• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, November 2, 2009

Watching live sports these days has become a little too predictable, taking me along the same emotional path.

Years ago, I started removing my emotional ties, protecting myself from the whipsaw of incredible joy followed by insufferable destruction. (John Starks, 1994!)

Now I force myself to switch to the analytical part of the game -- especially at key moments. Athletes make a lot of money, I think, and will switch allegiances to another team next year. Don't jump on board.

But one thing could save me: more revealing effort, work, and intensity. I'm not necessarily talking about ECUs. or extreme close-ups, either.

While TV programmers like Fox , ABC  or ESPN might give you in-between innings or quick mike interviews, the real action on the field -- the grunts, the groans, the swearing -- is missing. Privacy and FCC language issues aside, I crave this other dimension of  this inside drama.

Ten-million, twenty-million, or hundred-million-dollar contracts for athletes should allow for some behind-the-scene action. But all that the NFL, Major League Baseball, the NBA, the NFL, or even the Tour de France will permit are those almost mandatory, usually religiously somber-sounding post-TV interviews.

Looking at the new Nike commercial reminds me of what I've been missing. It comes from none other than Nike's long-time agency, Wieden+Kennedy, for the NikeJordan brand line.

The bare-bones-looking 60-second spot comes complete with a simple drum-sound track, and scenes of real athletes training, running sprints, or weight lifting, mostly to exhaustion.

You see players slamming into equipment (or a teammate for inspiration), breathing deep, being screamed at by  coaches -- all the training, as well as frustration, on the ground. Real athletes show up: Dwayne Wade, Derek Jeter, Chris Paul, and Carmelo Anthony.

This ad struck me with the creeping intensity that I hardly ever get from sports programming - though sometimes from other Nike ads.

Of course, it is just sports. -- it isn't real life. And that's just the point. It's drama - better than a reality show. It's something TV knows a little about with its scripted programs.

TV programmers, league officials, and athletes: When you are ready, I need more. In marketing lingo, you will be rewarded in kind with some of my real engagement.

When Hakeem Olajuwon stepped out to block Starks' shot in game six of the NBA finals in 1994, I'd have given anything to hear that real -life soundtrack. I'd also take the rough verbiage and groans from the floor in the Garden when he dunked over Michael Jordan and Horace Grant in 1993.

It would have made the summer of 1994 go better.