He [Amaechi] writes that the pros play the game for a lot of reasons–money, fame,
groupies, self-esteem–but that very few NBA players love basketball.
"The fan sitting at home … wants us to love the game like he does," he
writes. "If he knew why we really play the game, for the most part, he
might not love the game. He might not even watch it." The average fan,
gay or straight, will probably find that contention more troubling than
a former player’s homosexuality.
Here is more.
one of the most successful professional Go player in Japan, Cho Chikun, asked why he liked go so much, replied: “I hate Go”.
The reason was that he has such an intense desire to win that it becomes debilitating, especially during a two-day match
http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/orient/go/japan/archive/meijin25bts.html
http://senseis.xmp.net/?ChoChikun
That is hyperbole.
It probably has some element of truth but it’s way overstated.
This contrasts sharply with Scott Adams’ reasoning that all shoe-salesmen have a foot-fetish.
One of the classic big problems for people in the arts is that they go into the arts because they love it — painting, designing, acting, music, whatever. If they’re lucky, they get to make a living at what they love. But then … it becomes a job. And once it becomes a job many of them find that the spark goes away. They can deploy their skills, they’re putting some talent to work, they’re glad to have the money, etc. But what happened to the joy they initially felt, that brought them into the field in the first place? I’ve known artsies who’ve sensed this coming, or who have had a taste of financial success, and who have backed away from it because it was more important for them to nurture (and experience) the joy than it was to make it as a professional.
Sounds like this may be true for some athletes as well. I wonder in how many fields this often becomes the case?
And an interesting little conundrum for economists to look into, no? At least in my ideal universe economists would enjoy looking into this kind of thing …
I do not believe Amaechi started playing basketball until he was 17. Plus, he’s British. Of course, he doesn’t like basketball.
“How many people love their jobs? I would guess it’s well below 50%.”
It depends on the job. I suspect that at least a portion of basketball players really do have a passion for the game, but how many janitors really have a passion for cleaning up shit? I’m a finance student and done a few internships, and I’ve observed that people who work as prop traders, on average, like their job a whole lot better than people that do fund accounting. And yet – at times you do find people that are really passionate about working for a bank.
Jeff Kent makes it known that he views playing baseball as a job – he doesn’t like the game, but works hard because it gives him a paycheck. I think people can respect that: a whole lot of people don’t like their careers but find happiness in their personal and spiritual life. Yet there are a significant number of players that do have a passion for the game they’re playing (see: Ricky Henderson, who is a geezer in baseball terms but still plays in the minors because he doesn’t want to stop playing).
Anthony is probably correct.
John Amaechi did make it known how other NBA players view homosexuality, by getting the type of reaction
he got from Tim Hardaway. that doesn’t matter though, all of these players are retired and nobody cares
what they think. I hope he feels relieved by comming out, but the charity work he does is more important than his
than his sexuality. Doesn’t he know that it’s 2007 and the gay lifestyle is distinguished in every race. a
There are even datimg shows on MTV for the gay lifestyle as well straight lifestyle, its EVERWHERE!!!
If you want to hear a great commentary on the NBA, listen to “The NBA: Marketing The Minstrel Show and Serving the Big Gangsters” By Bob Avakian, Chairman of the Revolutionary Communist Party (at http://www.bobavakian.net)
thank you very much for this article
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