Profiles in Psychology

What the hell is going on with Vince Young? He's gone from AWOL to suicide threat to potential early retiree in the span of 72 hours...all over a bum knee and getting booed at home? Not to mention that his mom is currently playing PR-guy, which is never a good thing (cf. Vince Carter). This is the type of behavior one might expect at mid-season under the pressure of building a rep in the NFL and turning his playoff-caliber squad into a truly elite team, but after one game? I'm lost.

There are certain parallels with Vince's story and the Culpepper tragedy. Two unconventional athletes, brimming with pride, often "going it alone" and never having been truly embraced by their home fans (despite giving the fans every reason for full embrace). In a way, it's the only "f*ck you" these two guys have got left--to deprive us of their tremendous athleticism as if to say, "You all put the pressure on me. You've knocked my personal life. I've taken the knife to my body multiple times for you + a thousand hits to my torso by various linebackers. Now you still aren't thankful? Then fine, I quit." (Oddly, I suppose suicide is the extreme version of this sentiment).
























The threat of retirement/self-questioning of whether one is "built" for this ("this" = the NFL, life as an athlete/celebrity/etc) is a brilliant strategy, with one caveat: It humanizes Vince to the point where we feel discomfort. I think ultimately we don't want our athletes to be flawed/human. Sure, it's funny to see Matt Leinart beer-bonging it up with ASU girls, but it was otherworldly to see him almost lead the Cardinals to victory over the Bears in the "They are who we thought they were" game. I've spun this song and dance many times before: The dunk contest was the highlight of last NBA season, because Dwight Howard was--in no uncertain terms--doing things that I could never in my life do. Same goes for Michael Jordan. Same goes for watching a flubby guy like Charles Barkley outrebound guys who had seven inches on him. Same goes for the Warriors beating the Mavericks in the first round of the playoffs...

Humanization--the reminder that these guys actually have moms and didn't fall off of some magical tree--is bad for athletes. It's bad for sports. It kills our suspension of disbelief that is the joy of watching contests of seemingly supernatural ability (indulge me). Yet we keep asking for more and more access to these people, 25-hour news coverage, up to the minute internet reports, the whereabouts of Vince F'ing Young after he goes missing for just a few hours. And in the end, the whole business of making these guys human by pulling them down to our level is a no-win.


















This is a topic I've become very interested in this election season, ever since Hilary was slanging shots of Whiskey in Deer Hunter country: Since when did we want our presidents to be "just like us?" I'm a tad too young to remember the buzz that surrounded the photo of Bill Clinton jogging into a McDonald's, but I'm told that this was a real "starter" for him, a glimpse into his psyche that gave him a real folksy appeal and made people think, "Hey, this guy gets the munchies just like me!" After Clinton, of course, we get 8 years of KING FOLK--the human hayseed who is SO MUCH LIKE US THAT HE CANT TIE HIS SHOES. And in the 2008 election, "just like us-ness" has become an issue on par with Iraq and the economy. Who is a hockey mom? Who can shotgun a beer? Who likes arugula? Who has too many homes? Who is bitter? Who likes guns? Who is a single mom? Who had a single mom? Who is from Scranton? I have literally heard a Palin supporter state that she likes Palin because she gives her the feeling that "anybody can become president." What? How is this a good thing?

Meanwhile, "Elitist" has become the new "Nazi" and this backwards-ass thinking is driving us into four more years of stupidity. Why the hell wouldn't you want someone who is BETTER than you more than someone who is exactly like you? Of course the common response is: "We need someone like us so they can understand OUR problems." That's a nice sentiment, but it's also a lie. It's a lie that Bill Maher far too unobjectively delved into a few days ago, but a lie nonetheless: Americans want someone exactly like them because they are arrogant. They don't like people to be above them. Many Americans like W. because they don't feel like they're being made to feel inferior when he governs. Apparently, Sarah Palin gives people the same feeling.

















I have no solution to this issue, but I can point to at least one part of the cause. If you know me well, I've probably referenced to you this article by Thomas De Zengotita:

Take how athletes now celebrate themselves after nearly every play. And by extension,
the way fans celebrate not just the team or the victory but themselves.
There's that same element, that same quality, to be found in the
way those exhilarated men position themselves, beefy faces alight with a
peculiar blend of exultation and hostility, tendons hulging in their necks,
fists pounding the air, bodies thrust forward as if to bulldoze past all compromise,
apparently frenzied, apparently berserk, bellowing in tones suggestive
of profound vindication, bellowing "Yeaauh! Yeaauh! Yeaauh!"
And each "Yeaauh" lilts above the preceding one, as if to reinforce it but
also to comment on it, even to parody it, and suddenly you realize that
this is also a performance, and a contest, a folk art—and oh-so-self-conscious
after all.

