The Fantastic Symphony
To be quite honest, your Uncle Grambo is still processing what even HAPPENED in this series. I’m finding it difficult to make any rational analogies or to draw any cohesive parallels to any other events in history. I’m also finding it VERY difficult to write about what this series means to me in the short form manner that the blog format demands.
Thankfully, the truly Advanced folk who write and frequent Free Darko are doing an admirable job of giving this victory some context. Some have compared it to the advent of jazz (the music, not the team), most have deemed it an evolutionary leap in how the sport is played/coached, and one has even gone as far as to compare it to the movements of the “Symphonie Fantastique” by Berlioz. All I know at this point is that it was awesome in a way that words can surely express, if given the proper amount of time to coalesce, but simultaneously SO awesome that it will probably take me days/weeks (years?) to formulate said words.
That said, I do know this. On a purely conceptual level, this series represented the battle between large-scale concepts like desire vs. pressure, raw potential vs. formal training and, ultimately, success vs. failure. Big forces were at work here, people. With only 12 hours or so of hindsight, all I’m really sure of is this — no matter what happens the rest of the playoffs, this series was an unbridled joy to witness on every conceivable level.
RELATED: Here’s a video that accurately captures how I felt while composing this go-nowhere post. [via With Leather]
¹And/or my use of alliteration.
Posts
5 Comments so far
1. Rick wrote on May 4th, 2007 at 6:43 pm
I am not a fan of the NBA. I’m a baseball guy — more specifically a Met guy. Still I started watching the Warriors/Mavericks series at game three because Wilbon wouldn’t shut the hell up about it.
Today, I still wouldn’t say I’m a fan of the NBA, but I’m watching the Warriors every game from here on out. I bought a T-Shirt this morning. Some call it jumping on a bandwagon, but I call it respecting a team that’s doing things differently.
2. Grizz wrote on May 5th, 2007 at 7:44 am
Am very confused. So what happened? Did a young team beat an older team of veterans? Or did some scrappy team beat a bunch of polished pros? I don’t understand what the big deal is about one team beating another in a division series in the NBA playoffs, but then again, I haven’t paid any attention to the Golden State Warriors since they were coached by Don Nelson and had RUN TMC running the floor.
3. Yale Bloor wrote on May 6th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Yadda yadda - shame on you Grambo - no shout out to the Motor City Bad Boy’s? forgetting our heritage! lets not forget the past….Piston’s
4. jimmo wrote on May 8th, 2007 at 12:17 am
a little late to the party, but I’m confused Grambo as to why you’re so excited about the GS win. Was it exciting? Yes. Did it expose Dallas and Avery Johnson as frauds? Yes. Is it good for basketball? No.
Helter-skelter hoops with no fundamentals is already the (downward) road the league is taking, why celebrate it more? Golden State is slop pool. Were you so happy when Loyola Marymount and Bo Kimble were taking out UM? Same story. Rethink your position please…
5. trvr wrote on May 8th, 2007 at 12:49 pm
free darko is pseudointellectual garbage that i figured you (of all peeps) would have the good sense to call bullshit on!
basketball is jazz? come on! then tennis is an four-handed erik satie piece, holmes!!! football is a sikc AC/DC riff! baseball is a nice frank sinatra ditty that helps me poop! it’s garbage from nerds with nothing productive to which to apply their energies. oh excpet for chauncey billups when they get him to write there, that guy’s funny AND DOESN’T GET BOGGED DOWN IN THEORY. THEROY??? NOT ABOUT HOW TO PLAY A GAME, BUT HOW TO VIEW IT AND ENJOY IT? EFF ALL THAT.
and gilbert arenas is the black friend they all wish they could have. they should start calling him “coltrane”!