Ghetto Basketball??? Those Crazy Germans...

[Methodical Management]

i thought the "big three" purposely took a pay cut to play with each other, those numbers can be deceptive as to what the heat could have actually paid had they paid their full worth. 
nevertheless, the rest of this post was great

That was part of the point.  
It's usually considered a virtue in sports when an athlete places winning before financial compensation.  Who on the Mavericks made that type of sacrifice?  You can easily make the case that Miami has plenty of "team first" guys on their roster as well.  

Although I wanted to see Dallas beat Miami in the Finals, I can't view Dallas as an "underdog" in this league.  They go deep into the luxury tax every year in attempt to put the best team on the floor and, though that's great for Dallas fans, many others view it as an attempt to buy a championship.  While onlookers have spent the better part of a year excoriating James and Wade for engineering free agent signings that are supposedly "anti-competitive," the same could be said about any team that seeks to use a larger market or an especially deep-pocketed ownership group to its advantage.  

Why is it that an owner can attempt to game the system to their advantage, but players can't?  People don't seem to like the idea that athletes can influence the balance of power in the league or even their own situations.  Whenever a player attempts to force a trade or discourage a particular team from drafting them, fans boil over with rage, and it just seems to feed back into this notion that players are expected to "know their place" and should never aspire to exceed their station.  

 

[hankmoody]

At least in the 18-34 age demo, I'm not seeing a lot of Meth's concerns. You could look at NT as a possible example. There is no racial divide on here. I definitely see some of it in the media and older people, as he mentioned.

The biggest thing I've learned in all this is the utmost hatred of hubris or arrogance in sports before a player "wins". People don't even care that Jason Kidd is convicted of domestic abuse..." oh, he waited so long." That's nice.
The sports world is such a rigid bubble. It's so weird who is forgiven and who is crucified. It's as if The Decision was to commit felony instead of play for a different basketball team.

 

[aepps20]

Originally Posted by Method Man

i thought the "big three" purposely took a pay cut to play with each other, those numbers can be deceptive as to what the heat could have actually paid had they paid their full worth. 
nevertheless, the rest of this post was great

That was part of the point.  
It's usually considered a virtue in sports when an athlete places winning before financial compensation.  Who on the Mavericks made that type of sacrifice?  You can easily make the case that Miami has plenty of "team first" guys on their roster as well.  

Although I wanted to see Dallas beat Miami in the Finals, I can't view Dallas as an "underdog" in this league.  They go deep into the luxury tax every year in attempt to put the best team on the floor and, though that's great for Dallas fans, many others view it as an attempt to buy a championship.  While onlookers have spent the better part of a year excoriating James and Wade for engineering free agent signings that are supposedly "anti-competitive," the same could be said about any team that seeks to use a larger market or an especially deep-pocketed ownership group to its advantage.  

Why is it that an owner can attempt to game the system to their advantage, but players can't?  People don't seem to like the idea that athletes can influence the balance of power in the league or even their own situations.  Whenever a player attempts to force a trade or discourage a particular team from drafting them, fans boil over with rage, and it just seems to feed back into this notion that players are expected to "know their place" and should never aspire to exceed their station.  


QFT

 

[nychiphophippo]

all i know is that "ghetto" basketball destroyed beijing in 08. deshawn stevenson and the epitomy of "ghetto" ball the undersized SG mold in jason terry is more hood than miamis big 3.

 

[melovp]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Damn I never even thought about the White Star vs. "This is what is wrong with the game" Black Dudes, matchup during the finals. Hmmm, I am sure it mattered to some.

lol i thought about it quite often..especially with it being Dallas 

 

[honest abe lives]

I absolutely agree, the hate on Lebron may possibly, in some cases, definitely be tinged by racism. Same with the extreme criticism of Obama for example.

However, that does not excuse the fact that the hate is, at its core, mostly warranted based off behavior. It's tinged by racism, not completely motivated by racism.

If it's 10% or even 30% racist, does that completely negate the 70% that is legit? Does Lebron get a free pass because he doesn't deserve the extent of hate he's received?

