I started writing this rant on Thursday to explain that April and May are the craziest months for any all-sport fan like myself. It was a good rant, with plenty of jokes about the NFL Draft and its unhealthy obsession with muscular young men. But it never quite got finished because I was busy watching baseball/basketball/hockey/football.
And then, a few hours ago, I went to the first NBA playoff game of my adult life. I've been a beaten-down Warriors fan since the old Run T.M.C. days, so I can't tell you how exciting it is just to see them in the playoffs.
What I can tell you about is that after a judiciously placed eBay purchase, I went to one of the loudest parties I've ever experienced. It was crazy in that house, with loud chants about Dirk Nowitzki, David Hasselhoff, the questionable quality of referee calls, and a whole lot of "NOOOO... WAIT, YEEEEEEEAH!" when the Warriors threw up ill-advised shots that somehow found the bottom of the net. My throat hurts from hours of shouting, my hearing is dulled... it's everything I love about watching college football, though it costs a metric assload more.
It's a joy I could get used to, really. I mean, the last time I went to a Warriors game was some time around 2002 or 2003 with my college roommate (pictured above behind that sexy Asian dude), back when Steve Nash was still a Dallas Maverick and Don Nelson was on the wrong side of the scorer's table.
The Warriors got absolutely crushed, and no one in the building was really surprised. I mean, seriously, can you really expect a team headed by a guy named "The Squirrel" to win?
Now, the shoe's on the other foot. I was happy just to see the Warriors in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. I came in to game 4 thinking "Man, no matter what happens here, I'm going to come out happy because this is gonna be a psyched-up crowd that's just ecstatic to be here."
By the fourth quarter, I told my buddy PV=nguyenRT that I'd be disappointed with anything less than a win, and the Warriors fulfilled their end of the bargain. I really could get used to this whole "winning" thing. It's new and strange to me, but it definitely feels nice.
So go Warriors! Take Dirk Nowitzki and his David Hasselhoff karaoke out of the playoffs and into an off-season of soul-searching and self-doubt, and put the fear of the upset into the hearts of whichever team manages to crawl away from the Houston-Utah bloodbath!
Anime review rant to come later this week, as long as the Warriors don't lose three in a row and force me into hiding. Fourth episodes are coming soon, and I figure I can write reasoned critiques of most of them by then!
