And I’m not talking about “What Ifs” like “What if the Blazers had second pick in ’07?” where we already know what happened, and it’s pointless to discuss (besides the heated banter).
I’m talking about “What Ifs” that open up minds in a way that tilts sports fans who ingest back-to-back SportsCenters and constantly refresh Brussard’s twitter to think differently about a situation. Situations that can’t necessarily be proven, but situations that could potentially still be true.
For instance, the ever popular “What if MJ was gambling on basketball in the 90s, and Stern told him to get away from the game, he went off to baseball, but, in turn, Stern was so desperate for his Holy Grail to place baskets into rims that he demanded him back?”
So a bit like conspiracy theories, but not completely. You’ll catch my drift after a few.
The Decision
What if LeBron was paid off in a much grander scale to completely screw over Cleveland during the Decision?
And I know that the Decision is old news, but the idea of hating LeBron is not. Most of America wants to see him lose in epic fashion. The hate is still there, and it will most likely be there until he returns to Cleveland and wins them a title. This hate also pretty much stems from one night.
But.
What if some Miami billionaire had beef with a dirty politician in Cleveland, pulled LeBron aside, handed him a check with a “5” in the dollar box, and said “Add zeros ‘til you get carpal tunnel.”
YOU WOULDN’T TAKE THAT DEAL?!?!?!?!
And we could all go “No, of course I wouldn’t take the deal, because I’d be making millions anyway. I’m LeBron. Why would I need more money?” But you can’t really think this way, because it’s impossible to know what someone would do in that situation without being in it, especially after many repercussions have been… well… witnessed.
It’s like saying you’d definitely stand your ground if you were on Mt. Hood and saw a black bear starting to charge you, without ever actually being in that situation.
I mean, he looked terrified as those words “I’m taking my talents to South Beach” came out of his mouth. What if someone told him to say that too?
I admit, yes, I want KD to drop a Game 7 match winning trey, down two, buzzer beating, etc, etc, etc, but I really wonder why I’ve chosen to sports-hate LeBron so much.
The Lottery
What if Stern fixed the lottery?
And I don’t mean “fixed it to make Tom Benson, the next New Orleans owner, happy” but fixed it “just because he wants people to think he fixed it.”
Jokes circulate round the internets about the NBA being taken over by Vince McMahon. Rumors circulate about the League being rigged. Stern obviously shoots these rumors down a la his Jim Rome interview last week.
But.
Maybe he wants the NBA to look a little villiany. No stories are complete without a bad guy, right? Maybe he wanted Rose in his sweet home of Chicago. Maybe he wanted Kyrie to boost the bummed Cleveland fans. Maybe he wanted the NBA-owned Hornets to land an insanely solid centerpiece just so that fans thought he fixed the draft.
Maybe he wants us to know that he’s doing it, without us really knowing if he’s doing it. And the only way to do that, is to be blatantly obvious with the lottery/refs/trade-vetoes/anything else he can control.
The NBA is entertainment. Why wouldn’t Stern want the buzz?
Westbrook’s Selfish
Russell’s an interesting character.
A couple parts Derrick Rose’s athleticism and few teaspoons of Kobe’s confidence.
Downside? People think he shoots too much.
What if his coach asks him to shoot too much? To throttle Durant?
Who else is going to shoot in that starting line-up besides him and Kevin?
What if he wants to shoot less?
Kendrick Perkins’ Scowl
What if he’s the most deceptive person in the NBA?
Every game he’s scowling and angry and wants to beat up on his opponent. Seems pretty simple to me. Get in the zone by being angry and showing the opponent that you’re more intense than Eastwood. Get in their head. I see that.
But during Game 1 the other day, I saw him on the bench smiling as big as can be and, as if somebody told him the camera was on him, he slid straight back into stern face.
It’s like nobody caught him except the millions who were watching TV.
Many people think he’s so angry. What if he’s just putting on a show? What if that’s just how he locks into games? Maybe his opponents know he’s putting on a show and, as a result, don’t really take him seriously?
So What?
So what if we think this thing or that thing? So what if we dislike one team and like another?
We at Oregon Sports News are a form of media, so I may be going against our grain, but what if we didn’t rely so heavily on the media to shape our opinions on sports figures? What if we just watched the games, and then all of our exact feelings about that game were the only ones that we felt, without checking ESPN and Hoopshype and the like to see what the professional opinionators are thinking?
What if LeBron’s every move wasn’t scrutinized? Would we still expect him to take 100% and make 127% of game winning shots?
What if Kevin Durant is actually an insanely different person behind close doors? What if he cheats on his taxes and cuddles furiously with stuffed animals? Remember that guy Tiger Woods? And how we knew “nothing about him” prior to the incident with his wife? And then, we apparently knew everything about him?
What if they were in an open relationship, and he had no proof of her side of the canoodling and she wanted out? What if they were both interested in a mutual break up, and they were bored, wanted the crazy media spotlight, made up the whole Tiger cheating thing, and are secretly laughing about it all behind closed doors?
People do this all the time. It’s called reality television. And it’s called just so, not because it gives you reality, but because it gives you a hopped up version of reality with no downtime and mostly carnage. It alters your perception of reality.
Sports writers are somewhat similar, but with a different stigma, no doubt.
We pretend so hard to know these people. I do it all the time. And we say that athletes deserve to be scrutinized. This is their profession. This is their world now. There’s no choice. They just are scrutinized, and if we don’t do it, then the next person will.
So then what?
To me, it seems like more of a perspective thing. Try thinking about scenarios from a different perspective. Root for LeBron during Game 4. Root for Durant to fail miserably. See how it feels. You’ll probably hate it. But put yourself in LeBron’s mom’s shoes. Yeah, sure, she’s set for life because of the King, but just pretend to be rooting for someone you hate, just like you would that team you love.
Once you start doing this, it’s kind of a funny feeling, and it’s been happening to me lately, but you start to appreciate the game a little more and the actual teams a little less. You start to think less about the pointless stories, that in the end, do nothing for you except get you riled up.
Yes, you have your squad, ship’s a sinkin’ or floatin’, but being a fan of the game, at least for me lately, has made me realize that you can reach a different level of fandom with appreciation top to bottom, from your most beloved team to your most hated rival to the guy who shows up half an hour early to his rec games to warm up his two-time-reconstructed ACL.
We’re all just trying to play some ball.
And so are they. Professionals just have other people who give them lots of money to do it and other people who say that everything they do is right or wrong.
So even though my next column will probably scrutinize LeBron’s last second assist-attempt over shot, I’m gonna check things in a different light, even if just for a minute. Maybe he was paid to pass. Maybe Riley made him. Maybe he’s trying to make up for the gigantic “selfish” tattooed to his forehead, passing being his futile attempt to slide into the humble limelight.
Maybe he’s scared of failure, comfortable, like you and I.
Might feel a bit weird, but as some philosopher said that one time, “Do the uncomfortable, because that’s what needs most work.”
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