When the NBA announced the cancellation of the first two weeks of the regular season nobody seemed to care. The headline lasted maybe only a few hours on ESPN’s website, the topic probably didn’t trend on Twitter, and most newspapers probably didn’t even find it newsworthy.
I cared. And I still care very much about this NBA season.
I have no interest in the Lord of the Light or the old gods. Basketball is my religion and I worship the new gods, the seven: the Black Mamba, the Big Nickname (my nickname for Shaq), Jesus (“Jesus Shuttlesworth,” not to be confused with the scary looking guy doing aerobics), the Admiral and his first mate, Timmy, the Answer (I don’t think he ever found it), and C-Webb. – Game of Thrones reference, please read the books.
(Most of my NBA idols are from the late 1990s and early 2000s simply because I was not alive or too young for the former greats such as, Russell, Chamberlain, Bird, Magic, and Jordan. I always find it skeptical when someone my age says his or her favorite player is someone from an earlier decade; sure you can like what the older player stood for or how they carried themselves, but unless you actually watch them day in and day out, I don’t think you can really know them). Sorry for going on a tangent.
…I really just love the game of basketball.
To the lockout! The NBA is coming off one of its most exciting seasons. I just had an apostrophe, I mean epiphany! (Hook reference, Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams at their finest). The Cerberus! In Greek mythology, the Cerberus, a three-headed dog, guarded the gates to the Underworld. The Miami Heat, heat/fire normally symbolizing ‘Hell,’ with their big three, James, Wade, and Bosh. Has anyone else made this connection? I mean, someone probably has, but cool! (Just to make clear, I’m not comparing Miami to hell, I’m not Hank Williams Jr. or anything)
Then, the Maverick is Pegasus and Dirk is Odyesseus. He wouldn’t really be Perseus because I don’t think Perseus ever had to go through the underworld. You could even argue that the woman Dirk had the scandal with was a siren. Sorry I’m getting way off topic.
The NBA has this great last season, with such great players. And instead of rolling in the new season on a golden chariot (I promise it’s my last Greek reference), the league faces its worst possible outcome, the loss of an entire season.
If the season were cancelled, the team most affected by it would be my Washington Wizards (a complete bias), A talented young team, who needs this year to learn and grow. Kind of a funny story, I studied abroad last semester in Oslo, Norway, and my roommate was a student from the Czech Republic, named Jan. After we parted ways, I told him to visit me in Washington, and sure enough a month later, the Wizards selected Jan from the Czech Republic.
Sure I like watching the Washington Capitals and the Washington football club (We have to be more conscious about the name. I absolutely love the idea of as a class writing a letter to Dan Snyder.) But I need my professional basketball.
College basketball is great. It’s exciting; the players play so hard and you can see their passion for the game. However, there is a reason why it’s called professional. There is a reason why Bryant, James, Garnett, McGrady, and Kwame Brown (just kidding) didn’t go to college.
I’m pretty goofy, probably a little ADD, and a huge basketball fan. And I would care if the NBA season were canceled. So, come on Mr. Stern make it happen (great lockout beard by the way).
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