Patrick Filler

“The Sports Guy”

 

In his most recent ESPN column, Bill Simmons writes that even though Lebron James is already the best player in the NBA, he hasn’t yet reached his full potential. Though I’m only a casual NBA fan, I can’t help but get excited when I read something like this:

In the first quarter Saturday night, LeBron picked off an errant pass and took off the other way. Standing near midcourt, Eric Gordon turned and started running to protect his basket, only he wasn’t running with nearly enough urgency. In my section, a tortured Clips fan named Jesse screamed “GET BACK!” like he was about to watch someone get killed in a horror movie.

LeBron sniffed it out immediately. Cruised to midcourt, clicked in his nitrous canister like Vin Diesel and whooooooooooooooooooooooooosh! Flew by Gordon like a Beemer going 130 in the fast lane. Needed four strides to go from midcourt to the rim. Took off inside the foul line and ripped home a vicious dunk. “Whoa!!!!!!”

If you’re a sports fan and you’re not familiar with the writings of “The Sports Guy” (that’s Simmons’ nom de plume), I reccomend you spend a few hours reading through his archives. While there are some who consider his diehard Boston fandom and copious pop culture references a put-off, there are many, many more (myself included) who enjoy the way his sports fanaticism infects his writing. In a sports world filled with self-important anchors (see: Rick Reilly) and highlight-less Sportscenter episodes, Simmons’ “everyfan” persona is both welcome and refreshing.