 

[trelvis tha thrilla]

Originally Posted by Method Man



It's usually considered a virtue in sports when an athlete places winning before financial compensation.  Who on the Mavericks made that type of sacrifice?  You can easily make the case that Miami has plenty of "team first" guys on their roster as well. 

Dirk...He could have taken more money, but gave Cuban a discount so he could pick up other players...

 

[wade187]

Originally Posted by JewSeeJay

Originally Posted by TheBlackHole76

Silly.

Even sillier considering the fact that not a single one of the Big 3 is even remotely "ghetto" or "thuggish" or even remotely representing "street gangs" or "black rappers". Wade is a nice, mild-mannered guy. Lebron has had no off-court trouble whatsoever (besides having an immense ego). Bosh is... come on, it's Bosh.

"even if u in a Benz... u still a ____ inna coupe"

they dont care about these guys personalities or persona... theyre black. case closed. thugs

You sound stupid cause you actually serious. Yeah racism still alive, but when Lebron was in Cleveland majority of the world was loving him. So what are you even saying? I read through this thread (except Method man's comments of course) and most of you are making something out of nothing. The first translation sounded like they put that %+@# into google all butchered and %+@#. And honestly I think the only people who saw it as the great white hope vs (ghetto basketball) are people who first off don't even watch basketball, and second are just plain racist. Your average man wasn't seeing that so none of this is relevant. People hated the heat cause of their ego, not cause they were thuggish and definitely not because of the way they play the game.

 

[engoi]

Originally Posted by MartianRefugee

Originally Posted by devildog1776

i looked at it like that from the beginning of the series.... it was DIRK vs those black guys ..


deep down skin color will always be an issue , even if its not perpetuated by hate it will be the lingering topic

Und sie sagen RASSISMUS ist verstorben


note:
tone of statement
Capitalization of the word dirk
THOSE BLACK GUYS not even worth naming
reiteration  and propagation of the racist/separatist mantra

given this information i have come to the conclusion you sir aren't

 BLACK

I'm german and don't be so quick with the word racism.
Black players are appreciated, unappreciated are players who acting like fools.
Dressing like gangsters, wasting money and disrespect their opponents.
That Wade/Lebron behavior, mocking Dirk was not very smart and that they played
on a team which was simply build to buy a championship helped not either.

 

[gangsta207therevolution]

Originally Posted by Method Man

Damn I never even thought about the White Star vs. "This is what is wrong with the game" Black Dudes, matchup during the finals. Hmmm, I am sure it mattered to some.

It mattered a lot to some folks - and there's no question that many were tacitly motivated by racism.  This German article simply translates the code-speak that our countrymen use only to fool themselves.

Let's call this "team basketball" "one for all and all for one" hype out for what it is.  It's the same rhetoric used when promoting Duke against the Fab Five and has less to do with each team's actual demography than what they supposedly "represent."  

There's no question that this was sold as another "great white hope" scenario.  The so-called "team play" angle is cut from the same cloth as the stereotype that White players are all about hustle, teamwork, commitment and fundamentals, whereas Black athletes are reduced to primitive bundles of fast-twitch muscle who slide by on raw, natural athletic talent.  Language like "supreme physical specimen" seems lifted from the vernacular of a slave auction and is reserved almost exclusively for Black athletes.  So, even though he's a 7 foot tall perimeter player, Dirk Nowitzki is considered a blue collar, "Larry Bird" type rather than a "freak of nature."  (Despite their similarities, I've never heard anyone compare Kevin Durant to Larry Bird - and he is frequently referred to as a genetic freak.)

When you look at the Dallas Mavs, you don't see a lot of players really sacrificing their individual games for the better of the team to the same extent as, say, the 2008 Boston Celtics.  I didn't once hear ANYONE present Lakers/Celtics as "ghetto basketball" vs. "team basketball," even if Kobe Bryant is often considered the epitome of selfishness.  (To the point where, if he's called selfish, he might pout and decide to hurt his team by refusing to shoot simply to prove his worth.)  Championship teams generally consist of players with different specializations working in concert.  That's an angle that could conceivably be pitched every year.  What about when the "starless" Detroit Pistons beat the ultimate group of ring-chasers, the 2004 LA Lakers?  Did Rasheed Wallace help lead the charge against "ghetto basketball" then?  Of course not - and we all know why.

