Full @30HomeGames interview with GetBuckets on YouTube

<< crossposted on the 30HomeGames Medium blog

I was interviewed by Ryan of GetBuckets to close out 2023, we reflected on our time in Manila for the FIBA World Cup and talked about the world game. I had excerpted our conversation for an IG guide, but seeing as that feature was disabled, I've transferred that info here. You can still scroll through the IG guides via this link: 30HomeGames Instagram guides.

VIDEO: The NBA is not it and FIBA is proving its case  

Chatting with Ryan from Get Buckets.
We debriefed after our FIBAWC experience in Manila.
Find the full vid on the 'Get Buckets' YouTube channel.

My intention for FIBAWC 2023 in Jakarta 🇮🇩, Okinawa 🇯🇵 and Manila 🇵🇭

My World Cup Intention
LE: (1m 03s) I knew I had to do it my way, which is usually doing it all 3. Obviously most people will watch their team and whoever the host is, maybe go to Manila for the finals phase.

Because I'm doing it as a traveller, backpacker and explorer and also just someone who wants to immerse myself in the experience, I had to do it all.

Lietuva, where @30HomeGames began
LE: (2m 08s) I was hooping in Rotterdam🇳🇱 with a Spanish guy from the hostel… and he goes "You love basketball, you should go to EuroBasket".

I was like, "What's EuroBasket?"

He explained it to me, I looked it up and went to Lithuania a couple of months later… I got to see Dirk Nowitzki, Marc Gasol, Joakim Noah, Boris Diaw. All NBA guys obviously but that's a side of the game that maybe people don't know about.
You know "The Dream Team", you know your local national team but there's a whole world out there.

Taiwanese superfans of the Baltics in Jakarta

Hoops opening up the world
LE: (5m 22s) The more curious and the more you find out, the more you realise there's more curiosity to look into. There's more that we can dig into…"

Find your pack
LE: (7m 14) We all have to realise that attention is paid to what's popular but there's always going to be a small subgroup of people.

People like Australians who like the Boomers. People who like small market teams, who like the Grizzlies and the Timberwolves who are like
"🙋‍♂️ How about us? 🙋‍♀️ How about us?".
There's always been that tussle.

On growing the fanbase
LE: (8m 20s) For me - and we can talk about this with women's sport or just anything. You just need to build a loyal fanbase. You need to build a fanbase that's "ride or die " with you and who are genuine about the team. Genuine about the culture.

Success can bring you new fans, success can bring you new audiences... but you just need that loyalty, you need that culture. You need that sense of community.

Lebanon fans in Jakarta for FIBAWC

Win for Lebanon
LE: (10m 15s) My first World Cup game was Latvia vs Lebanon, probably the best crowd on both sides I experienced. Lebanon came second in FIBA Asia, Wael Arakji is a player I really like so I came in wanting to like Lebanon. They had an amazing support group... a massive amount of Lebanese fans, that's what it's about..."

Gold stays forever
RA: (11m 08s) This is where I really appreciated that mob of Australians, the old heads who were even wearing custom shirts… Even if the Boomers weren't there, they all had fun. That's what it's all about, being with your mates and enjoying the sport that you love.

Pilipinas at Australia (February 2018)

They say we love basketball
RA: (14m 28s) If the Philippines or Filipinos have the ability to support, they will.
...
In 2018 there was an exhibition match in Melbourne... Gilas vs Boomers. 80% attending were Filipinos IN Australia.
I was so proud that I was there, it was insane!
...
They will support the Philippines team, it's just outside of them and Team USA, it needs some work. I don't think it's the Filipinos' fault. Again, credit to the huge marketing machine that is the NBA...

Love of the game
LE: (19m 09s) You've seen this with sneakers… everyone's a sneakerhead now and everyone knows more about sneakers than you do. Then you're like wait "Didn't you just get into it two years ago?"

But that's all of life now...

Guest piece for 'SBS Voices'
LE: (19m 24s) Everything is just accessible but how does that translate into authentic following. Because if it's easy to get into something, it's also easy to get out of something out.

RA: That's right. Is it a trend or do you believe it as a person and it just became a trend?

This. Is. Wrestling. #30HGlive

Then. Now. Forever.
LE: (20m 08s) Everyone likes everything.

RA: There's small bubbles everywhere. They like their own thing.

LE: But then how many things in your life have you liked since you were 15? That to me is what's interesting… That's basketball for me. It's pro-wrestling as well and then there's a million other things.
But that's also what makes me, me.