And, by further extension, all the high-fiving and hissed-yes-pointing
and thumbs-upping in the culture as a whole, in commercials, in our lives,
in the continuous play of expressions and gestures that signify degrees
of—what shall we call it.'—triumphal intensity. The alchemy at work
across this spectrum is, at bottom, the same. It precipitates a fusion of the
real and represented, a culture of performance that ultimately constitutes
a quality of being, a type of person—the mediated person. And, as we
shall see, this type of person doesn't have heroes.




The gist of the article is that we have become a performative culture, with access to Garage Band and Pro Tools, and 1000 TV channels, and more bandwidth than we could ever imagine. Thus, we don't have heroes or celebrities anymore because we ARE the heroes/celebrities. We are constantly on stage, or at least we know what it's like to be on stage at all times. The brilliance of this article is that it predates the YouTube/Reality TV explosion but perfectly describes the major affect of media on our generation:

Has it ever struck you, watching interviews with people in clips from the 1940s and 1950s, say, or even just looking at them in photographs, how stiff and unnatural they seem? Even prominent people, but especially regular folk, the way they lean into the mike and glance awkwardly around as they say whatever they have to say in semi-formal tones, almost as if reciting; and the way they raise their voices, as if they can't quite trust the technology to reach an absent audience.

But nowadays? Every man on the street, every girl on the suhway platform, interviewed ahout
the snowstorm or the transit strike—they are total pros, laughing in the right places, looking directly at the interviewer or into the camera, fluid, colloquial, comments and mannerisms pitched just right for the occasion, completely at ease.

Method actors all.

So, I believe there's some insight there--most people are now so used to being at least partial celebrities/important figures that they don't like relinquishing that status to others. I, on the other hand, accept my plebeian status. I like my quarterbacks unshakeable and I like my presidents to be superhuman Hawaiian-Kenyan-Kansan hybrids who went to Columbia and Harvard and inspire Stevie Wonder to make songs about them.

Dos Sietes Clash

Before you read anything, read the new Boxiana joint by original Master of the Klondike shoefly.

The Spanish sports site Marca.com has a hilarious interview with Rudy Fernandez aka the Spanish Dan Majerle on the shocking discoveries he made during the NBA Rookie Transition Program. Truehoop linked it via Dwight Jaynes's blog, where a bilingual commenter kindly translated the article, but I thought it deserved its own post here. These two quotes in particular jumped out at me.

“They talk about things, which for me are crazy, as if they are normal. For example, yesterday they asked if people had friends who used drugs – and you have no idea how many people raised their hands!"

"It surprised me when the professors told us, as if it were normal, that there are women who look to get pregnant to take your money. They said this as if it happened all the time!”

In a way, it's refreshing to know that, with all of the negative stereotypes about Americans, and African-Americans in particular, that pervade the world, anyone (even a Spaniard) would still be surprised by these things. Plenty of white Americans just assume that a hearty percentage of poor black women use drugs and are gold-diggers. Even we most empathetic of NBA fans will concede that an official NBA program which presumes that its players will be constantly approached by money-grubbing groupies and family members is not per se offensive and is generally a good idea, but if you step back and look at the situation from the outside, it does look pretty absurd and depressing. These are the guys that managed to make it, and there's still the feeling that they need to be saved from themselves.

Fear not that this actual NBA-related post means I've stopped keeping my vigilant watch for all things related to Sarah Palin and the dangers she poses for our great nation. I'm sure you've seen the Anne Kilkenny email (if not: Google it), but I wanted to highlight this juicy bit of Wasilla gossip: "Before she became so powerful, very ugly stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made point guard on the high school basketball team." VERY UGLY stories! Shenanigans! I have no idea what she could've done, but I'm guessing some kind of blackmail, or threats involving a moose rifle. So much for all those stories about her state championship and the leadership qualities she displayed.

That's It. . .

Right now, I could care less that people who disagree with me buy books, too.

I know that Obama's fond of saying there's one America, and that reaching across the aisle is the key for salvaging our country and snaring swing votes. But after tonight, I'll say it: I have zero interest in being a part of a country that includes Palin, Rudy, their adoring audience, and anyone with whom that speech resonated. And honestly, I don't think I've ever been more embarrassed to be an American.

Great. That woman knows her family's names, is a friend of parents with retarded children, went to high school, is a bitch (sorry, "pitbull with lipstick"), hates a media that's refused to let her write her own script, and hates community organizers. That was Palin's "star is born" turn—one that proved, incidentally, that with enough applause lines, and rabid reaction that turns most of the other lines into applause lines, anyone can give a cohesive speech. Like using your baptism to pass a swim test. Bush is an imbecile, but at least he had a smart father. There's nothing here. A trashy hockey mom and her sidekick, the shell of a major political figure running on his ability to withstand torture. Which, if that's the measure of character, says a hell of a lot about our enemies in the war on terror.

