Posts Tagged ‘Magic Johnson’

What You Hatin’ For?

Friday, March 25th, 2011

5 and counting!

Watching this current NBA season I have gained a new level of respect for Kobe Bean Bryant. Now I have always known he was a great player destined for the hall of fame but this season gave me a new perspective on just how mentally strong he is. In the words of my comrade PJ “Kobe has the body of a 50 year old!” What’s amazing to me is the way he deals with his injuries and stays focused on the big picture.

After the last lost to the Miami Heatles instead of just relaxing knowing he is a 5 time champion, he instead went to work on his shot after the game. Then after watching him get a sprained ankle I thought he would be out a least a week, considering Boozer just missed 5 games with the same injury, but he didn’t miss a game.

This in my opinion is what separates him from every other player in the league. Now I know all of the “King James” fans probably won’t read this entire post, but if you do I got love for you, and if you don’t Marshall Faulk You and go Cheddar Bob yourself!

Cheddar Bob from 8 Mile

The funny thing is, the more I recognize Kobe’s mental toughness he seems to get more hate. In the words of the legendary Philly rap crew Major Figgas “What you hatin’ for?” People in Philly say they hate him because “he disrespected the Sixers in their fans in the finals!” So What! Get over it! Then you have the Lebron fans who refuse to give him credit because in their words “Lebron makes his team better!” And Kobe doesn’t? Lmao!!!! Or they hit you with the “Kobe always had help and Lebron didn’t!” First off that’s just dumb, and I need people to start forming their own opinion and stop repeating nonsense they hear! Michael Jordan had a hall of fame running mate, Bill Russell had more than one hall of famer on his championship teams, when Wilt won titles he had hall of fame help, Dr J. had hall of fame help, Isiah had hall of fame help, and by this time you get the point and if not immediately go to the highest floor possible of wherever you are and jump right now! Another funny one is “He is arrogant!” Lmao! Name me one great player that isn’t arrogant. The hate gets so bad that after Kobe scored 42 pts in a triple overtime game I received an email with this pic attached.

I can’t lie, I LMAO!!!!!!!!!

I’m not just talking to Lebron fans. I have had this debate with Iverson fans, Vince Carter fans, T-Slack fans, D. Wade fans, and now Lebron fans. That brings up another point. All of the guys I mentioned at one point in time were “supposed” to be the best player in the league but there has been one constant during all this time and that has been Kobe.

There is a difference between being a great player and being a winner. Then there is a difference between being a winner and being champion. I consider myself a student of the game and when I look at the history of the game there were only a handful of players that had the mental toughness that made them a champion. Guys like Jordan, Russell, Bird, Magic, and Kobe. As great as Wilt was he didn’t care enough about the game. He had his mind on breaking the BYU honor code as many times as humanly possible. Wilt was a winner but Russell was a champion.

20,000 and counting

Jordan III’s

Jordan XI’s

Now I know all the Kobe haters, if they are still reading at this point, are sick or saying hateful things about him and that’s expected. I too have had players I didn’t like. Most people think Jordan was the GOAT but I don’t and I also didn’t like his a$$ when he played. In fact I don’t like him to the point that I call him Thed. Thed is an acronym that stands for “The Hooped Earring Dude”. I didn’t like Thed to the point that I never owned a pair of Jordans. (I had to make an exception for the Jordan III’s and XI’s because those were as hot as fishgrease cooked on August 18th!) The difference is my hate for Jordan didn’t cloud my judgment when it came to his game. Mike was a monster and he was one of the greatest players to ever do it! He was still a cornball that wore a wack a$$ hoop earing.

My point is, because you don’t like Kobe for something that has nothing to do with basketball don’t judge his game based on that. I can understand not liking him but I hear Kobe detractors use that as the reasons why he isn’t the best playing or even a great player. Learn to separate your hate for the man from your judgment of him as a player. You have a chance to watch one of the greatest to ever do it, so appreciate it. Now for all the Kobe haters that made it this far; You may now start hating!!!

Jimmy Williams

Kiss My Mascot!!!

Monday, March 14th, 2011

As an adult when I go to sporting events at times I get irritated by the mascots. They run around act a fool and sometimes get in the way of the actual event. I sometimes wonder if they are even necessary.

Back in November (2010), the old Sixers and Flyers arena, The Spectrum, was set to be demolished. On tv as they were showing footage from events in the arena they flashed pictures of the old Sixers Mascot Big Shot. I had not seen Big Shot in years because he had been replaced by a steroid using hyper active bunny named Hip-Hop.

