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Q-o-t-D 5/25/13 |
| Posted by TheBEEZER 20 Hours Ago
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Okay, we have one Baseball position in this series...Outfield...I've noticed, the biggest factor for the most part seems to be offensive numbers...well, except when 3B...Read More
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Motivation. We’re all in the business of judging motivation every day. “Why did my boss say that?” “I hate going to Walmart because they set things up so you buy them.” “Yeah, I think that guy giving away candy out of his plain white van is legit.” For me, however, motivation is a little higher on Maslow’s hierarchy, as in, “Man, I hope I can find some motivation.” Motivation is one of those multipurpose words in the English language. I think I shall call it the “M” word. My motivation level is just something short of poster material right about now, but I have commitments so here's the Friday Roundtable....
As the saying goes, “If you’ve never failed, you’ve never lived.” Let me just tell you a little something, I’m doing a big heap of living. I feel like the guy who decided that walking on hot coals for a “motivation day” would be a good idea. Hey, these guys are definitely living.
I spent my Thursday absolutely riveted by all the “tweeting” going on about LeBron James’ free agency decision. I wonder what is the motivation behind an hour long press conference? Could it be that he doesn’t trust the media machine that made him who he is to adequately cover this momentous occasion in NBA history? Surely there’s never been a better or more adored player in the history of the league. One of my favorite tweets: “Have you heard about the new LeBron James cell phone? It only vibrates because it has no ring.” The fact though is that he’s raising money for Boys & Girls Clubs, and the broadcast is expected to raise $1.5MM for the charity...of course, this amount is rather dwarfed by the contract he will sign with the Miami Heat. Rather along the lines of one of those, “Need a penny, take a penny” dishes at the convenience store, I suspect.
Of course, there’s always hangers on for all kinds of reasons. A Washington attorney has filed suit against King James because he claims he is LeBron’s father. He is seeking $4-Million in “damages.” Really, now? He started trying to determine paternity in 2007...Really? That long ago? I’m still trying to figure out how he has been the least bit damaged...you know, other than that he has no access to the King’s ransom. THAT my dear friends is some real suspect motivation particularly given that he’s admitting to statutory rape - he was 30 when LB’s mother was 16 - and that he never actually did anything to figure out if this was his child at the time.
Motivation is a funny thing, really. Motivation can be articulated in terms that seem proximate to the situation, but is more often underlying deeper desires. Jack Del Rio has allowed Maurice Jones-Drew to do a Friday radio program on Fantasy sports because he’s a fantasy all star...but early last season he pulled the plug on a David Garrard program because - the speculation goes - that he wasn’t exactly saying things without saying them. He’s now saying that he has different expectations from players of different positions. Hmm. I don’t know. We should coin a phrase, “Motivational consistency.”
LeBron could have written his ticket anywhere, but chose Miami. Nightlife. South Beach. Will Smith. Think about the suitors who were interested: Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Miami Heat. Which team has little history up to which that one Super Star presence would have to live? Think perhaps his motivation was to go to a place somewhat ambivalent about their team and to take the opportunity to build a legacy instead of living up to that of another?
As you are doubtlessly aware, it is a Dutch-Spanish World Cup final. The last finalists - France and Italy both made ingratious early exits and Brazil lost to the Dutch in the round of 16. So, how does Brazil keep itself on the soccer radar? Well, imagine for a minute that the aforementioned LeBron, or probably more apropos analogy would be someone like CC Sabathia, was accused of killing a former lover. Bruno de Souza, goalkeeper of Brazil’s most popular soccer team, has turned himself in on a kidnapping and murder investigation around a woman suspected of being a former paramour. This is big news in a soccer crazed country - and particularly big news considering their national team is not in the hunt for another trophy. Consider this for a moment - in Germany, they’re calling to grill an octopus all because it correctly called the German team’s World Cup matches - up to and including the defeat by Spain. What would the Brazilians do to this guy?
I’m pretty sure fans of the Knickerbockers are thinking quite highly of the grilling idea for LeBron - they feel like a jilted lover (especially those who felt his choice of Connecticut was telegraphing his decision). Cleveland fans are feeling like a jilted spouse (Hey, LB, how does my a$$ taste). Miami fans are already getting fitted for their 2011 World Champions gear. But they won’t be lining up for their #23 jerseys...the Heat retired that number in honor of...Michael Jordan. Ah, the sweet irony there: the man who overshadows LeBron’s greatness by orders of magnitude will keep LBJ from wearing his number on a team for whom MJ never played. Funny how motivations sometimes have lasting effects in unintended ways...so he doesn’t have to live up to MJ’s success in Chicago, but will still have to live in his shadow in Miami.
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