.com/images/e/ed/FIBA_logos.jpg3. http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/05607l7aEb313/610x.jpg4. http://inside.nike.com/blogs/nikebasketball/2008/07/01/this-is-our-game-the-dream-team?view=print5. http://www.houseofnintendo.com/esp_o.jpg6. http://sixers4guidos.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/serbia-world-champ.jpg7. http://willdo.philadelphiaweekly.com/archives/090106usa.jpg8. http://www.rpiratings.com/NBA.html9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FIBA#Clubs