War and basketball
May. 19th, 2004 09:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosmolinguistI did not hear about what Kevin Garnett said until I heard on the news last night that he was apologizing for it. And I must admit that when I did hear what he said, I giggled.
The Timberwolves are playing the Sacramento Kings in the NBA playoffs. It's been a good series, from what I've seen and heard, and now it's tied up 3-3, so whoever wins Game 7 wins it all. After Game 6 (which the Kings won), Garnett said this: "This is it. It's for all the marbles. I'm sitting in the house loading up the pump, I'm loading up the Uzis, I've got a couple of M-16s, couple of nines, couple of joints with some silencers on them, couple of grenades, got a missile launcher. I'm ready for war."
Kvein Garnett with M-16s? Of course I laughed.
And of course he got in trouble. Hence the apology. I thought it was interesting that he specifically mentioned people serving in Iraq...that's not a war, right? It hasn't been for a year now. Right?
I also thought it was interesting that the reassurances of T-Wolves coach Flip Saunders and fellow superstar player Sam Cassell seemed without argument--there were no quotes from outraged veterans or family members of people in Iraq. There was no one shouting that he should be tarred and feathered, or even that he should apologize; that was apparently a decision made within the Timberwolves organization. I think that at least is a good sign; it seems an American trait to jump at any chance you can get to point out someone else's "insensitivity" and perceived injury to you...maybe you can even sue 'em. So it's nice to see that no one seems to have exploited this opportunity.
It was almost odd to me that Garnett's apology included "I was totally thinking about basketball, not reality." What kind of dichotomy is he setting up here? Now, I know that sports are thought too highly of around here, and I'm all for them being cut down to size. But I wonder, to what "reality" is he comparing basketball? The one where people actually have Uzis and grenades? Fair enough, I guess, but in general his apology sounds like he's beating himself up a little too much, or something, especially considering the absence of backlash for what he said.
Of course, maybe I just think he's being hard on himself because, from my perspective, no apology is necessary. The MSNBC article I looked at to get the quote included a poll. The question was "What do you think of Kevin Garnett's war analogies?" "Totally out of line and offensive" got 17% of the vote, "Not thrilled by it but I'll live" had 25%, "Not a big deal" had 43%, and "Actually it was pretty funny"--the one I voted for, of course--had 18%. If there are about as many people amused by it as there are outraged, and the other two-thirds are okay with it, that's not too shabby.
The Timberwolves are playing the Sacramento Kings in the NBA playoffs. It's been a good series, from what I've seen and heard, and now it's tied up 3-3, so whoever wins Game 7 wins it all. After Game 6 (which the Kings won), Garnett said this: "This is it. It's for all the marbles. I'm sitting in the house loading up the pump, I'm loading up the Uzis, I've got a couple of M-16s, couple of nines, couple of joints with some silencers on them, couple of grenades, got a missile launcher. I'm ready for war."
Kvein Garnett with M-16s? Of course I laughed.
And of course he got in trouble. Hence the apology. I thought it was interesting that he specifically mentioned people serving in Iraq...that's not a war, right? It hasn't been for a year now. Right?
I also thought it was interesting that the reassurances of T-Wolves coach Flip Saunders and fellow superstar player Sam Cassell seemed without argument--there were no quotes from outraged veterans or family members of people in Iraq. There was no one shouting that he should be tarred and feathered, or even that he should apologize; that was apparently a decision made within the Timberwolves organization. I think that at least is a good sign; it seems an American trait to jump at any chance you can get to point out someone else's "insensitivity" and perceived injury to you...maybe you can even sue 'em. So it's nice to see that no one seems to have exploited this opportunity.
It was almost odd to me that Garnett's apology included "I was totally thinking about basketball, not reality." What kind of dichotomy is he setting up here? Now, I know that sports are thought too highly of around here, and I'm all for them being cut down to size. But I wonder, to what "reality" is he comparing basketball? The one where people actually have Uzis and grenades? Fair enough, I guess, but in general his apology sounds like he's beating himself up a little too much, or something, especially considering the absence of backlash for what he said.
Of course, maybe I just think he's being hard on himself because, from my perspective, no apology is necessary. The MSNBC article I looked at to get the quote included a poll. The question was "What do you think of Kevin Garnett's war analogies?" "Totally out of line and offensive" got 17% of the vote, "Not thrilled by it but I'll live" had 25%, "Not a big deal" had 43%, and "Actually it was pretty funny"--the one I voted for, of course--had 18%. If there are about as many people amused by it as there are outraged, and the other two-thirds are okay with it, that's not too shabby.
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(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-19 08:57 am (UTC)BTW, I was not aware that Uzis were in use by the US military. Urban gangs, yes. Troops, no.
Helga
-amused when people randomly pull large guns out of their asses
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-19 10:50 am (UTC)Oh, make them paintball guns or something; I don't want any real violence. But it'd be interesting.
I want a semi-automatic paintball gun now, though...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-19 12:40 pm (UTC)*FOUL: Excessive Sarcasm*
In all seriousness, he nothing to apologize for because nothing happened. War analogies in sports are like fecess in house with 100 cats - its everywhere.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-19 01:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-05-19 02:10 pm (UTC)