The NBA Playoffs Are Going On

Yes, believe it or not, Steve is actually posting again. I haven't written anything for the Times in over a month, but I'm hoping to change that in the near future. I didn't even make baseball picks this year, and it's probably too late now (Here's a hint: they would have been way off, I was higher on the White Sox coming into this season that I may ever have been, and look how horrible they are so far). Because of the White Sox underachieving, and the fact that I haven't had the chance to catch too many of their games this year because of the early starts for my time and being crazy busy at work, I've been focusing on the NBA and NHL playoffs. Well, at least I was focusing on the NHL playoffs until both my Blackhawks and Coyotes got beat in the first round. At least the Blackhawks put up a fight. Now all I want is for Detroit to lose.

Anyways, the NBA playoffs have definitely got my interest this year, because for the first time since I've needed to shave more than once a week the Chicago Bulls are actually a legit NBA title contender. Growing up, I was a little spoiled by the Bulls success (they won their first NBA title when I was 8 and last when I was 15) so I never got overly excited by their absolute dominance. I knew that as long as they had Michael Jordan they were going to be awesome, and I feel so lucky that I am able to tell my grandkids one day that I saw the greatest player of all time play in person. So finally, after 13 long years, the Bulls are back and have a shot at bringing Chicago it's 7th NBA title.

I'll admit I'm not a huge NBA fan but I think it's fun to watch now for kind of a nostalgia factor. I feel like the NBA was awesome at marketing to kids in the early 90's by making the star players of each team seem larger than life, just look at the success of NBA Jam with it's 2 on 2 style play. I think the formula is still being used and is being used well with a lot of good character players after a few years of not so media friendly players leading their teams. But to me, the best nostalgia factor is the Bulls being a good team lead by a star player. It reminds me of the good old days where Michael was the king of Chicago. Who doesn't remember this classic commercial?



And now, the Bulls finally have their star again. Derek Rose lead the Bulls to their first division title and #1 seed in the East since 1998 and just this week, became their first player since Air Jordan to win the MVP award. He seems to have the same will to win and determination that Jordan had, and he just seems to make everyone around him that much better. Doing a Youtube search for Rose commercials is not nearly as easy as Jordan, but hey, you have to start somewhere. There will be plenty more where this one came from, and maybe my kids will fondly look back at his commercials 30 years from now, too.



Go Bulls.