Making the NBA more like College.

When it comes to sports, I’m all about the college game. I didn’t even begin to expand my horizons from a sports appreciation standpoint until I lived in Boston. Now I can honestly appreciate (and even enjoy!) professional sports.

But regardless of my new sense of appreciation, I will always love college sports much, much more.

It’s simple: college sports and college athletes have more passion.

Don’t try to argue with me here. I cannot (and will not) be swayed.

I’m not saying that professional sports don’t have passion. But it’s different.

College players play for the love of the game. College players play for the love of their school, their team and their childhood dream.

On the  flip side?

Sure, professional players may play for the love of the game, but that love is usually laced with a little bit of something else. It is tainted…tainted by money and tainted by fame.

I’ve always felt this way and I most likely always will.

However, this post isn’t about that. This post is about one professional basketball player who seems to possess a few of the qualities I love in college athletes. This post is about Paul Pierce of the Boston Celtics. Disclaimer: I haven’t always been the biggest fan of Paul Pierce, however I have always respected him as the leader of my Boston Celtics.

And recently I have come to respect for so much more. This past week, Paul Pierce started blogging for Boston.com. His first post, How Boston Became My Town, really struck me.

I’ve been in an amazing position to say that I’m going to be linked 100 percent to the Boston Celtics.

To say that I’ve played with only one franchise, and accomplished what we have, it’s almost like a miracle. You don’t see that any more. You don’t see the same players staying with the same team like that. I’m a true follower of the game and only five guys have played for one team for 10-plus years, especially in the last 10. There’s Tim, Kobe, Ilgauskas, Nowitzki, and me.

You’re always going to associate Kobe with the Lakers. You’re always going to associate Timmy with San Antonio. Those guys won championships for their teams and they’ve been there their whole career.

You look around the league and see a lot of great players. You have some Hall of Famers that have been on multiple teams and you think at the end of the day, which team do they represent? And I can definitely say I am a Boston Celtic through and through. When people look back at my career they’re going to identify me with one team.

Boston is definitely home.

Paul Pierce has the kind passion and the kind of loyalty that I love about college sports. I’m sure the fame and the money certainly comes into play, but I truly respect the way he cares for his team and his city.

I know this is totally unrealistic, but I really wish that the trading component of professional sports could be eliminated. I honestly believe that it would better for the teams, the players and especially the fans. It would a create a deeper, more intense sense of pride, honor, loyalty and passion.

Where basketball isn’t just basketball.

As I drove through the beautiful Carolina mountains on my way down to Chapel Hill, I felt my entire body smile with excitement and anticipation. My hysterics from the previous afternoon quickly dissolved into distant memory. Nothing mattered but the sun on my face and the gorgeous Carolina blue sky over my head.

When I passed through the town of Durham, I couldn’t help but stick my tongue out (yes, seriously) and laugh. Those poor Blue Devils, I thought, they have nothing on us.

As time slowly turned the hot afternoon into a perfect evening, I could feel the adrenaline pump stronger through my Carolina blue blood, but nothing could prepare me for when I would step foot in the Dean Dome later that night.

The atmosphere was electric. The energy was unrivaled. The feeling was truly extraordinary.

As former Tar Heels greats tossed orange basketballs around, I noticed that the incredible feeling at the top of the arena extended all the way down to the court. The players seemed positively giddy.

Vince Carter. Antawn Jamison. Raymond Felton. Rashad McCants. Shammond Williams. Ed Cota. Jawad Williams. Danny Green. Brendan Haywood. Ty Lawson. Sean May. Jerry Stackhouse. Wayne Ellington. Bobby Frasor. Dante Calabria. Jackie Manuel. Brandan Wright. Jeff McInnis. Marvin Williams. Rasheed Wallace. Tyler Hansbrough. Julius Peppers. Bill Guthridge. Roy Williams…

…Dean Smith and Michael Jordan!

I was breathless.

Soon the lights dimmed, the cheering multiplied and the excitement mounted…

There’s Never a Wish Better Than This When You’ve Only Got 100 Years to Live.

…These simple words accompanied the powerful images of memorable Carolina basketball moments that flashed before my tear-filled eyes.

