Not sure what I'm going to say now that I've gotten the ball rolling, or if anybody will care to read it, but I suppose thats really of no importance if I approach this thing as an ostensibly personal exercise. Blogs are, from my vantage, a semi-narcissistic pathway, a haphazardly constructed whim of strategically placed "pay-attention-to-me" concoctions. Now, this is not necessarily an indictment of this medium, however I do feel it is underutilized. I love knowing what my friends are thinking, especially the ones I pass infrequently because I'm not often to get on the horn just to chat. I like being in the loop without the legwork, the constant feeling of duty involved. Anyway, lets see how this thing sorts itself out...
I've got all the windows open and a gentle summer breeze is filtering in as I watch my Baby Bulls run out the clock in Game 3 against the Heat. Sipping some Jack and Coke, blasting the new Boss CD, watching the colors change on the horizon as the sun sets over the Pacific. Couldn't be happier to be strictly honest. For those of you who dont know, I'm moving back to Chicago in a little over a month to put the period on my one year experiment with the Bay Area. I'll get to that eventually, but what is currently on my mind is this basketball jones I've been feelin in my bones. I've always been addicted to the aesthetic of the game - filling the lanes on a break, making the extra pass, squaring your shoulders for a wide open three. Posting up with a shoulder dip fake to the right and a drop step left while you absorb the weakside help D with your upperbody and kiss it off the block with a quick wristflip/babyhook that you've practiced in your driveway thousands of times. The gymrat of my youth knows why I love this game so much, but lately it seems that this love has only grown. I think these Bulls have a lot to do with that. I mean, what a fun team to root for. Passionate, fundamental, intelligent. It's the way I've always tried to play basketball, to convey that deep affecting love for the game in every single facet, to display an ever evolving synergy with all members of your squad. By the way, its final, Bulls 109 - Heat 90 in a must win at the United Center. What an effort with your back to the wall. Heres something I wrote last year around this time about the way the basketball culture in Chicago has effected me:
The NBA playoffs set off some sort of chemical domino tumble in my head that always seem to get things going for me. I remember the early days at 20 West Burton, sitting in my favorite blue canvas chair, summer quick on my heels watching Jordan and company discover who they were against the Pistons. Losing, losing, losing and finally breaking through in 91 with that magical run. The playoffs set something off with me because there is no tomorrow in many cases and a year full of toil and strife boils down to a few moments, a good inbounds pass, a properly broken press, a conditioned soul. Watching my guys in the fray has been good for me, they are being tested as human beings, not only athletes. Deng, BG, Kirk, Nocioni, Tyson are all our age. I think that gets lost in the shuffle. They are at similar crossroads as we, albeit at vastly different addresses. I draw on their convictions and I relish in their victories much like I did as a small child and much like I will when Im old, bent over and full of laughter at where my life has taken me.
More to come...
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