The Dallas Mavericks are NOT a Cinderella story.  The Mavs spent nearly $24 million MORE on player salaries this year than the Miami Heat.  Only the Lakers have a higher payroll.  Dirk Nowitzki is accepting almost $3 million MORE than LeBron James this year alone.  

There are plenty of reasons to dislike LeBron James.  Perhaps you don't think he's deserved all of the accolades he's received.  Perhaps you're sick of watching him get away with "crab dribbles" and offensive fouls.  Perhaps you think he's a narcissist.  Hating LeBron James for exercising his right to choose his own employer, however, is a stupid reason to dislike him - even if you live in Ohio.  He wanted the chance to work with his best friend.  Wouldn't that be a valid reason for any of us to consider changing employers?  All things being equal, I think most of us would prefer to work with people we like and live somewhere with a pleasant climate.  The so-called "big three" all left money on the table in order to do so.  Udonis Haslem turned down a big contract from the Dallas Mavericks and accepted far less than he was worth to stay with the franchise that drafted him.  If you wanted to cheer for the team that put winning ahead of individual salaries... that team was the Miami Heat, not the Dallas Mavericks.  

You can call them ring chasers, but they were no more desperate in their pursuit than Mark Cuban.  If you hate seeing millionaires whine when things don't get their way... then Mark Cuban fits that bill as well as LeBron James.

Don't get me wrong:  I happen to dislike LeBron James as a player (I'm a Wizards fan, for starters, but the Jordan comparisons also irk the hell out of me) and I did want to see the Heat lose (in part because I thought Wade's attempt to pull Rondo down, which accidentally resulted in the dislocation of Rondo's elbow, was a dirty play and also, in part, because of the premature celebration the team staged at the so-called big three's rock concert introduction, before they'd played a single game together.)  Playful jabs and gamesmanship are part of sports.  It's the seething, personal hatred that I don't understand.  

Look at longtime media darling Brett Favre.  As much as ESPN hyped the LeBron's free agency to oblivion, the network once had a dedicated Brett Favre section of their news ticker.  Favre's stretched the self-aggrandizing "will he or won't he" act out over the last four seasons.  He even signed with Green Bay's bitter division rivals and sexually harassed an employee of the New York Jets.  He may be a punchline, but the overall level of vitriol against him has never approached what LeBron James faces.  

Honestly, I think people are tapping into this feeling that LeBron James doesn't "know his place."   LeBron was, apparently, the property of Cleveland, Ohio and Dan Gilbert.  How DARE he leave at the end of his contract and select his own place of employment!  Who does he think he is?  How DARE he create his own self-serving reality show to announce his decision?  (An concept concocted by Jim Gray, by the way.)   How DARE he emphasize that we, the hoi polloi, must return to our mundane lives, while he gets to wake up tomorrow in a cavernous mansion?  

People want to humble him, to see him submit and become deferential, to acknowledge that he "owes it all to the fans," and is, somehow, their servant - and not, under any circumstances, their better.  

You can't tell me that such an attitude isn't tinged by racism.  


I dont really have a problem with anything you said, but when Bron speaks its always generalized to the general population.
He acted as if people on the lower side of the economics of America didnt find somefault with him. He acts as if the majority of his fans didnt find some sort of mania in watching him attempt to stick it to his "haters". He eliminated the escapeism that is sports with that one comment. When your talking about media and what they protray you have to be specific. The only thing that happened is that because he was protrayed to be arrogant his fans were protrayed in the same manner and inorder for them to continue to assumilate to society they got quieter/ and or embraced his arrogance. People could no longer blindly support his antics because thats what they were told mattered. They were told that he single handedly destroyed an economy, they were finally told that he was arrogant. Thats the only thing that happened. His "protected" status went away, and instead of trying to gain it back, he said forget it. But in the process of getting the last word he forgot about all of the people whom may or may not be able to discern the truth to his comments.
If you look at how media protrays it then yeah you get racism, but racists watch tv and buy products too. They assumilate into society and gain power. Its the game Lebron plays on a daily basis, not just from November to June. I chose not to play that game. The majority of people still do no matter they realise it or not.
All I'm really saying is that if your going to cry wolf like he did you have to take it a step further.  You have to state that its an issue of race. But no athlete would ever do that, especially not Lebron James.
We needed to get back to our lives, but we needed to stay within them in the first place.

