The Chicago Bears have Peanut Tillman in strip-the-football beast mode. The Chicago Bulls have Joakim Noah going beast mode, too. Averaging nearly a double-double with 16.0 points and 9.8 rebounds, and generally bounding up and down the court as if he were still overcoming the acne years of adolescence.
This article isn't about his all-star play, though, but that burger heave-ho in the waning seconds of a recent game with the Orlando Magic. "Stick with this one, because it's hilarious," Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated wrote, and I'll second that motion.
Some Magic players were in a haughty uproar about it. One of them hoped that such a despicable act never recur on hallowed basketball courts. Oh, the horror of Noah trying to win a free burger for the fans!
Coach Tom Thibodeau apparently gave Noah a talking-to as well, though as usual he's discreet and respectful with what he shares in the media.
Anyone else pissed off about this?
Well, I'm here to tell you, Take a chill pill, man, and give the guy a break!
NBA is a business
I'm sure there are many basketball purists out there who do talk about respecting the game and following its conventions, written and unwritten. But pure has to be defined with the media-rich, multimillion-dollar stakes in mind. One reason the NBA has been so successful is its marketing and promotions campaign, and the Bulls struck a great deal when McDonald's agreed to give the fans a free Big Mac, if the team broke 100 points.
By the way, the Bulls are hardly a scoring machine. They're cut in the mold of Coach Thibs, who's instilled a defense-first mindset among his players. So maybe the marketing genius in the Bulls organization ought to reset the threshold with Mickey D's to something like, say, 90 points.
No harm done
Look, Noah is deadly serious about his game, but is a spirited presence on the court. He has a quirky personality, too. It's what makes him entertaining to watch. So when that quirkiness gets the better of him, now and then, I say, So what?
That game with the Magic was well on-hand anyway. No way they could've overcome a 6-point deficit in those closing seconds, so Noah's maligned three-point heave was actually a harmless thing and he meant no disrespect with it.
Especially for a guy whose every moment on- and off-the-court is a bad-hair day.
Everyone loves a giveaway
The lowest paid NBA player probably makes more money in one year than do the vast majority of fans watching them in their stadium, drinking at the bar, or lounging on the couch. But here's the kicker, It's fans, like those who were rallying for a free Big Mac, who help inflate the bulging wallets on those players' behinds.
I say Noah was actually awesome for trying to trigger that giveaway. True, there were 20,000 fans disappointed, as Golliver wrote, but they all loved him for the try.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!
Ron Villejo, PhD
This article isn't about his all-star play, though, but that burger heave-ho in the waning seconds of a recent game with the Orlando Magic. "Stick with this one, because it's hilarious," Ben Golliver of Sports Illustrated wrote, and I'll second that motion.
Some Magic players were in a haughty uproar about it. One of them hoped that such a despicable act never recur on hallowed basketball courts. Oh, the horror of Noah trying to win a free burger for the fans!
Coach Tom Thibodeau apparently gave Noah a talking-to as well, though as usual he's discreet and respectful with what he shares in the media.
Anyone else pissed off about this?
Well, I'm here to tell you, Take a chill pill, man, and give the guy a break!
NBA is a business
I'm sure there are many basketball purists out there who do talk about respecting the game and following its conventions, written and unwritten. But pure has to be defined with the media-rich, multimillion-dollar stakes in mind. One reason the NBA has been so successful is its marketing and promotions campaign, and the Bulls struck a great deal when McDonald's agreed to give the fans a free Big Mac, if the team broke 100 points.
By the way, the Bulls are hardly a scoring machine. They're cut in the mold of Coach Thibs, who's instilled a defense-first mindset among his players. So maybe the marketing genius in the Bulls organization ought to reset the threshold with Mickey D's to something like, say, 90 points.
No harm done
Look, Noah is deadly serious about his game, but is a spirited presence on the court. He has a quirky personality, too. It's what makes him entertaining to watch. So when that quirkiness gets the better of him, now and then, I say, So what?
That game with the Magic was well on-hand anyway. No way they could've overcome a 6-point deficit in those closing seconds, so Noah's maligned three-point heave was actually a harmless thing and he meant no disrespect with it.
Especially for a guy whose every moment on- and off-the-court is a bad-hair day.
Everyone loves a giveaway
The lowest paid NBA player probably makes more money in one year than do the vast majority of fans watching them in their stadium, drinking at the bar, or lounging on the couch. But here's the kicker, It's fans, like those who were rallying for a free Big Mac, who help inflate the bulging wallets on those players' behinds.
I say Noah was actually awesome for trying to trigger that giveaway. True, there were 20,000 fans disappointed, as Golliver wrote, but they all loved him for the try.
Thank you for reading, and let me know what you think!
Ron Villejo, PhD
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