Friday, February 29, 2008

I Hate Basketball

Hello Everyone. My name is Eric, and I Hate Basketball.

Really, I hate all sports, but especially basketball. Today is February 29th, 2008. Before the day is out, roughly 100 people will have died from a war in Iraq that will cost somewhere between $200 and $730 million dollars today. I'm writing from my office, where just yesterday, the school I work at had a fake bomb threat called in. If I drive 20 minutes to downtown, I will see a makeshift village made up of more homeless people than the population of the actual city where my brother lives in Wyoming. If I drive another 20 minutes to Beverly Hills, I can see the true disparities that these people deal with everyday. This past week, I saw two separate instances of the stresses of this world driving a man to kill everyone in his house and then himself. Two SEPARATE instances!!! This country is in the midst of one of the most exciting displays of Democracy since the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. So what has my attention today? What's got me upset? The Lakers are on a ten game winning streak going in to Portland tonight (where they've lost 4 straight) and I'm going to miss the game!

When did this happen? When did I become a puppet of corporate trickery? When did I decide that the most important thing in my life is watching grown men bounce a ball around? Does it even matter when or how it happened to me? What's important to know now is that this is where I am. I mean, it's not that I don't know that other things are going on in the world... I just don't care as much. And I hate that about myself. Yet, I embrace it.

Have you ever just sat and watched a game of Basketball? I mean, seriously sat and watched and thought about it? It's a near religious experience. One that can't even come close to suiting up and playing the game yourself. Most of life's lessons can be taught through the game of basketball. Fairness and Justice? No Fouls. Check! Teamwork? Check! Pride before the fall? "Don't stand there and pose on your shot! Get back on D!" Check! It truly is the perfect marriage of grace, athleticism, grittiness, selflessness, star power and everything else good you can think of.

Basketball consumes the avid Basketball fan to the point where most people don't want to talk about it with you anymore. So you go to sports bars to find like minded folks. You attend games (professional, semi-pro, amateur, even pick up games) to find someone to share your enthusiasm with. You order NBA League Pass and watch Kenny, Chuck and Ernie every single Week. You listen to the AM Sports stations. You talk to random people on the bus stop, at work, anywhere you can find them? But then, what do you do when you've run out of co-workers to annoy? When both of the home teams and both of the college teams are on the road? When you can't spend another dime at the sports bar? You start a Blog. And so we're here. At My Basketball Blog. Of course I don't have any readers yet (this being the first post and all), but as long as I get to write about basketball, I am at peace. Whether anyone is reading it or not.

Hello Everyone. My Name is Eric and I am addicted to basketball.