I have not felt terribly patriotic the past few years. Not that I am actively rooting against the US – simply that my sense of connection has waned. With all that’s happened, my eyes have been opened and I am much more skeptical about whether anyone, other than my family and friends, is really concerned about my well-being.
So, it was a bit of a surprise then that I got caught up in the Olympics and rooting for the American athletes. But for the fact that we live in the same country, I imagine that I probably have little else in common with many of them. Yet, engrossed I was, as well as glad when any of them won.
Included within that realization, in watching the US Men’s basketball team, I found that my position on Lebron James had softened. To contextualize, I have never tried to delude myself about his talent nor (in feeling bothered by his move to Miami) felt relieved that he didn’t come to New York. Yet, where others tried to suggest that how he handled himself in year 2 and elevated his game should remove any lingering ill will, my general disaffection remained. Until the past couple of weeks.
I guess as you get a bit older, and hopefully a little more mature, you start to see things for what they are, and not what you wish they were. And where Lebron might not be the savviest when it comes to PR, he is fun to watch. Add to that, while it matters less to me than it used to, I can still appreciate how much he seemed to care about wearing the US jersey. When you put that in context then, that he is also probably the best player to come along since Michael Jordan (all due respect to Kobe Bryant), it’s not worth letting small choices outweigh the greater enjoyment. And, in the end, that’s what sports are really about. They are a happy distraction from reality. So, rather than finding something else that adds to my skepticism of the world, I’ve decided to add to the list of things that I can still enjoy.
