Be a man, do the right thing

This will be a short one.  I don't watch NBA basketball much anymore, but I decided to tune into the Heat vs. Pacers game since the Wings don't play until tomorrow.  I made it maybe 5 minutes.  Growing up, basketball was my favorite sport.  I loved dunking on our 7 foot hoop in the driveway, pretending I was Shawn Kemp.  I got cut from the 7th grade team and my dreams of hearing my named chanted at the Palace were dashed.  However, there were still the Flintstones to watch (actually attended school with Charlie Bell's younger brother for a time) and then the resurgence of the Pistons in the early to mid 2000s.  However as Ben and Chauncey left, Rip faded, and I left Michigan, I lost interest.    I enjoy going to the occasional Spurs game, watched March Madness, and cheer on some of my friends and co-workers on the squadron team.  There never was a clear cut decision to not watch basketball, games just stopped holding my interest.

While my interest in basketball has waned, my nephew has got me caught up in the world of international soccer.  (football if I'm being pretentious) I try and keep up mainly with UEFA and CONCACAF champions leagues as well as some MLS and BPL.  Usually the players will enrage me and my wife has learned to leave the room if I'm watching a non-Panamanian game.  I believe we are trying to keep this a rated G blog, so I won't use direct quotes. Basically, she hears shouts such as "Oh, cut it out!  Get up you punk!  He didn't even touch you!"  I generally choose my favorite teams and players based on who stays on their feet the most. 

After watching all this, I started to theorize on why soccer has never been a major sport (not counting FIFA) in the US.  My suspicion had been these floppers.  Do a quick search on youtube and you are bound to find dozens of hilarious bad flopping compilations.  However, we live in 'murica where these colors don't run.  Our sports heroes are rough and tumble men that relocate dislocated joints and chop off bits of phalanges that are not allowing them to return to the field of play.  Urijah Faber fought 4 rounds of a title fight with two broken hands.

I cannot stand this style of cowardice.  Watching Tyler Hansborough dive to the ground caught him near the face about as hard as you would use to discipline a 6 month old sickens me.  Shortly thereafter, LeBron hit the deck and Marv Albert was saying how he should have sold it more.  He then admired Tony Allen's flop that sent the Grizzlies - Spurs game into OT last night. He said it was a great job in selling the call.  Are you kidding me?  "Good job you lied and made yourself look like a sissy on international television."?  Does that seem right to you.  Needless to say, "River Monsters" was on my TV within a couple minutes.

It just grosses me out.  As Russell Peters says, "Be a man.  Do the right thing."  Don't trade your integrity for a silly game.  Maybe I'm the only one that feels this way.  Maybe the Marv Alberts outnumber the Chris Boyces of the world.  That won't change my mind though.  Get off the court or pitch and stop being a cry baby.  You've got a game to play.