I love dominance. I love excellence.
I loved Elton John's streak from the black album (sorry Metallica!) through "Rock Of The Westies." And I appreciate what Bieber is doing right now.
Because it ends.
I don't want to give somebody else a chance, a turn, I don't want to pass the trophy around, I want to see someone succeed at the top of their game until they just can't do it anymore. Like Stevie Wonder from "Music Of My Mind" through "Songs In The Key Of Life," like Michael Jordan with the Bulls.
I lost too much of my life watching basketball in the nineties. I missed the era of Babe Ruth (although I did see Roger Maris hit his 61st!), but I lived through the Jordan era and soaked it up. Because I knew it would never come again. And sure, LeBron is a superstar, but he's a big man using his size, whereas Steph Curry is a shrimp, by NBA standards.
Now how did the NBA become so big?
One thing's for sure, it embraced popular culture. Shaq was rapping while baseball players were silent, while the NFL commissioner was making 50 mil trying to keep his players in line in a league where the coach is king. But in the NBA... Hell, James handpicked his coach and he still won. And last year the Cavaliers triumphed.
I don't want to go deep, explain what happened to Draymond Green, it's just that the Warriors had the best regular season record in history, and they couldn't go all the way, they lost in the finals, and that's one for the record books, in the wrong way.
Yup, we thought the Bulls' win/loss record could not be eclipsed, but it was.
Now the Warriors are trying to make a run in the playoffs. One of no losses.
Now that's a feat.
And sure, the deck is stacked, Kevin Durant jumped from Oklahoma. Then again, the Yankees always overpaid for players, but in the NBA there's a salary cap, although it can be manipulated.
But like I said, I like excellence.
So I'm watching tonight's game and it appears they're gonna lose. It's coming down to the wire and the Warriors are behind. They're playing their game, taking the outside shots, but they're not dropping. And even the inside shots are not dropping, what a block by James!
And just when it looked like it was over...
It was not.
Now if you read today's "New York Times" you learned that basketball is the sport of millennials, because it's personality focused.
"The N.F.L. markets the shield."
"The M.L.B. markets the franchises."
"...and the NBA markets the players."
This is how music got screwed up, when the executives became bigger than the acts, when they thought they knew more, hell, they STILL think they know more.
But they don't.
Just because you're in charge of the checkbook that does not mean you're talent. All these enterprises run on talent, and the caretakers seem to forget this, while they milk the company dry with their zillion dollar salaries.
But the players start from scratch. You can be a star in college and still not make it in the NBA. Hell, you can be NBA-worthy and get hurt. So if you're on the court, not only do you deserve to be, you get RESPECT!
And you're in incredible physical shape and you're running and the action never stops.
Watching tonight I finally realize the scuttlebutt is right. Baseball is too slow and there's not enough action in football. How do I know this is true? Because I found it nearly impossible to put my devices down to watch the game. I don't even bother to watch baseball, who has the time? There are so many other exciting things to do. As for football... That's for oldsters and meatheads. It'll die about the same time as electric motors replace internal combustion engines in cars. Oh, it's coming, sooner than you think. But you believe the past is forever.
But it's not.
That's the story of the internet era. Keep one eye on the future, otherwise you're gonna get wiped out. Keep trying to reinvent yourself. Embrace new platforms and ideas. The landscape is forever changing.
But the basketball rules remain the same.
That's one thing wrong with football, they keep tweaking the rules. But in the NBA..?
We live in an era where the individual is king. No one is faceless. But the NFL and MLB want to live in the past. Meanwhile, the NBA runs on Twitter, when the fans of baseball and football keep pooh-poohing the service.
But back to the game...
Durant took it over when it looked like it was over.
And then Steph Curry stepped to the line and put a stake in Cleveland's heart. Hell, it's hard to rattle a guy who's sunk thirty straight, make that thirty two.
And I'm lying on the bed with a smile on my face. I don't want it to go seven games, I don't want the Cavaliers to win even one. I want the Warriors to run the table, I want to see it in the record books, a record that can't be beaten. I want to embrace a team of individuals who came together to win. I want to feel part of something in an alienating world where you always feel left out.
I WANT THE WARRIORS TO WIN!
"Sure, He's Good at Basketball, but How Are His Twitter Skills?":
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