by liberal japonicus
I don't follow sports closely anymore, too much work, too little time, and a ferocious time difference to deal with. I admit to having a soft spot for Lebron, as I have a general sympathy for anyone forced to mature in the spotlight, though it does seem a bit silly to have sympathy for a gazillionaire with his own Sprite flavor. Still, sports, in my mind, tends to operate in this hermetically sealed bubble, with little impact on how it interacts and influences the world at large. That's might be why I like it (and maybe why a lot of other people do too) in that it is, in a sense, pure escapism.
That's why, when I post about sports here, it tends to be when something breaks through that box I've put it in and puts my mind to other things. This article, about Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, is one of those things. Here's how the writer closes the piece:
There was one way it did change their friendship, though slowly. Without stating it, they started opting for comedies instead of action movies whenever they went to the theater.
That way Kerr could sit peacefully, instead of wincing each time a gun went off on screen.
The death of someone close to you when you are still young can have a significant impact on how you see the importance of things. As it apparently did with Mr Kerr.
I experienced something similar myself, although in my case is was my closest friend dying of leukemia when we were 4.
In prior centuries, I expect the impact was somewhat less, simply because people dying all around you was far more common. But we (at least in the developed countries) live in a more sheltered world now. And so have fewer defenses against the shock.
Posted by: wj | June 04, 2015 at 01:51 PM