Re: PLAYED THIS TUNE BEFORE

[Josh Ozersky <josh_ozersky@yahoo.com>]

I believe the best of Dorine, but this simply isn't
true when it comes to many Celtics fans, particularly
in Boston.  And in fact Larry's popularity in many
parts of the country, particularly those poor in
basketball knowledge, was as a hero of "blue collar"
whites who saw him as picking up his lunch pail and
beating blacks at their own game (instead of as the
trash-talking, behind-the-back-passing, in-your-face
psycho we all know and love.)  It's clear to me,
anyway, that many in the affluent, all-white crowd at
the Fleet center consider Antoine a talented imbecile,
a "natural" playground talent without the "mental
toughness"/"leadership"/"team ego"/whatever to measure
up to Havlicek, Bird, etc.  Which might be true to
some extent in the abstract, but is hardly a
colorblind opinion in practice.  On the other hand,
Paul Pierce, I think you could safely say, has gotten
a colorblind ride in Boston, with his self-effacing
manner and "old school" game.  It's really not about
race so much as class and culture (not that there is
any separating them in the USA), and Antoine is just
too inner-city for many celtics fans, just as Iverson
is for many Sixer fans, if the truth be known.

--- Dorine <norine@sover.net> wrote:
> I sometimes wonder where all this black/white stuff
> comes from.  I can only
> state that as far as I'm personally concerned, when
> I see a basketball
> player I don't see skin color and that's the the
> truth.  I don't think of
> Walker as black and Larry Bird as white, for
> instance.  It never even occurs
> to me.  I guess I'm perennially surprised that
> either others do, or so many
> of you think they do.
> 
> As for Antoine, I don't care what color he is - or
> anyone else.  If he wants
> to be the star he already things he is, he'd better
> become more of a team
> player.  Even with that great game, you can bet he
> felt he won it all by
> himself.
> 
> Dorine
> 
> 

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