Merry Christmas, Lakers fans — Kobe will suit up in purple and gold come Dec. 25.

NBA lockout ends, season starts on Christmas

The NBA lockout came to an end on Saturday when the league and player representatives reached an agreement about how to more evenly split league revenue. There aren’t many details of the deal available since it is still tentative, but all fans and players need to know is that 66 games will be played this season — starting Christmas day.

One of the reasons the lockout happened is because the league was spending too much money on its players. 57 percent of the league’s revenue was allotted for player contracts, causing the owners to lose money by signing their star players for too much money.

It was the players’ turn to run away with the league’s money, now it is the fan’s turn to get back at the league for making us wait while people playing a game quarrel over money that initially comes from our pockets. After all, we are the one’s paying for the tickets.

Game six of the 2011 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks earned the highest television rating in 11 years, according to ESPN.com. Imagine what shape the league would be in if we didn’t go to or watch that game. It certainly wouldn’t be in the shape it is in now and most likely wouldn’t be preparing for a season.

Fans should boycott 2011-2012 season

Now imagine if fans sat out the entire 2011-2012 season. Chaos would ensue, tears would be shed and Harold Camping’s apocalypse might actually occur.

Okay, maybe it wouldn’t be that dramatic, but the fans now have the power to show the league that we don’t care one bit about their paychecks. Same with the players. This might sound a bit outlandish, but it could be just crazy enough to work, fans of professional basketball should stop going to games and watching them on TV.

The money lost from ticket sales would no doubt dent the team owners where it really hurts, their wallets. If we tuned into hockey or baseball instead of basketball, sponsors may need to rethink purchasing commercial time for an NBA game.

However, I understand that professional basketball is a business, just as much as owning a chain of Staples stores is a business. These men are just fortunate enough to be able to play around with excessive amounts of money for a living. There is no blame in being successful, even from disgruntled fans.

However, disgruntled fans have a right to enjoyment in this business too. Which is why a stance must be taken to show our disfavor with the recent year-and-a-half long lockout.