Best way to find out
LE: (21m 53s) You want to search for it. There's a comedian Pete Holmes who [has a joke] about Googling. You can Google all knowledge but the best knowledge is when you experience it, maybe organically through conversation or organically through life...
And so for me that story is amazing because you had the intention for something to happen... And to me that's what the experience of going on these trips is about.

Getting swept up by @Gromuls and Team Latvia

The Latvian connection
LE: (23m 32s) I'm walking towards there, then I see a bunch of Latvians and I'm like "They're going to the game, I'll follow them
...
They're friendly to me and they give me a [Rolands Šmits] shirt so I become part of their crew...
So [@gromuls] he's a TikToker, an influencer, and he just knows everyone in Latvia so I was just connected with him for all the games yeah...

Meeting Raimonds Vējonis

LE: (24m 14s) "I want to introduce you to someone. he's the President of Basketball". So I shake his hand, take a photo. He's a cool guy.

Then later on everyone else is taking photos with him and one of the guys goes, "You know who that is right? That's the former President of Latvia".
...
This is who I want to meet and connect with. People who are just like: You're a fan, I'm a fan.
I'm a person, you're a person.

Srbija Got Game

RA: (27m 58s) You want to understand why the last three MVPs in the NBA are not American, this is why. You have to see how they play, how they connect. They're so different.

I go back to Bogdan, this is why I want a Bogdan jersey... he's the lifeblood of the Serbian team.

Being absorbed by travel and the challenge of distilling our discoveries: Sam Anderson on the 'Dear Adam Silver' podcast

'Boomtown' by Sam Anderson

Abigail Smithson is an artist with a love for basketball. Like myself, she has a perspective of the game through art and the larger world. Her guests are a reflection of this. Author Sam Anderson provided amazing insight into the writing of his book, 'Boomtown: The fantastical saga of Oklahoma City, its chaotic founding... its purloined basketball team, and the dream of becoming a world-class metropolis'. How OKC came to be his muse and the invigoration he got through travel.

'Dear Adam Silver' podcast | Episode 37: Sam Anderson and Boom Town

SAM ANDERSON: (31m 06s) There's something to be said for coming in as an outsider, as a blank slate and then just filling in the canvas as much as you can.
ABIGAIL SMITHSON: And I think if you're from somewhere, whether it's where you grew up or you live later on. Whichever. It's so much harder to get that same level of drive towards learning about that place, you take it for granted... whereas when you're in a new place and you're a visitor, I gotta get all this info...

I visited Oklahoma in 2017. I was able to spend time with distant cousins, my only NBA roadtrip being hosted by family. I'm sure my experience of Oklahoma was unique to me. Our experience of places are inevitably shaped by the time we have, who we meet along the way and the perspectives we bring. Like any good dialogue, hopefully we get taken somewhere that we didn't expect coming in.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Loz In Transit (@30homegames) on Jun 21, 2020 at 4:52am PDT

On being activated by novelty, Sam Anderson continues:

ANDERSON: It was like an alternate mode of being. That to me as a writer, a reporter, a whatever–as a human is like the most exciting thing, is just being in a place with all my receptors wide open and just take in everything I can take in and that's my only job is to be fully aware. It feels like a real Buddhist state of ecstasy and openness. The writing is the horrible part, the production of the thing later is the bad part. Being out there absorbing the world is just one of the happiest feelings I know...

I've grappled with this myself. On my first grand adventure backpacking around Europe, I traveled sans camera for most of the trip to fully embrace the moment. Truth be told, my camera was stolen early on but I resolved not to replace it to fully commit to the experience. I became fascinated by memory. I read books about it, and wrestled with it through writing. Especially with the ubiquity of social media and life documentation, it often becomes a battle between living in the moment or standing back to capture it.

Sam and Abigail share their struggles with this conflict as creatives:

ABIGAIL SMITHSON: (33m 12s) It's so nice for me to hear that the writing is still the horrible part for you. I too get very exhilarated by being somewhere that's new to me... realising that this could be something I spend more time with but then now I'm home and "aaaargh", slowly pecking at the keys. It's not great. 

SAM ANDERSON: The worst. The worst... I come back and it's always the same thing. I'm overwhelmed by this continent of thrilling material I've come back with and how do you go about reducing that and mapping it out and just extracting the littlest bits that tell people about the larger thing. You just lose so much and that always feels so traumatic for me. That transition from the pure ecstasy of intaking the world to the difficulty of outputting some tiny little thing represents that intake. It's always so hard and it surprises me every time how hard it is and how different the thing I produce is to what I imagined or felt along the way.

