Photo by alancleaver_2000 on Flickr
Today is the greatest day in basketball history. We did it. Together, as bloggers and fans, we defeated the lockout. Us 1, Lockout 0.
There was the lockout trying to be cool, hurting our feelings, and keeping us down. What did we do to stop it? We just believed, and it all happened. There were people that said we couldn’t do it, but we showed them.
It wasn’t easy. Most people thought we wouldn’t get to this point, especially this soon. There were some daunting obstacles. The CBA was a mess, the BRI gap was wide, and the only thing anyone could agree on was that Baron Davis’s hipster fashion sense looked unique. All of the arguing, all of the conflict, and all of the insecurity seemed to be coming to a head. Derek Fisher looked extra serious, and every media report pierced our souls. The future was bleak, but our hearts were strong, or at least strong enough to form a poorly constructed metaphor. We updated our blogs, we kept discussion logical and real on the Internet, and we complained about it on real life and online forums. This lockout formed a tidal wave against us, but our stronger metaphor fought back and won. Us 1, Lockout 0.
As the great philosopher Ke$ha once said, “We R Who We R”. And boy, was she right. Who we “R” is an unstoppable force that met the immovable object (in this case, it’s Dan Gilbert’s font choices) and punched it write in its stupid Comic Sans face. “Ow!” said the lockout. But we didn’t care. We were already setting sail for Basketball Town, first stop Optimism Station. The lockout tried to tell us what to do, but we responded with some good old-fashioned rebellious mid 1990s angst. You just got Nirvana’d, NBA lockout.
You know, there was a time when I didn’t even think it would happen. I read vaguely negative reports, and I felt doubt. Would I ever get to see Alexis Ajinca play basketball again? But hope always returned. I found vaguely positive reports to make me feel better about my “life outlook”. David Stern tried to stop us. But you can’t stop bloggisists, and you can’t stop the fans (unless you’re powerful and have money, but that’s not important right now). You can’t stop our dreams.
See, when it came down to it, the NBA, NBPA, and owners knew they couldn’t leave fans, media, and all of the people that rely on the existence of their league for their employment and well-being hanging. Sure, they waited until October to actually begin negotiating a monumental deal that could seriously affect the lives of many, but that’s only because they knew they could get a deal done before losing any games. Once they started talking, it would really be negotiating time. They wouldn’t take a day off (except a few times a week), and they would work around the clock (2-4 hours) to ensure that they protected their own livelihoods and the livelihoods of others.
Oh, the day the lockout ended was a great day. All of the players tweeted in happiness together, glad they’d be able to go to training camp soon. Billy Hunter and David Stern even smiled genuinely when they shook hands at the press conference. The season would be saved. The crisis would be averted. Logic and practicality ruled the day.
What a great story. Inspiring, even.
Except it was all a dream.