All of that being said, you cant tell me that Lebron has handled the media and the things they do very well in the past year.
The media is all seeing, and refuses to acknowledge its faults on a broad scale, nothing is to sensative for them to talk about as it pretains to an individual. And they justify it by calling it the trappings of fame. If he didnt consider that before he made his decision hes a fool.

 

[shatterkneesinc]

i hate when sports become politics

 

[i am that dude]

Originally Posted by engoi

Originally Posted by MartianRefugee

Originally Posted by devildog1776

i looked at it like that from the beginning of the series.... it was DIRK vs those black guys ..


deep down skin color will always be an issue , even if its not perpetuated by hate it will be the lingering topic

Und sie sagen RASSISMUS ist verstorben


note:
tone of statement
Capitalization of the word dirk
THOSE BLACK GUYS not even worth naming
reiteration  and propagation of the racist/separatist mantra

given this information i have come to the conclusion you sir aren't

 BLACK

I'm german and don't be so quick with the word racism.
Black players are appreciated, unappreciated are players who acting like fools.
Dressing like gangsters, wasting money and disrespect their opponents.
That Wade/Lebron behavior, mocking Dirk was not very smart and that they played
on a team which was simply build to buy a championship helped not either.

Genius, the Mavs payroll is 24,000,000 MORE than the Miami Heat. If that isn't buying a title, then what is? Wasting money and dressing "like gangsters" are both heavily subjective and the latter doesn't really describe the Miami Heat anyways. Hell check out the casual nba thread, I've heard more people claim they dress "gay" then like gangsters. In summation, you did a horrible job defending your "countrymen." You don't think Dirk lives a minimalist lifestyle do you?

Spoiler

Spoiler

Spoiler [+]

Spoiler

 

[nawlinsjunkie]

What's funny is that when I went to Germany, I saw a @#$% load of white dudes dressing like American black dudes from 2003 

Unrelated to that, Germans as a whole don't seem like racist and unfriendly people, so don't make any rash judgments like that.  

 

[i am that dude]

I was over there 5th through 7th grade and also as like an infant, but I agree they always came off nice enough to me then again if they were talking wreckless I wouldn't have known anyways. We used to go to BP during lunch and get this native candy called strips, and there was always girls down in German town who would sneak into the woods and "fool around" with us, language barrier not being a factor at all because it was understood what time it was.

I'm old as %%+# though so nothing really happened back in my day, just like groping and open mouth kissing at most. Ain't no telling what little 11-13 year olds are doing down there now, probably looking like a straight up porn shoot.
Sorry, totally

+

 

[Methodical Management]

You sound stupid cause you actually serious. Yeah racism still alive, but when Lebron was in Cleveland majority of the world was loving him.

And everyone loved Harry Belafonte when he was just singing the Banana Boat song and not protesting for civil rights.  Point being:  LeBron was "loved" up until he asserted his right to self-determination.  The moment he sloughed aside his loyalties and unapologetically demonstrated that he had his own personal goals and was not, as it turned out, the property of Cleveland, Ohio, he was treated the way a people treat a dog unsatisfied with living on table scraps or how people in many parts of the world still treat women who desire self-sufficiency through education and employment.  He rejected the "bargain," the veneer of love that encases servitude, and, thus, came across as an "ingrate," as one who chose to "bite the hand that feeds him."  (Never mind how much money he made for Dan Gilbert and, to a certain extent, for the city of Cleveland and how, ultimately, ungrateful they were when all was said and done.)
These types of incidents merely bring to the surface qualities that were always present within the status quo.  Just as the oxygen present in a room feeds a fire, the racism that permeates our society carries with it an explosive potential.  The conflagration, the conflict, does not create it but, rather, merely consumes it as fuel.

