Pist-on

A word (or a few hundred) on the NBA playoffs:

I've never been a tremendously big fan of the NBA. I like college ball, but the NBA game has never really grabbed me, simply because the players are openly loafing for at least the first 43 minutes of every regular season game.

When I follow the NBA, it's usually just during the playoffs, and it's almost always limited to the time when the Knicks are still participating in said playoffs. Other than that, I don't really care.

I got a little bit into the Pistons' run to the championship last year, but that was based primarily on the fact that A) I live just outside Detroit, and B) My wife got really into it because she's from South Detroit (aka Toledo) and has always liked all the Detroit teams.

I did not however, band-wagon on to the extent that I bought a championship T-shirt, hat or any other piece of merchandise. Nor did I attend the championship parade, or refer to the Pistons using the first-person at any time (i.e. "We need to put more pressure on the Lakers' inside game...")

This was strictly the same kind of semi-emotionally detached rooting I did for the Patriots (my brother's a fan) in the Super Bowl and for the Red Sox last fall (I know a million long-suffering Sox fans back home). It's also the same kind of rooting I did for Calgary during the last Stanley Cup playoffs I think we'll ever see (I'd rather see Canadians celebrating than a bunch of old people in Florida).

This year, I'd be happy to see the Pistons beat the Pacers and move on to the Eastern Conference championship round. There, I'd like to see them lose to the Miami Heat. Why? My good friend works for the Heat, and stands to make a boatload of money in the form of a guaranteed bonus if they win the NBA championship.

My wife was aghast when I told her that I would be pulling for the Heat if it came down to Detroit and Miami; "You liked the Pistons last year!"

I tried explaining that my attachment to the Pistons was extremely limited (I don't even like living near Detroit, besides I already have a team, and neither I nor anyone else I know closely stands to benefit in any direct way from another Pistons title) but she wasn't buying it. Maybe I should just be grateful that I'm married to someone who's interested enough in sports to get stirred up about stuff like this.