Trash Talk

         It’s only fitting that my first article for our blog page surround one of the most important aspects of sports: Trash Talk. From the floor to the stands, players to spectators, everybody's doing it. Trash talk unites, animosity in sports gets every fan fired up. Sports are a distraction from day to day lives and the nonsense of the real world.

The NBA recently has been making strides to clean up its player’s acts in an effort to present the fans with more polished role models. There are Technicals being levelled at players for questioning calls or showing any emotion in reacting to calls now. KG gets ripped apart in the press for calling Charlie Villaneuva ‘a cancer patient’ during the heat of competition. A lot of emphasis is being placed on what’s appropriate behavior in a basketball game. At the end of the game things just boil down to the score.

            David Stern wants players to wear nice suits and tow the corporate line when speaking to press. Under the new rules players are supposed to look pretty for the cameras playing basketball remaining void of emotion. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like any kind of basketball game I would want to see.

            Was calling Charlie V. a cancer patient apprehensive and inappropriate? Absolutely. Did it give the Celtics an edge when blowing out the Pistons that night? Definitely.  Is anything wrong with consenting adults saying horrible things to opponents in a physical game? Not in the least. True champions answer the trash talk by delivering on the floor. Pretenders collapse under pressure and then whine and complain about not winning because of what was said.

            Anyone who knows anything about basketball knows that MJ, the games greatest ambassador whom at his peak had the cleanest image in pro sports was also the biggest trash talker the league had ever seen. To say that this aspect of his game didn’t figure into his win record would be inaccurate. Dismantling your opponent psychologically and eliminating his effectiveness in the game is part of the game. MJ was actually so effective as a trash talker, much like Kobe, he had to learn how to direct it at the opposing team and not at his teammates before his team could win a championship. The quiet and composed Bill Cartwright once gently pulled Michael aside and told him that if he continued to disrespect him that he wouldn’t have to worry about basketball any more because he would break both his legs.
In the end none of this takes away from MJ’s legacy. Michael's trash talking went through the growth periods much the same as every other skillset developed in becoming the greatest player ever.

Most NBA players are far from role models, in fact most would make Tiger Woods look like a saint. So to pretend that these guys are examples of who we want to raise our children to be in their day to day lives might be a misguided goal. Promoting the virtues that athletes need to succeed, such as drive and hard work is far more practical.
The leagues attempt to mould these guys into politicians takes all the fun out of the game. Post game interviews are already laden with sports clichés such as: “we brought all we had tonight and pulled out a win against a solid competitor” that could be applied to any game in any sport. All of which only make Charles Barkley’s rants seem so refreshing, because even if he’s wrong you know he’s just being honest. Stripping the game of its last realm of honest animosity would take all the fun out of sports rivalry.

            Trash talking is as much an art as a player’s stroke on their 3 ball. One has to know how and when to use it, as you always run the risk of drawing the best from the other team and getting your ass handed to you.  

            In closing, to those following or interested in contributing to the blog, bring your Trash Talk ‘A game.’ The one theme we want to infuse this blog with is passion borderlining insanity. Use the blog as your outlet. No opinion outweighs another, no matter how strongly it’s stated so if you see something that pisses you off, speak up! I dare you! If you’re intimidated, don’t be: My ball playing credibility boils down to one season of high school basketball as an undersized, under skilled player that only ever saw garbage time and couldn’t manage a single point in the 8 minutes I saw the whole season.

I love the game, and I’ll be talking trash about it ‘til the day I die. Dare to keep up? Bring it! We want to hear from you.