Look, I've always acknowledged that I'm an elitist. I'm a faculty brat who got an expensive education, work from home, just got a printed copy of my first book in the mail, have health insurance, and live in a city that exists in a bubble of excessive liberalism. We have the world's only green ashtrays, for real. I've spent time on the East Coast, but also in the Southeast and Texas—albeit mostly in college towns. Until now, though, I've been predictably defensive about it. Now, I'll say it: If this is how the other half lives, I'm not at all ashamed to look down on them.



These people are vindictive, small-minded, stupid, arrogant, lazy, and manipulative liars. How they can be so hateful, venomous, and foolhardy, and then blast the Dems for not respecting them, is beyond me. I could give a fuck less about them, no matter how small their towns are, how virtuous they are, or how much they value weaponry (which I am currently stocking up on, thank you very much). Nor do I have any sympathy for someone out a job, or low on gas money, or having problems with insurance, if those speeches didn't repel them.

I hate to be a total asshole, but I don't think this what my great-grandparents came to this country for. It's not why friends of mine go to law school. It certainly has nothing to do with women trying to gain equality with men, or minorities getting a seat at the table. I'll take it even further than Robert Reich, who said the right lacks reason. I don't live in the same country as them, and am damn proud of it. Obama may not be perfect, and of course he's running a political campaign. But he's a thoughtful, genuine man with real intellectual curiosity, and optimism that makes even me want to stop sneering.

That's what America means to me. Not this bullshit. Obama's life is a Great American Story, and the American Dream—not this Matt Scully-spun nonsense. Give me evolution, urbanism, big spending, and a foreign policy that can read a map. If that's a problem, I'd be fine with someone seceding. Or leaving.

Basketball Culture Wars, Part 2

In the coming weeks, you will get so many basketball/politics analogies streaming from my throat that you, and I, might well collapse from annoyance. But they come to me, they work, and I am not trying to be cute. I honestly think these parallel structures both bring us comfort and illuminate dark corners, which is to so say, one serious deserves another. And I need an excuse to keep writing about the election, which has overrun my brain and will destroy us all, or at least keep this site tethered to that which attracts our modest pool of readers (Coming soon: Tags! And then, the deluge!).

I have been riding the Palin Express since I woke up yesterday, reveling in the steady amount of jack-assery that's been turned up on the woman, marveling at what a perfectly vexing political decision that McCain camp made, hoping and praying that this ball of confusion resolves into truth and justice. I've also been haunted by the idea that her selection is not unlike one of those draft picks so bold, and yet so inane, that it causes cancer on the spot for all those who spend their spring projecting the draft instead of watching the playoffs. For some reason, the ones that most readily come to mind are two from the pre-Colangelo Raptors: Villanueva in 2005 or Rafael Araujo the year before. Both were surprises, and in their own way, bold gambles. Villanueva's talent was undeniable, Araujo was tall when that still mattered. That's also the ending I'm looking for here: Araujo failed immediately, never quite realizing that only summer league games have no foul limits, while Villanueva was soon traded but still has some hope of eeking out a productive career. He just needs minutes.

These are what I anticipate being the two possible outcomes for Palin. This choice has thrown her career into overdrive; at the same time, it's an obvious choice of too much, too soon (Note: That Rob Babcock is about on the McCain campaign's level of sophisitication should be noted, but not dwelled upon.) Palin could very well have ended up mattering on the national stage, but now, thrown to the wolves before she's the slighest bit ready, with regard to either issues or sheer political poise, a disaster should be inevitable. I'd be fine with her fading out like Araujo, maybe ending up in the House one day; isn't Hoffa on some team's roster now? Or, the Villanueva version of things, where she gets exposure from this, takes some advantage of it, and is able to salvage a little something from what's bound to be a high-profile failure. In this case, she'd need one 50-point game before the Dan Quayle charges, or cries of exploitation, really start to stick.



For now, it's a fun, perverse, and slightly treacherous ride. I just hope it resolves into something sensible before too long.

Also, while the Recluse launched his take on this election's Duke/Carolina culture wars, I wanted to take on the broader topic of basketball culture wars. I'm not saying that has happened yet, but this Palin crap is so clearly positioned to fuck with the "Obama, basketball president" monolith. She's white, tough, scrappy, rural, so devoid of physical gifts that she didn't even play in college. Now that's real. Barry, on the other, was a lean, fluid gunner as a teen, before evolving into a guy who did a little of everything but wouldn't hesitate to cross you over. Palin's version of the game is near-extinct grain under siege, one that exists only in the monastic lair of large-town Alaska. Obama, on the other hand, has taken his game to Occidental, to Harvard law pick-up games, to Chicago city courts, to informal play against our troops. Now, we may look at Obama's relationship with the game, and self expressed through it, and find the same co-mingling of supposed opposites that makes him such a fascinating figure. Yes, I know I said this last week.

