THE CLOD AND THE PEBBLE


'Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a heaven in hell's despair.'

So sung a little clod of clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet,
But a pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

'Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a hell in heaven's despite.'

--William Blake

I figured I nice little poem would improve my day. This one is a little depressing, really. Oh well...is it really possible now to argue against Kobe Bryant being the most exciting player in the NBA? I've been a big fan of his for a while despite my indifference and sometimes outright hatred for the Lakers, and did he put on a show last night or what? Putting in that 3 pointer to tie the game with 2 seconds left and then taking over in overtime was one of the most clutch performances I've ever seen; he's doing a good job putting his name in the same breath with Michael Jordan. Speaking of basketball, what is with the mock controversy about Larry Bird's comments? If you're not familiar, here's the quote.

"The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me," Bird said. "I still don't understand why. A white guy would come out (and) I would always ask him: 'What, do you have a problem with your coach? Did you coach do this to you?' And he'd go, 'No,' and I'd say, 'Come on, you got a white guy coming out here to guard me; you got no chance.' ... For some reason, that always bothered me when I was playing against a white guy."

Race controversies aren't so much about the color of someone's skin but by what our prejudices deem to represent their respective cultures. A black guy like Bill Cosby was embraced by all of America because he was a whole lot like...well, America. His life and tastes seemed to be like that of others who happen to be white, so they were able to relate to him. Allen Iverson, on the other hand, represents a different culture than that of America, with his aggressive attitude and connections to thug or criminal elements. This would seem to be the main issue with the popularity with the NBA declining nowadays. The NBA seems to be showcasing players as opposed to the game as the NFL does, and when model citizen Michael Jordan was it's representative, all was good. Great even. Now that he's gone and we have tattoos, drug abuse and wife beating to take it's place. That stuff goes on in every sport with every race, but in the NBA it's much more prevalent because each player is more important than it's competition. This has always been it's appeal; it's a team sport yet individuals can truly take over a game and make a difference much more than any other. When you have people who actually seem alien to you leading the way in the sport like, oh...Rasheed Wallace, you have less of a connection to it as it's popularity is based on their personalities. I think the NBA's main problem is image at this point; the games are far harder played and with the influx of foreign players, the fundamentals are being reinforced even more. Back in the 80's, you had Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. They were the best of the best; Magic is a fun agreeable guy who looks like he'd be fun to hang out with...easy for anyone to connect with just like Bill Cosby. Larry Bird was very reticent and almost surly; he was as much a punk as Allen Iverson is today, but he had one thing going for him. He was the right color. He looked like most people do in America. The irony is that had you switched personalities with the two players, Magic wouldn't have been nearly as popular and Larry Legend would have probably been loved even more. Because Magic is black he's supposed to have a chip on his shoulder and be defensive, so when he's not, people begin to look past his color and see a fun guy who's a great player. Because Larry is white, people assume that he's pretty much like "us" and are amazed that he's able to compete at such a high level and are able to look past his bad attitude and arrogance. Because he's already been given the benefit of the doubt, what stays with you is his game. Too bad we can't all just look at people's "game" before coming to conclusions...but hey, that's how we're made.