I would turn the analogy around some. I know something of basketball--1950s
basketball. I am not ignorant of basketball 2009, but find it unsatisfying.
The version I understand was a non-contact sport, where passing was an
integral part of the game, where the players were of nearly 'normal'
proportions (relative to the rest of the population). The new basketball is
made up of giants who occupy so much of the space that passing has become a
very much more difficult task. The game is played above the rim and with a
great deal of pushing and shoving so that brute size and strength (ala Shaq)
can dominate over skill and finesse. The game can be played either way. It
is, I believe, more difficult (at least more restrictive) to play it by
today's rules. I prefer, if and when I can find a game, to play by the old
rules.