NBA Playoffs, baybay! My favorite professional sport is tennis, and that's largely because it's the one sport I found while growing up at which I wasn't a complete tragedy. However, it's hard to strike up a casual conversation about that sport. You can't go into a bar and talk about the upcoming Davis Cup tie or your predictions for the players who'll have a great clay court season. Maybe you could have those talks in country clubs or something, but they don't let poor, stinky slobs inside just to talk about tennis and drink all the booze. As a result of all of this, I have elevated basketball to the spot of almost-favorite sport. All of that being said, NBA playoffs, baybay!
The NBA playoffs are great for a few reasons.
1. I love to watch 7 ft tall guys cry, whether it's tears of joy or sorrow.
2. I love to watch 7 ft tall guys airball their free-throws. (I'm not sure if I can use airball as a verb.)
3. I love to watch 7 ft tall guys scream, pound their chest, and start dancing.
I'm sure that somewhere, over the next few weeks, all three of those will happen in a 30 second span. That's why I watch the playoffs.
I also watch the playoffs because my favorite sports team, the Dallas Mavericks, figures prominently. Like many years in the past, I am convinced that they will win the championship. Like many other years, I have bet the deed to my house on this. Like many other years, I'm not worried about that bet because I don't even own a house, and the bookies have pretty much run out of hard things on me that they can break. Like a lot of other sports fans, I watch a certain team because I've invested a lot of time in them. For years, I've watched the Mavericks and I've built up an incredible reserve of ill-will towards them for all of the defeats I've had to watch. This leads to me now, pointing at the TV and shrieking, "You owe me this one!" whenever Adrian Griffin approaches the foul line. It's not pretty, but it's satisfying.
Sports are popular, I think, because it gives us a lot of things we lack in regular life. There's a lot of drama and conflict, as well as a large group with which we can identify. There are also cornie dog vendors. If you're feeling the need to get primal, the NBA playoffs are a good place to start. Also, you may luck into some 7 footers crying, and that ain't too shabby on its own.
Posted by Cody at April 25, 2006 5:49 PM