Just wanted to comment on all the post-game, um, weirdness after Game 6 Tuesday night. Well, really just Garnett's interview with Michelle Tafoya. Tafoya has no problem drinking sweat in order to get the interview and she got right up in Garnett's grill for this one. Anyway, screaming up to the rafters, "anything is possible!" along with all the other nearly indiscernable stuff that came out of his mouth must have made David Stern literally cringe as he looked on. I am an NBA fanatic and will probably always watch, but if anyone thinks that white America got any goose bumps while watching these Celtics celebrate this championship, you're nuts.
How about Scot Pollard trying to look like he was celebrating with his teammates in that Saran-wrapped locker room! Funny stuff. Let's just say it... This was a very 'black' team. The '08 Celts were a team built around a core group of guys who all shared a similar cultural background (and one Alien who fits in well with this particular demographic). A very good group of guys actually. I'll say that again... A VERY GOOD GROUP OF GUYS. All I'm saying is this isn't going to do anything to help bring back the typical 80's, 90's NBA fan who David Stern covets so badly. Garnett assured that, for now, and probably helped further the "white flight" that has plagued the NBA in recent years.
People just can't relate to that stuff... the whole seemingly anger-driven me-against-the-world chip on the shoulder of many of today's NBA players. The display on genuine emotion while you celebrate reaching the pinnacle of your profession is great... and makes for riveting reality television, but let's keep it in perspective. "Anything is possible" ??? Does Garnett realize that some blind guy made it to the top of Mt. Everest recently? THAT guy gets to yell "anything is possible" up to the heavens. You, Sir, do not. Yes Kevin, anything IS possible! But that wasn't the right moment to yell it up to the sky. That was just weird, and you are kind of a weird dude! I know a lot of journalists have written that maybe you aren't a player who rises to the challenge in the big spots but, c'mon man, don't take everything so seriously.
If only Paul Pierce was as white on the outside as he is on the inside... maybe the NBA could get the credit it probably deserves from America (at least this season). A team made up of a solid group of "made in the USA" basketball players just man-handled a team with a large international flair to it and I'm sad to say this weekend's NASCAR race will probably light up more TV sets than this Game 6 did (possibly TV's on cinder blocks in the front yard but TV sets nonetheless). Oh, someone just corrected me... apparently most of those TV sets are sitting up on top of older, broken TV sets. My bad.
I will say this... Garnett's actions do make a lot more sense when thought about as simply the pure emotions of a very child-like NBA player. It was definitely a little goofy. Maybe I'm wrong but Bird, McHale, and Parrish (he was a Chief after all) didn't seem this way to me. These were manly men, and they appealed to other fully grown, sports-loving, men. Garnett is in his 30's, isn't he? So, what I'm really saying is maybe I'm being a little hard on the guy and his antics probably would, maybe, appeal to the little guys out there... all the younger NBA fans. Maybe some of them will catch it on SportsCenter because I'm pretty sure they wouldn't have been watching it live, at 1 AM on a school night.
Any way you cut it... David Stern's job just got a little harder.
So many former NBA fans simply cannot relate to so many of today's NBA stars, be it because of race, culture, and/or age. There's a generation gap and a large cultural divide and disconnect that, UNFORTUNATELY, only grew wider with the 2008 NBA Finals. Sad reality, but reality nonetheless.
What's weird is Tofoya sticking a mic in Garnets face asking him how he feels. What ticked me off was dumping gatorade on a basketball court. No food, no drink, no shoes anywhere near a basketball court. Unforgivable! Also I don't agree with any of the content of this blog.
Last edited by goutdaddy on June 17th at 10:40 PM.
Corporate america has learned how to sanitze aand repackage this into to something saleable for mass consumption...they're alot more brilliant and savvy than you give them credit for....Gatorate had Boston crowned 6-9 months in advance and made bank....flat disagree!
I didn't really see it that way. I thought both the interviewer was a dumb person who kept asking the same question over and over and I thought Garnett was about the most inarticulate athlete in history to have a microphone put in his face but other than that I don't think it has much to do with a "race issue". I'm white and I'll still watch.
C'mon. This is a LONGTIME Laker fan's view of what Garnett said: "Thank you 'Sota, than you Chicago, than you VV, thank you P-Nut, thank you Sackalacky, thank you mama".