Big Shot

Hip-Hop

At the moment I saw Big Shot all sorts of memories popped in my head. I thought of going to Sixers games as a kid with my father, uncle or grandfather and watching Dr. J and Magic put on performances that make the current NBA look like a minor league. I thought of watching Charles Barkley playing his heart out and intimidating players that were Bigger, Stronger, and Faster than he was. I thought of watching Michael Jordan play live and putting the fear of GOD in Hersey Hawkins just by looking him in the eye.

What I realized when I saw Big Shot was he represented the moment when I fell in love with hoops. So maybe mascots do play a part in the sports world. Maybe there are kids right now at Sixers games who are watching Hip-Hop and are falling in love with the game. I doubt it though. Later in life when they see Hip-Hop they may think of Evan Turner stinking the place up or Elton Brand being abused by every other teams’ big men, or Andre Iguodala being asked to do more than he should.

On second thought maybe I should be giving credit to Dr. J, Maurice Cheeks, Moses Malone, Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird and many of the legends I had the privilege of watching play at the Spectrum.

I guess mascots can represent both the good and bad. Unless of course we are talking about the Phillie Phanatic because he kicks a$$ no matter how good or bad the Phillies are.

The G.O.A.T Mascot!

What do mascots mean to you? Do they matter at all? Or am I just tripping?

Jimmy Williams

Magic Johnson and Tyler Perry

Friday, December 3rd, 2010

Kareem vs. Jordan (The Brand)

Monday, October 4th, 2010

Anyone who listens to the greatest Marshall Faulkin sports talk show on internet radio Thursdays @ 6pm est (shameless plug) knows unlike the masses I do not consider Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player ever. I am not a Jordan hater and I do recognize his greatness but I do not consider him the “G.O.A.T.” Before you comment on this post with your subjective conclusions please read the entire post and don’t respond with the lame ass argument of “He changed the game”, “He saved the NBA.” That’s all bullshit! Step your game up and study your history before commenting with that nonsense.

As I recently stated Jordan “The Brand” is powerful and is the most recognizable brand in NBA history. The great marketing efforts of Nike and the NBA made Jordan a household name. What people have to understand is that before Michael Jordan, there were not many athletes that received the marketing he did and many people grew up hearing he was the greatest player of all time.

I stated that the greatest player of all time was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and I honestly believe that. I am not saying that for the sake of argument. I can give you stats if you want, but instead I will give you my opinion on why I believe people consider Mike as the greatest and why I disagree without using statistics.

Kareem’s last six seasons were the most seen out of his entire career. There wasn’t a chance to market him even if the NBA wanted to. Kareem wasn’t marketable anyway. He was dominant but predictable. Everyone knew the hook shot was coming but no one could stop it. It wasn’t exciting and fans love excitement. Fans could not connect to him. He angered many Americans when he skipped the 68 Olympics in protest of Americas’ racial climate. He never wanted to be loved like many of today’s’ players. Kareem was an intellectual who didn’t care what people felt about him.

Jordan was drafted in 84 but there was something that was more important to the NBA around that time than MJ being drafted. David Stern became commissioner. David Stern is the greatest sports commissioner in the history of sports. He transformed the league by realizing the potential in marketing individual players as opposed to teams and he found a partner in Nike who at the time was not the dominant brand it is today. In sports timing is everything. Jordan was a great player who came around at the right time. If it was Kobe that came in the league in 84 and received that same marketing people would be screaming Kobe is the greatest.

I honestly believe that Kareem converting to Islam had a major impact on his legacy. I believe that if he would have remained Lew Alcindor he would be mentioned more often than he is for being the “G.O.A.T” MJ on the other hand is a capitalist who has made a lot of money but never spoke on social issues. Have you ever heard MJ speak on poverty, homelessness, racism, or politics although he had and continues to have a huge platform to make a difference? He doesn’t want to hurt his brand.  Former Charlotte, N.C., mayor Harvey Gantt, an African-American, twice ran and lost U.S. Senate challenges to unseat Jesse Helms. When approached by Gantt’s campaign for an endorsement, Jordan replied dismissively, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.” Kareem on the other hand has authored several books and speaks at universities on all of these topics. Because of this he has hurt his brand but unlike the rest of the world who watches sports through SportsCenter highlights I appreciate his impact not only on the game but society in general. I know many of you are saying well that has nothing to do with what happens on the court but in my opinion part of the reason Jordan is widely considered the greatest has nothing to do with what happened on the court but how he was sold to us. Many people just take what they hear as gospel without giving it thought. To quote Kareem “I’m not comfortable being preachy, but more people need to start spending as much time in the library as they do on the basketball court.”

Last but not least Kareem gave Bruce Lee a fair one and Mike cannot say that. Lol

Jimmy Williams