by The GM on May 13 at 7:20PM
Growing up in Indiana I loved basketball. I loved watching the Hoosiers, I loved watching the Pacers, and I loved playing basketball every chance I got. Like most young boys, I had visions of being a professional athlete, an NBA superstar in this case. I idolized Reggie Miller and I often begged my Dad to tape the Pacer games that would be on later than I could stay up. We didn't have a ton of extra money, so going to a game was usually out of the question. That didn't really matter to me though, because I had my own little dream world when I was watching or playing basketball.
One winter, when playing basketball at the Boys and Girls Club, we were given the opportunity to play before a Pacers and Suns game on the court of Market Square Arena. With that came a set of tickets to watch the game. My game was the last game of the evening before the players came out to warm up. I don't remember anything at all from my game except for the fact that the floor seemed hollow when the ball bounced on it. Anyway, as our game ended and I walked off the court, I looked up and saw my idol. There was Reggie Miller standing by the basket. I completely went to "uncool" mode and was tugging on my Dad's sleeve, "That's Reggie Miller! That's Reggie Miller!" Reggie heard me and recognized my excitement and came over and talked to me for what seemed like forever, but I'm sure it was probably only about two minutes. He ended up signing an autograph for me and said he had to get ready. The Pacers lost that game due to Jeff Hornacek going off like a madman. I didn't care though, because I had met, talked to, and got an autograph from my idol.
Let me fast forward to today. How would that same scene play out in today's world? I can't help but think that some of the athletes would be paid to make their appearances for the kids in order to satisfy a requirement that basically amounts to "community service." Is that the player's fault? No, this is the world that we live in. Everyone wants a piece of someone, a chance at touching a star and being a part of their world for just a short period of time.
Social networks like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have evolved from keeping in touch with your friends to seeing how many celebrities we can follow and keep up with. Am I guilty of this? Of course, I'm no different than anyone else when it comes to this. There are some athletes out there that are actually interesting people outside of their sport. For me, I enjoy getting a glimpse of what kind of everyday issues an athlete or celebrity might run into. Are they the same things that I'm dealing with? Are they things that I'll never experience? It helps me "humanize" these people that seem to be in a different world.
Twitter is something that I thought would be absolutely ridiculous when I first heard about it, but then I checked into it and I enjoy it. But, is it crossing the line of being a fan? Do I need to know what my favorite athletes are doing every day? Or do I just need to focus on that person as the athlete and not the person? When "following" someone, you are basically getting an intimate look at their lives and for some, creates a false relationship. With these networks, the line between fandom and stalking has been blurred and slowly erased.
Honestly, would you or I follow these people if they weren't celebrities? Probably not. Most of us would probably treat them the same way as we treat the kid bagging our groceries at the store. That is just part of the "what can you do for me?" mentality that we as a society have grown to know. I'm not saying it is right and I'm not saying it is wrong, I'm just saying that is the way it is, whether we like it or not.
What do you think?
One winter, when playing basketball at the Boys and Girls Club, we were given the opportunity to play before a Pacers and Suns game on the court of Market Square Arena. With that came a set of tickets to watch the game. My game was the last game of the evening before the players came out to warm up. I don't remember anything at all from my game except for the fact that the floor seemed hollow when the ball bounced on it. Anyway, as our game ended and I walked off the court, I looked up and saw my idol. There was Reggie Miller standing by the basket. I completely went to "uncool" mode and was tugging on my Dad's sleeve, "That's Reggie Miller! That's Reggie Miller!" Reggie heard me and recognized my excitement and came over and talked to me for what seemed like forever, but I'm sure it was probably only about two minutes. He ended up signing an autograph for me and said he had to get ready. The Pacers lost that game due to Jeff Hornacek going off like a madman. I didn't care though, because I had met, talked to, and got an autograph from my idol.
Let me fast forward to today. How would that same scene play out in today's world? I can't help but think that some of the athletes would be paid to make their appearances for the kids in order to satisfy a requirement that basically amounts to "community service." Is that the player's fault? No, this is the world that we live in. Everyone wants a piece of someone, a chance at touching a star and being a part of their world for just a short period of time.
Social networks like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have evolved from keeping in touch with your friends to seeing how many celebrities we can follow and keep up with. Am I guilty of this? Of course, I'm no different than anyone else when it comes to this. There are some athletes out there that are actually interesting people outside of their sport. For me, I enjoy getting a glimpse of what kind of everyday issues an athlete or celebrity might run into. Are they the same things that I'm dealing with? Are they things that I'll never experience? It helps me "humanize" these people that seem to be in a different world.
Twitter is something that I thought would be absolutely ridiculous when I first heard about it, but then I checked into it and I enjoy it. But, is it crossing the line of being a fan? Do I need to know what my favorite athletes are doing every day? Or do I just need to focus on that person as the athlete and not the person? When "following" someone, you are basically getting an intimate look at their lives and for some, creates a false relationship. With these networks, the line between fandom and stalking has been blurred and slowly erased.
Honestly, would you or I follow these people if they weren't celebrities? Probably not. Most of us would probably treat them the same way as we treat the kid bagging our groceries at the store. That is just part of the "what can you do for me?" mentality that we as a society have grown to know. I'm not saying it is right and I'm not saying it is wrong, I'm just saying that is the way it is, whether we like it or not.
What do you think?
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