Each of us is as unique as a snowflake. Fine saying, if you are from a country that has winters.
I lived in Dubai, and consulted throughout the Middle East, for years. There, the coldest it gets is the 60s F. Many people have never seen snow. Then how about, Each of us is as unique as a grain of sand?
As unique as a drop in the ocean.
A thumbprint.
You see, I am a poet, and can readily run rampant with my metaphors. So get someone like Stephen A. Smith, from ESPN, to tell me, Hold on, get going with what you're trying to say, will you?
The NBA recently imposed a 90-second time limit on players' pregame rituals, as Sports Illustrated reported. KD is right: We fans like it, we fans enjoy it! This feels like the NBA being ogre parents putting children in their place.
So much of what athletes do in the field, court or rink of play is about their professional demeanor. They abide by strict rules of conduct that, in a way, diminishes their individuality. What's more, the gear they don further hides them and makes them virtually anonymous. Think football linemen, those hefty boys that are all shoulder pads, helmet cages, and thighs like tree trunks.
At the same time, we fans clamor for their personal side.
Years ago, NBC Sports learned that to attract more women viewers to their Olympics coverage, they needed to do occasional cutaways or personal profiles of the athletes. Men like them, too.
I might argue, then, that the unprecedented popularity of social media has to do, in part, with people finding those personal sides of others on Facebook and Twitter. And, at the same time, they have a chance to show (off) their personal sides.
Besides, do NBA players' pregame rituals take all that long to begin with?
I lived in Dubai, and consulted throughout the Middle East, for years. There, the coldest it gets is the 60s F. Many people have never seen snow. Then how about, Each of us is as unique as a grain of sand?
As unique as a drop in the ocean.
A thumbprint.
You see, I am a poet, and can readily run rampant with my metaphors. So get someone like Stephen A. Smith, from ESPN, to tell me, Hold on, get going with what you're trying to say, will you?
The NBA recently imposed a 90-second time limit on players' pregame rituals, as Sports Illustrated reported. KD is right: We fans like it, we fans enjoy it! This feels like the NBA being ogre parents putting children in their place.
So much of what athletes do in the field, court or rink of play is about their professional demeanor. They abide by strict rules of conduct that, in a way, diminishes their individuality. What's more, the gear they don further hides them and makes them virtually anonymous. Think football linemen, those hefty boys that are all shoulder pads, helmet cages, and thighs like tree trunks.
At the same time, we fans clamor for their personal side.
Years ago, NBC Sports learned that to attract more women viewers to their Olympics coverage, they needed to do occasional cutaways or personal profiles of the athletes. Men like them, too.
I might argue, then, that the unprecedented popularity of social media has to do, in part, with people finding those personal sides of others on Facebook and Twitter. And, at the same time, they have a chance to show (off) their personal sides.
Besides, do NBA players' pregame rituals take all that long to begin with?
Personal rituals are about athletes showing us they're real and unique.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!
Ron Villejo, PhD
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