Just One of the Guys: My Trip Into the Nets’ Locker Room and Beyond
So the thing is, that it was me, going to them with my ironic questions, which was kind of bullshit. Not because the questions were bullshit, and certainly not because the answers that these guys gave me were bullshit, but because sports is not really the place for humor, or at least not humor of the cynical persuasion. Because even though these guys answered my questions, they answered them straight, with no irony at all. That’s the thing with sports and sports journalism, I realized. Everything that athletes do professionally is done with a sincerity and a kind of an earnestness that is lacking in many other areas of modern life, especially in journalism and especially in New York. Everything these days is made fun of so easily, dismissed with a ready quip, and sports and athletes are a prime target. It’s like that line in Annie Hall, when Alvy, alone in a bedroom at an awful party, which is a pretty spot-on depiction of what bad parties are like even now, is watching basketball and is asked by his wife-at-the-time, “What is so fascinating about a group of pituitary cases trying to stuff a ball through a hoop?”
Alvy replies, “What is fascinating is that it’s physical. You know, that’s one thing about intellectuals. They prove that you can be absolutely brilliant and have no idea what’s going on.”
I thought about that while I attended the Nets Open Practice this past Sunday. I got to sit down on the floor again and watch these men do what they do best. And it was really a joy to watch. After the practice, fans could come down and try to get autographs and talk to the players. The players hung out for awhile; I saw them sign everything from programs to a sock that someone had just taken off. One kid, about fourteen or fifteen, was jumping up and down because Deron Williams had high-fived him. The excitement was palpable and the players handled it with as much grace and ease as they had moved with a few minutes earlier, on the court, ball in hand.
The fans were excited because this is now Brooklyn’s team. And the Nets are not Brooklyn’s team because they are hipsters or capable of coming up with funny quips to questions. They are Brooklyn’s team because they’re here to play and hopefully to win and they will do it using their physicality and they will have a huge and energized fan base at their disposal. Even if I don’t know for sure what Jerry Stackhouse’s favorite color is, I don’t really care. Sometimes it’s good to just turn off your intellect and embrace the physical.
But if you are still wondering what Josh Childress’s favorite food is, it’s tacos. And he’s still looking for the best taco place in Brooklyn, so feel free to leave a comment for him and we’ll pass it along.
Follow Kristin Iversen on twitter @kmiversen