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Post by freshnthehouse on Jun 19, 2006 15:46:35 GMT -5
20 years ago today we lost Len Bias. Its weird to think how much the world--and the Celtics--have changed since then. I just watched a story on espn.com about Bias. Every time I see something like that i cringe. We wouldve been unstoppable with him. Its tough to watch the footage of him all smiles after getting drafted, knowing he would die less than 24 hours later.
At least with Reggie, we got to see what he was capable of(The 92 playoff against Cleveland was Reg's shining moment, IMO). We'll never know what Len could have done. And to quote some crappy song thats title slips my mind, "Not knowing is the hardest part of all."
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Post by eja117 on Jun 19, 2006 18:15:51 GMT -5
Am I allowed to say that Len Bias is the single biggest mistake in the history of sports and that I still don't like him and don't feel sorry for him at all and don't think his death changed anything? Am I allowed to say that?
I mean seriously I don't think the whole "Well hopefully his death wasn't in vain" thing makes any sense at all. Of course it was in vain. He had his whole life ahead of him and wasted it. It's like saying "Man I hope people learned from Hitler's death not to be an egotistical SOB genocidal maniac, cause I mean look what happens to you".
I guess I am bitter towards him because .... hard to express why. Selfishness is the best I can come up with. I mean it's not like I love him or care deeply for him. The closest I thing i ever came to loving an athlete was maybe Adam Viniateri or maybe Rudy in the movie. Also there is a certain big coach I love cause it seems like he does the right thing.
He reminds me of that line from that movie I love called Goodwill Hunting where Ben Affleck looks at Matt Damon and is like "No offense but if you're still here 15 years from now I am gonna kick your azz. Not a threat. Just a fact. You bein here would be a freakin insult. You don't owe it to yourself. You owe it to me. Any one of these guys would give their left nut to have what you got and you're gonna work here? I couldn't look you in the freakin eye." It's the exact same goddamn thing. I was 5 ft 7 my whole life. I was supposed to be 5'9 but my dad kept tellin me I'd be 5'10 like him. In the gym big guys told me not to play so hard. It wasn't worth the injury. Then there was the day I was a senior in the high school and an eighth grader on the court (who would later go on to score 1000 points for the high school) was like "I'll break yo ankles. I'll break em." I'm like "Bring it on!" I jump up, come down, break my ankle. By an 8th grader. Ride my motorcycle home thinkin it's sprained when actually 3 ligaments are snapped and a tendon pulled off. Got cut on the very first day of tryouts. And I'm supposed to feel sorry for Len B? If I ever see his freakin grave I'm gonna spit on it. Son of beotch.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jun 19, 2006 19:24:46 GMT -5
I think everyone is entitled to an opinion. Here is mine...everytime I hear his name, I think of his mistake or the death of his mistake. Granted, we all make mistakes, but rarely are we punished forever for one. Bias made a mistake, and was punished forever, w/ his life.
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Post by freshnthehouse on Jun 19, 2006 21:50:44 GMT -5
Eja, I dont think you are thjiking it through if you think that Bias died in vain. His death was an eye opener for the party all the time culture of 1980s US. To see a 22 year at his physical peak die from cocaine made people realize that cocaine wasnt a harmless job.
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Post by eja117 on Jun 20, 2006 6:29:31 GMT -5
Fresh I'll give you that I can't think of almost any other high profile athletes to OD since then. I have mixed feelings about it on a few levels. Like I'm not sure the party all the time Studio 54 leftovers were a really huge part of the country at that time, so maybe it made a big diff to them, but I'm not sure it made a big diff to tons of others like maybe Barry Bonds and Raf Palmero who we all know never touched anything.
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