Why I care so darn much...
Game 7. Lakers/Celtics. History.
I was up on the South Fork of the American River whitewater rafting all this past week. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life, but everyone in my raft knew when it was a game day. We’d park the boat, I’d run and get changed, and find my way to the closest pub to watch the 2nd half of the Lakers’ game. Everyone laughed, and no one really understood it. And up there, in these Hicksville bars, I’d be jumping up and down, screaming at the television, until, as this old townie woman named Willa said to me during game 3, “Well, now I care ‘cause you care so darn much!” And this is why I care so darn much...
Traveling in East Africa, anytime I’d meet a local, there were four questions I was asked. The first was, “Where are you from?” The second, “Which team do you support?” referring to which soccer/football team you liked in the English Premier League. “What’s your name?” was question #4.
Sport. The multitudes filling the Roman coliseum, yelling in their robes, as men scrapped to the death, clouds of dust pluming up as bodies collapsed one last time. The Aztecs playing Tlachtli, playing for their gods, the fans in fervor stomping their feet on the surrounding grass fields.
It’s spiritual, don’t you understand? Have you ever watched a person finish a marathon? Or a boxer finish through round 12? It’s not about a game, it’s not about beating someone else, it’s about competing against yourself, it’s about pushing yourself to limits you never thought possible. And maybe you win, and maybe you lose. In the moment it always feels better to win, but when all is said and done, what matters most is that you came to play, that you gave all you had, and people respect that, I respect that. The fact is, at several points in our lives we are called to the challenge, and it’s our time to face up, and we draw inspiration from those that have gone before.
And it’s not just that, it’s not just the struggle, and the symbolism found in it, it’s about simpler things too. It’s about being from somewhere in this great big world. It’s about identifying with a team. It’s about feeling like you’re a part of something, and who doesn’t like to feel like they’re a part of something? It’s about seeing someone that you would never talk to otherwise, but they’re wearing a Lakers’ shirt, so you say hello, and for that moment, you’re connected.
It’s about getting away too. It’s about being able to pour your heart and soul into something that at the end of the day, isn’t going to cost you your life. It’s about escaping a bit from all the other painful realities that can eat away at us, and just reveling in the excitement for a brief respite. Reality is always knock knock knocking away at the door, and it’s nice to let it wait outside for 48 minutes.
In 26 hours I will be sitting with good friends and absolute strangers, in a packed bar, drinking water because I don’t have money for beer, watching the opening minutes of the greatest rivalry in basketball go right down to the wire, and I’ll never forget it. The L.A. Lakers and the Boston Celtics, game 7, NBA Finals. History, history, history, and I get to be a part of it, and I invite you to be a part of it too.
Go Lakers!
Sergio Ballesteros