But how easy would it be to spin Palin as pure Hoosiers, and Obama as a tall black dude who prefers the blacktop and can hack it because of his cocky attitude? The former "Barry O'Bomber", who for all his pretenses of analyzing action on the fly, remains at heart a me-first egoist out to prove his badness. Hell, why else would he get out there with today's Heels? PURELY TO SHOW HE CAN HANG. Palin, she'd prefer to nod approvingly while some young men or women, unspolit by even the corrupting influences of college ball, exhibit the kind of behavior that will help them later in life. For her, it was a valuable learning experience and proof of valor, but as a lifestyle-marker, was discarded in favor of hockey (like the NFL down here).

I don't really anticipate basketball becoming a wedge issue here. However, it's an important part of both Obama and Palin's bios. So even if we don't see them fielding questions about ball in their respective debates, it is part of a larger cluster of signs and symbols that the Right's going to lean on in the coming months. Palin's experience helps bolster this "Barrack is Other" meme, making his basketball, and thus him, blacker and therefore less American.

Basketball Culture Wars

The longtime or especially astute readers all know I'm a University of North Carolina alum and an ardent Tar Heel basketball fan, and I can't help but notice how closely this election parallels the UNC/Dook rivalry in basketball, especially after today's announcement of Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. Maybe this is a stretch, but follow me.

Smith versus Krzyzewski

Dean Smith is a liberal who participated in the civil rights movement, opposes the death penalty and the war in Iraq, and once allowed a player to skip practice to protest against the UNC cafeteria workers' low wages. He's also talked and written candidly about how his Christain faith has shaped his worldview.

Coach K is a Republican who likes to tell offensive jokes and has succeeded in part because of dirty tricks and media manipulation. He coaches his players to play dirty (slapping wrists, taking bullshit charges, etc.) and dares the refs to call the foul, which seems pretty similar to me to the Karl Rove tactics of distorting opponents' positions and spreading rumors and daring the media to call him out on it. These strategies work by intimidating referees through constant yelling and cursing and causing journalists to fear that they might confirm the "liberal media" image that the right-wing has created for them.

Kansas versus Alaska

Obama's grandparents are from Kansas, as are Dean Smith and longtime UNC coach Bill Guthridge. Of course, Roy Williams also coached at Kansas for many years, as did former UNC player Larry Brown. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sibelius is a strong Obama supporter.

Duke has had two star players from Alaska: Trajan "Alaskan Assassin" Langdon and Carlos Boozer. McCain's recently announced running mate, Sarah Palin, is the governor of Alaska and ran the point for Wasilla High, leading them to the "small school" state championship back in '82.



Jordan versus Wojo

No UNC player, with the possible exceptions of Lennie Rosenbluth and Phil Ford, is more associated with UNC basketball than Michael Jordan. He famously hit the game-winning jumper against Georgetown in the 1982 NCAA title game, the same year as Palin's high school championship (meaning that Jordan is older than she is!). Jordan is known for his incredible work ethic, but on the court, his gracefulness often makes it all look effortless. He is also seen by some as a transcendent post-racial figure, someone whose popularity has helped to pave the way for the first black president.

Christian Laettner is probably the iconic Duke basketball player, but no one symbolizes Duke more to me than Steve "Wojo" Wojciechowski, the scrappy Polish-American point guard who now sits next to Coach K on the Duke bench. Although I've never seen Sarah Palin play basketball (and, really, probably only a hundred or less people have), I like to imagine that she is a similar player to Wojo, succeeding through gritty hard work and not above a cheap shot or two, if it gets the job done.

Unitary Executive Theory

Current UNC Coach Roy Williams has surrounded himself with two assistant coaches in Joe Holladay and Steve Robinson, who have over fifty years of coaching experience between them. He has the confidence to listen to their ideas and trusts them to run elements of the team's practices. Similarly, Obama has selected Joe Biden, who has served for thirty-five years in the U.S. Senate, to be his running mate, and is known for being a respectful listener who asks acute questions of his advisors.

With the recent appointment of Nate James as assistant coach, Coach K's three assistants--Chris Collins being the other--are now all former players of his, none of whom have much coaching experience. This sort of cronyism and insularity is all too common in George W. Bush's administration, and McCain's selection of a comically inexperienced Sarah Palin is an indication that he may also tread down that same path.

The Audacity of Hope

To me, the choice is clear. I hope my fellow Tar Heels share my vision and help Obama win North Carolina in November! If the Heels get to shake Obama's hand in a post-championship visit to the White House next spring, I will be able to die a very happy man.



Go Heels! Vote Obama!