The 2006-2007 Golden State Warriors were what I assume LSD is like. The experience of watching Don Nelson, Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson hijack the league for 12 days was mind-expanding in a way you normally only read about in Jack Kerouac books. And their "We Believe" mantra was fitting for a team trying to change the world during Obama's campaign. Nelson's lineup choices were as strong as Obama's email list, and Boom Dizzle's refusal to be anything less than great was downright presidential. Plus, there's a connection to be made somewhere between the flag lapel pin and the bullet fedora.
As much as that team stood for hope and change in a dedicated sports city that needed it, during an era that was starved for it, their breakup and subsequent waning also paralleled Barack's own struggle to unite and lead during his first term. Both promised a few too many revolutions to be able to follow through. Warriors fans must have felt like the ostracized LGBT community as they watched broken promises turn into missed playoffs.
But as Obama begins his second campaign, NBA fans have been gifted another team in which to place our optimism for a better world: The Memphis Grizzlies.
While just as verdant and irreverent as the Believe Warriors, the 2011-2010 Grizzlies are imbued with an inherent sense of pragmatism that seems rampant in Obama's almost-post-recession America. Unlike the Warriors, whose dreamscape was devoid of positions, the Grizzlies embrace the purity of each spot on the court. Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo and even Rudy Gay are all pretty traditional when it comes to their respective positions; Tony Allen and Shane Battier are pretty standard defensive stoppers, albeit from different religious sects; and, perhaps most importantly, Lionel Hollins is a basketball coach, while Don Nelson operated somewhere between shaman and Tom Waits. Add to this the underdog bravado that Z-Bo and Tony Allen inject into a squad often dismissed as troublemakers and misfits, and you've got a worthy, drugged-out foil to the Spurs team they are currently challenging.
Tonight is game four, where the Grizzlies have a chance to go up 3-1 in the series, which is a borderline hallucinogenic truth. How best to proceed and win the future? Pack all of your dreams into a freshly paid, 29-year-old Zach Randolph and let the dude explode into a promising oblivion where Tim Duncan is not the best power forward on the court and ideals shape the game. We hope Don Nelson and his Bud Light are paying attention, because watching the NBA get weirder is a beautiful thing to witness, and he's as responsible as anyone.
While just as verdant and irreverent as the Believe Warriors, the 2011-2010 Grizzlies are imbued with an inherent sense of pragmatism that seems rampant in Obama's almost-post-recession America. Unlike the Warriors, whose dreamscape was devoid of positions, the Grizzlies embrace the purity of each spot on the court. Zach Randolph, Mike Conley, Marc Gasol, O.J. Mayo and even Rudy Gay are all pretty traditional when it comes to their respective positions; Tony Allen and Shane Battier are pretty standard defensive stoppers, albeit from different religious sects; and, perhaps most importantly, Lionel Hollins is a basketball coach, while Don Nelson operated somewhere between shaman and Tom Waits. Add to this the underdog bravado that Z-Bo and Tony Allen inject into a squad often dismissed as troublemakers and misfits, and you've got a worthy, drugged-out foil to the Spurs team they are currently challenging.
Tonight is game four, where the Grizzlies have a chance to go up 3-1 in the series, which is a borderline hallucinogenic truth. How best to proceed and win the future? Pack all of your dreams into a freshly paid, 29-year-old Zach Randolph and let the dude explode into a promising oblivion where Tim Duncan is not the best power forward on the court and ideals shape the game. We hope Don Nelson and his Bud Light are paying attention, because watching the NBA get weirder is a beautiful thing to witness, and he's as responsible as anyone.
So are the Grizz, then, functioning alcoholism?
ReplyDeleteYes, but with a little recreational cocaine use thrown in on weekends.
ReplyDelete