And then – as if enough hadn’t happened already! – it was time for the main event. The professional Carolina alumni took to the court. It was nothing short of spectacular. While they were clearly playing for fun as opposed to for competition, the game could have been a continuous highlight reel.

As the evening continued, I couldn’t help but think to myself how proud I was to be a North Carolina Tar Heels fan. I couldn’t think of a more amazing event to recognize and honor such an amazing program. The emotion and pride that filled the air of the Dean E. Smith Center that night was utterly remarkable.

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I have often been told that I become too personally invested in my sports teams – especially my Tar Heels. I suppose I understand why some people don’t get it, but to be honest, I feel sorry for the people who can’t relate to my love, loyalty and passion for sports.

For me, basketball isn’t just basketball. Sports aren’t just sports. It is so much more than that. My year isn’t divided into the seasons of summer, fall, winter and spring. My year is divided into Red Sox baseball season, Hokie football season and Carolina basketball season.

To possess a love for sports is to constantly live in a state of excitement and wonder. I always have something to look forward to.

To possess a love for sports is to have the ability to suspend reality. When I’m at a game (or simply watching a game), everything else magically disappears. Worries float away and problems temporarily vanish.

To possess a love for sports is to always have a constant in midst of a life full of changes. Regardless of the changes occurring in the different stages of my life, I know that my teams will always be there for me. I can depend on them season after season.

To possess a love for sports is to have hope. The impossible becomes achievable. Dreams are realized. When I watch my favorite sports teams in action, I am reminded that nothing is impossible and I can live my dreams.

The NBA says it best. Sports: “Where Amazing Happens”

I like baseball? Weird.

I have loved sports for as long as I can remember. Correction: I have loved sports for even longer than I can remember.

I grew up a little north of Tobacco Road. My mother was a North Carolina gal and I had Carolina Blue blood running through my veins from the moment I was born. I was literally raised to love basketball. I don’t know a life without it. In my Carolina Blue house (yes, you read that right), we looked forward to March Madness more than we looked forward to Christmas. Vince Carter was my hero. And Antawn Jamison. And Sean May. And Raymond Felton. And Rashad McCants. And of course Michael Jordan – even though he went from Carolina to Chicago the year I was born.

When we weren’t in the midst of college basketball season, we were waiting for college basketball season…or watching college football, Hokie football!

While my preference has always been geared towards college sports, basketball & football in particular, I could pretty much get into any sport that was fast paced with high intensity. Baseball, however, did not fall into that category.

Then I moved to Boston and the craziest thing happened. The Red Sox seduced me. Yep, that’s right, the Red Sox used seduction to capture me as a fan and member of Red Sox Nation. It may seem weird to say that a team seduced me, but that really is the most appropriate term.

Seduction involves temptation and and enticement to lead someone astray into a behavioral choice they would not have made if they were not in a state of sexual arousal.

Okay, maybe take the sexual arousal part out…but you get the point. I didn’t like baseball. I didn’t even want to like baseball, but then the Boston Red Sox went ahead and seduced me into liking the sport I once believed to be the most boring sport on the planet.

I now look forward to baseball season. It even fits perfectly into the gap between college basketball season and college football season.

And I especially look forward to Red Sox/Yankees series. The rivalry doesn’t touch the Carolina/Duke rivalry, but it’s a pretty close second.

Anything – and I mean anything – can happen during a Sox/Yanks match up. And, if I’m being honest, it really is anything but boring! Who knew?

Exhibit A) Yesterday’s game…it’s the bottom of the 9th, there’s a man on base, but Sox are down by 2 with 2 outs. Jason Bay steps up to the plate and POW! hits it out of the park! We go into extra innings. Yooouuukkk hits a homer in the 11th and the Sox win the game!

Exhibit B) Today’s game…Sox are down 6-0. Then, all of a sudden, after a couple runs and a grand slam from the Captain, the game is tied. And then it’s a roller coaster ride the rest of the way…Sox take the lead. Game ties up again. Sox take the lead. Yankees take the lead. Sox take the lead. SOX WIN 16-11!

I just hope that the excitement continues in favor of the Sox tomorrow for a Red Sox sweep at Fenway!!

So yes, it seems as if I really do like the game of baseball. Heck, I’ll even go as far as to say I love the Boston Red Sox. Hmmm…who would have thought? Certainly not me. Weird.