05 March 2007

the downfall of the nba

Perhaps I have been spending far too much time investing in my Tarheels basketball team because as I sit watching the Magic play tonight I realized I was quite disappointed. Remarkably so actually. It's like the passion fades away as they get paid millions of dollars to play a sport, a sport which they once lived for. Their passion, heart and voracious appetite for the game has seemingly disappeared. Apparently getting paid more money than most of us will see in our lifetime isn't tempting enough. It isn't enough to play at a 100% all of the time. It's discouraging. For half of what some of these guys make I would gladly give my job my all day in and day out.
Watching them was truly an awakening. Half the time the guys stood around and forget sprinting from one end of the court to the other. That was beyond a joke. Perhaps I am a bit jaded since the last basketball game I watched was Carolina squashing Duke. You could see both teams giving it their all in hopes of success. In the last 14 seconds of the game Hansbourgh's nose was broken because two Duke players were going up so fiercely to block him in spite of a 14 point gap in the score. Now that is heart and soul for a game.
Sure Orlando scored 99 points and won by about 20 but that doesn't mean anything when your players forget why they are there in the first place. Is it truly about money. I know this world revolves around so much of it, I just find it hard to imagine losing your love for the game. And if you do still truly love the game then show it. There are countless others who would give anything to take your place. To be adored, to become a role model, to have a shot at a better life. Not to just half-ass it. Step up and play the game the way we all know you can.