Black players are appreciated, unappreciated are players who acting like fools.Dressing like gangsters, wasting money and disrespect their opponents.

The use of the term "ghetto" in this article is racist, period.  It's purely stereotypical and does not in any way describe LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh.  These guys aren't from "the ghetto," they don't dress or act...well... like this:

So, if you want to say that Wade and James were classless for mocking Dirk's illness, that's fine - and I'd agree with you - but there's still no doubt in my mind that a great many people allowed racism to influence the way they viewed this series and the Miami Heat.  

If it's 10% or even 30% racist, does that completely negate the 70% that is legit?

Let's invert that statement.  If it's "70% legit," does that negate the issue that, say, 30% of it is racist?  

We need to move beyond understanding racism as an all or nothing proposition, wherein someone is either an overtly racist person or wholly innocent.  

We still live in a racist society and the implications of that are omnipresent.  Sadly, it takes a bald assertion of racism, as in this article, to expose the attitudes that so many people have internalized and subconsciously acted upon.

 

[denni5themenace]

Originally Posted by DCAllAmerican

Damn I never even thought about the White Star vs. "This is what is wrong with the game" Black Dudes, matchup during the finals. Hmmm, I am sure it mattered to some.

same

 

[grittyman20]

Good post. 
I also thought it was interesting how the Heat players were called "classless" by many of the Dallas players, yet IMO they were the ones who were far more vocal and disrespectful with their trash talking during the series. I saw more celebrating/borderline taunting from them after momentum changing plays, but they were so bent out of shape after Lebron/Wade celebrated that huge 3 in game 2. And let's now forget about Stevenson's "Tell me how my Dirk taste" shirt after the series ended 

 

[engoi]

Originally Posted by Method Man

You sound stupid cause you actually serious. Yeah racism still alive, but when Lebron was in Cleveland majority of the world was loving him.

Black players are appreciated, unappreciated are players who acting like fools.Dressing like gangsters, wasting money and disrespect their opponents.
The use of the term "ghetto" in this article is racist, period.  It's purely stereotypical and does not in any way describe LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, or Chris Bosh.  These guys aren't from "the ghetto," they don't dress or act...well... like this:

So, if you want to say that Wade and James were classless for mocking Dirk's illness, that's fine - and I'd agree with you - but there's still no doubt in my mind that a great many people allowed racism to influence the way they viewed this series and the Miami Heat.  


The Welt is not Fox News.It's conservative but the Welt would never publish anything which screams racism.
Racism in Germany is a very sensitive thing and the author would probably face huge problems and i'm not exaggerating.
I guess blaxoid translated the text very good.

Adding one point:
Blaxoid : "Translation: Nowitzki is the guy that average Americans let in to their living rooms. He's shy, has manners & is cultured. His opponents LBJ & Wade made fun of Nowitzki's cough by imitating it in front of live cameras before Game 5. They were called childish for this, but it just helps to emphasise their arrogance & ego. That they still underestimated him showed at the end."

If you've a big mouth, you don't win sympathy.But if you've a big mouth and don't deliver, you look like an arrogant idiot.
That Dirk has a lots of fans here in Germany has to do with his heritage of course, his behaviour but also Lebrons behavior.
That the Heat were considered the Goliath and the Mavs as David adds only to the points mentioned above.

And maybe you can compare it at one point with Lance Armstrong.
How many americans cared about cycling till Armstrong won the Tour de France ?
And when he won, atleast what Ive heard, he was also for non cycling fans a star and was celebrated like no one else.

 

[Methodical Management]

If you've a big mouth, you don't win sympathy.But if you've a big mouth and don't deliver, you look like an arrogant idiot.
That Dirk has a lots of fans here in Germany has to do with his heritage of course, his behaviour but also Lebrons behavior.
That the Heat were considered the Goliath and the Mavs as David adds only to the points mentioned above.

How does that constitute ghetto basketball?  
That's not a mistranslation as the original article's title is "Nowitzki besiegt den Ghetto-Basketball."