He thanked (Minne)sota where he played his whole career, he thanked Chicago where he played his last year of high school at Farragut, he thanked VV(obviously initials of someone close), he thanked P-Nut,(obviously a friend), he thanked South Carolina where he is from (Mauldin High School where he played until he was 17), he just used a "hip" phrase for the state, and obviously he thanked his Mama back in South Carolina.
Let's give that great athlete a break on finally winning the title. The Celtics destroyed us tonight. I'm unhappy about it. I was unhappy when Boston did it to us in 1959. How many of you were listening with me on the radio that night? We'll be back, good things come to those who wait. I can tell you that for a fact.
How negative can one person be!!! Are u serious f o b o m a n. Mr F do us all a favor pull your head out of your rear end and wake up your one of the few racist left out in the open, g i v e, i t, up dude. It's porbably one of your dreams for black people to still be slaves. Those time's have passed these are new racist time's get it! Words dont do enough here, hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. I'd pay to meet this blogger face to face!!!
Last edited by Technicality on June 18th at 1:49 AM.
foboman, you are just wrong. The "blackness" of the NBA athletes have no impact on the ratings. Most white Americans may not 'identify' with the culture of some of the players, but most of them do not watch the NBA to enjoy the culture. They watch to see good basketball.
ARE YOU PEOPLE SERIOUS??? FIRST OF ALL, I AM NOT THE LEAST BIT RACIST (probably impossible given my make-up) AND I'M VERY SURPRISED TO SEE SO MANY PEOPLE COMPLETELY LOST ON THE FACTS OF THE SITUATION, AND THE STATE OF OUR COUNTRY IN GENERAL. The NBA is DOWN... way down. And I, personally, think it sucks. What part of THAT didn't you get? Sorry if I refuse to make believe racism is over simply because it's 2008 or whatever. As for the guy who said he'd like to meet me face to face... I'm very much a pacifist but still I highly doubt you'd want meet me "face to face."
I never watch the post game celebrations because the players always come off looking corny and somewhat phony. It's like they are trying to be too PR and too dramatic. They always seem to be holding something back because they don't want to say or do anything they might regret later. I say let them celebrate, let them empty the adrenaline tank, and let it soak in before they start with the questions.
I can just imagine you at home relating to Mark Madsen as he did his little hip hop #### back in the day.
Furthermore, I don't know a single person where I live who actually watched or cared about this series, or this league... and I LIVE IN NJ !!! Unfortunately it's the PA portion of this state so that probably explains a lot. You people are probably all really good NBA fans but you clearly aren't cognizant of the "bigger picture." You're not seeing the business side of the league that David Stern has to deal with, and that, my friends, has EVERYTHING to do with the cultural divide that is alive and well in this country... not just in terms of race but increasingly due to class (money). Let's just pray things aren't still so bad that Obama loses to McCain. If that happens we're probably all ####ked.
I guess I'm the only 33 yr old white guy who loves the NBA but gets pissed off and tired about never having anybody to talk to about it. What, you think I WANT to read every word Bill Simmons writes? F that. But I do. Have to.
fobo...is this for real? If so, it's hillarious. Typical liberal comes up with some bogus theory (like global warming) then gets all upset that all your commenters aren't smart enough to get it. Please straighten us all out, and save us from our ignorant selves, master.
Who won the game anyway? I didn't see it, as I had to take my TV off the blocks in the yard so we could put Daddy's pick-up truck on them.
So, what Big Three had never won a Championship?
You think it's possible these guys were just plain losing it out of happiness?
They seemed more dumbfounded than dumb. I don't remember any crimes committed last night. Breathtaking post-game press conference actions followed. It was a great watch as three GOOD GUYS were almost speechless.
I'm dumber for having read this. You come off as a jealous Knicks fan.
I think I just figured something out... Fox Sports.. this web site I mean... is kind of a Southern web site. Not a lot of Northerners play here. That's probably more ESPN. I wrote another good response but it accidentally got erased... and now I'm just done. Maybe tomorrow. These reactions do have me a bit confused. Have to admit. I was just commenting on a fact... not "creating" a new theory. Or so I thought.
Clarification... this is not a North East blogosphere. So maybe you can just consider my views to be specific to this part of the country if that makes you feel any better. The South, the West, and the Midwest are much different places. I acknowledge that fact. You guys now have me scrambling to figure out why my comments were so inscendiary and off-beat to you all. Strange.