This is to say nothing about the "street gang" nonsense.

 

[doyung9]

Originally Posted by shatterkneesinc

i hate when sports become politics

 

[engoi]

Originally Posted by Method Man

If you've a big mouth, you don't win sympathy.But if you've a big mouth and don't deliver, you look like an arrogant idiot.
That Dirk has a lots of fans here in Germany has to do with his heritage of course, his behaviour but also Lebrons behavior.
That the Heat were considered the Goliath and the Mavs as David adds only to the points mentioned above.

How does that constitute ghetto basketball?  
That's not a mistranslation as the original article's title is "Nowitzki besiegt den Ghetto-Basketball."

This is to say nothing about the "street gang" nonsense.

I don't like the title, but I can see what the author wanted to say.He described along Mavs coach Carlisle and Europes most succesful coach Ettore Messina
what is wrong with the NBA right now. To make a long story short, the think it's nowadays more a ME than WE and the author thought to describe sellfish
behaviour with Ghetto would make sense.He wrote btw nothing about street gangs.He mentioned that ghetto fashion and the color of Dirks skin could be a
reason for some americans to like Dirk and the Mavs more than the Heats according to american commentators.It's not his view.
So you should not assume because of his skin, Dirk is celebrated here in Germany.

Rick Carlisle:Es gehe darum, den Mitspielern zu vertrauen, um Teamgeist, gemeinsamen Willen, gemeinsamen Kampf. Und nicht um Einzelspieler.
It's about trusting your teammates, team spirit, common will, common battle.And not about one player.

Do you remember the movie "White man can't jump" ? When Woody Harrelson said that a black man would rather loose a game than look bad ?
Was there also assumptions of racism on this board ? Just curious.

 

[2o6]

Lebron deserves everything that is coming to him.
Congrats to Dirk , Loyalty ftw

Kobe
Duncan
Pierce
Dirk

loyalty is rewarded.

 

[i am that dude]

Originally Posted by 2o6

Lebron deserves everything that is coming to him.
Congrats to Dirk , Loyalty ftw

Kobe
Duncan
Pierce
Dirk

loyalty is rewarded.

Or maybe those guys are all immensely talented and had great supporting casts, supporting casts which in fact consisted mostly of players who were "disloyal" and had changed teams, multiple times in many cases, in pursuit of a championship.

Dirk has only been a Maverick in his career and same with Barea and Roddy and Jet has played for 2 teams, but everyone else is 3 teams or more.

I still want to see dude defend his "dress like street gangsters" comment.

And somebody lied to you if they convinced you the average American gives a &(%@ about Lance Armstrong. People buy the little yellow bands for a buck, fashion item. If you think we're having parades over here in multiple cities when he wins or something, then yea again, whoever you're getting your "what Americans are like," updates is playing you for a fool.

And for all the criticism the Big 3 get, calling them selfish would have to be the least valid. Besides taking pay cuts to come together and the obvious sacrifice of shots, magnitude of role in the offense, personal accolades, etc. that comes with getting together, none of them are selfish players. Hell, LeBron is unselfish to a fault if anything.

So much reaching, double standard, and logical fallacies is involved with the media's criticisms and particularly contrasting them to other teams and since Americans are generally the dumbest general public with regarding to just regurgitating what the media tells them, people latch on and repeat without the least bit of thought.

 

[xtapolapacetl]

Originally Posted by 2o6

Lebron deserves everything that is coming to him.
Congrats to Dirk , Loyalty ftw

Kobe
Duncan
Pierce
Dirk

loyalty is rewarded.

Duncan and Dirk, maybe. Although I am sure that although Dirk technically signed for less money, he is getting all kinds of Cuban financial benefits. Pretty sure he's able to have Mark Cuban's jet waiting for him 5 minutes after he makes the phone call, just in case he feels like taking a dump in the Alaskan snow some boring Sunday afternoon in the offseason.

@ Kobe "I want to get traded and nothing can change my mind" Bryant being loyal.

As for Pierce, you think that LeBron would've left Cleveland if Wade and Bosh came to him like KG and Allen did to Pierce in 07? Because if that didn't happen, Pierce would've never sniffed that championship, don't care how loyal he would've been. What a crap argument. So what about someone like Shaq who signed with a different team as a free agent only to start winning championships then? How does this "loyalty" justice karma fit with him? So LeBron would've been "rewarded" for his loyalty had he stayed with the Cavs. If you can call a bunch of second round exits a reward, sure. The fact remains that even though he didn't win the championship his first year with the Heat, he still got closer than he ever did with that loser franchise, and he would've ever come had he stayed there. He's still on the right track. "Loyalty" only works if you're drafted in the NBA with a silver spoon in your mouth into a franchise with a winning tradition that is able to attract free agents or at least a franchise that has the management doing all the right moves to get the necessary players who can make a championship team. LeBron had neither. On to the next one.

About this article, let them have their fun. Because they won't get many other instances to do so. If this one championship proves that some "non-ghetto" basketball is superior, then what about all the other championships? What about the 2007 playoffs, when the overwhelming favorite Dirk with by far the best record in the league having Mavs were beaten by an 8th seed Warriors led by the flashy/ghetto trio of Baron Davis, Stephen Jackson and Jason Richardson, who were way more "ghetto" than the 2011 Heat?

 

[norcalballgirl23]

Just came in to thank Meth for providing the most potent ether available - truth. Be it, blissful oblivion or failed attempts to insult our intelligence, the sports media and the vast majority of its consumers are pitiful. If this kind of motivation and sentiment weren't so pervasive and didn't detract from honest civility so much, I'd feel sorry for them and their blind followers. People spend more time justifying a hate which they aren't even able to articulate in any intelligible fashion than they do living in reality. Let alone being honest about what has really ticked them off - agency and self-determination. (ex; "lebron haters unite" thread. The average 10 year-old is able to state more convincing points supporting his or her position on a given issue). 

The irony of it all is that they're heralding a team full of black guys and one puerto rican guy as their idea of pure (white) basketball. This kind of thing has no real place in sport but bigotry is alive and well. The references to "ghetto" are hilarious. I can't even believe people are dumb enough to think that others can't recognize proxies for racism. Add to that, the pure team is managed by one the most tactless (but definitely committed!) owners in the history of professional sports. Add to that the fact you'd be hard pressed to find a photo of Dirk with his shirt actually tucked in pre-game while the ghetto guys are in suits and/or sweater vests. Presumably, that dichotomy comes down to personal style rather than an actual character assessment which is why it's never mentioned. Interesting.

I also think it's sad that instead of celebrating the mavs' successful season, many fans and the media would rather talk about the other team and particularly, LeBron. Hell, if he weren't narcissistic before (which I'm not saying he wasn't) he'd certainly be now. As a HUGE Jason Kidd fan since he was at Cal, I was pretty bummed to see stevenson sporting a shirt (a pretty fun one, though) devoted to a player on the opposing team. To put it in NT lingo, he was definitely acting like a woman scorned. He has only been outdone by the fans, they have been the worst... "team built to win a championship" "paid for a championship" "not team basketball"...it's absolutely hilarious! I mean, I know it's fun to make ridiculous statements every now and then but at some point, pride should kick in and keep you from looking like an idiot. For starters, EVERY professional sports team is compiled with the hopes of having a successful program. Why are we so pissed that some guys who enjoyed playing together during USA's decided to do it again (with a pay cut, I might add) and for their lack of experience as a unit, did surprisingly well with their first outing? For the confused, refer to a variety of statistical figures such as salary caps, luxury taxes, rebounds, assists, and fg averages throughout the season. This is not to say that the mavs weren't the better team in the finals and particularly clutch, but in no way was it the result of divine intervention and the magical prevailing of all things "good".  I nearly pulled an ab muscle laughing so hard at the David and Goliath comparison.

Keep on defending the article and the bigotry and villainizing people who don't look like you or do things in the exact manner you'd prefer (though in the broader scheme of things, it affects none of us). However, I'd suggest a road less travelled.

Thugs...what a riot! 


Anyway, nice perspective Meth. Gotta love the blind leading the blind.