Borrowing a moment from #30HGnorthwest

Sam Anderson resolves the dilemma of disconnect by finding value in the attempt.

SAM ANDERSON: (35m 21s) As my editors always reminded me, my big sloshing Pacific Ocean of ecstatic experiences on any given subject, that's completely internal to me. It does that subject no justice if I just sit around with it sloshing around inside myself feeling happy that I contain this ocean and that I have to find a way to distil and compress... present this tiny sculpture made of salt... Here you go. That's the ocean.

'Before Sunrise' (1995) - "The answer must be in the attempt"

A worthy resolution, validated in a line from my favourite movie 'Before Sunrise'. "If there's any kind of magic in this world it must be in the attempt of understanding someone sharing, something. I know, it's almost impossible to succeed... but who cares really? The answer must be in the attempt."


Find other posts on creativity and memory here:
- Jacques Henri Lartigue: Why I'm getting a camera
- The pursuit of happiness: A collection of "Happy triggers" during travel
- Retiring the @30HomeGames Instagram.
- Other people's stories - Tales of: Living in the moment

David Jacoby on "Homerism" and being a die-easy fan

The Midas touch continues, home teams have gone 9-0 when I've been in the building. More often than not, said home teams were underdogs or underperforming. True. 2014-15 season: OKC (23-22) lose@ NYK (8-37) DEN (19-29) lose@ PHI (10-39) LAC (33-16) lose@ CLE (30-20) 2016-17 season: MIL (4-2) lose@ DAL (0-5) PHI (1-8) lose@ HOU (5-4) UTA (7-6) lose@ HOU (7-5) DET (4-4) lose@ SAS (5-3) 2017 Playoffs SAS (2nd) lose@ MEM (7th) Gm4 WAS (4th) lose@ ATL (5th) Gm4 #AddtheW #30HGroadtrip #30HGsoutheast

A post shared by Loz In Transit (@30homegames) on Apr 24, 2017 at 9:42pm PDT

Die-easy fan David Jacoby shares a sentiment straight out of my brain.

AUDIO: Goodell Strikes Back, Billboard Message In Philly, Lonzo's Top 5 and More (Feb 27, 2018)
JALEN ROSE: (9m 43s) Is there a limit on how many teams you can be die-easy for?
DAVID JACOBY: No. You know how die-easy fandom works Jalen. That's how it works. I can do whatever I want.
You know what I do when I go to games? This is for real. This is the most die-easy thing I do.
When I go to games, you know who I root for?
JALEN ROSE: The home team.
JACOBY: The home team.
*Jalen Rose laughing*

Just to be excited. I like the energy. I like the collective energy of the human beings around me. I like to get swept up in the emotion. Like I swear --the Podfather [Bill Simmons] doesn't listen to this show so he won't mind-- but when I go to Celtics/Clippers games or something. I'll root against the Celtics. I just like to high five the people around me. I like to chant "D-Fence!". You know what I mean? I like the collective energy. I like to stand up in a big possession.

I've been lucky to visit multiple basketball cities. For each of those games, I've barracked excitedly for the home team. I'm 14-1 in NBA cities watched and 5-2 for NBL games. I began with 5 straight wins on my recent tour of Australasia. Including watching the slumping (7 losses straight) Brisbane Bullets reverse their fortune against the streaking 36ers (7 game win streak). Interestingly my two blemishes came from formidable playoff-bound teams.

My homer tour of Australia.

My hometown Sydney Kings not included.

I'm a fan of the game, I'd like to preserve that as best as possible. For this Oz tour I took game day photos capturing perspectives for each NBL arena. It was fun running around taking a holistic view of the game but it was a balancing act. Focusing on the contest at hand whilst documenting the energy around me. Being invested in the success of the home team certainly heightened my engagement. It struck a nerve when my home win streak finally fell in New Zealand.

DAVID: JACOBY That's why I'll never get a press pass. Two reasons I'll never get a press pass, never get credentialed. Number one, you can't drink. So-- you know.
*Jalen hasn't stopped giggling*
Number two, you gotta act like you don't care about the game. You know what I mean? When you're in the press area. You have to sit there and be [in serious voice] "I'm a journalist. The outcome of this game doesn't affect me. I'm just here to analyse the performance of the different teams"
JALEN ROSE: That's hilarious.

I have no problem being labeled a die-easy fan. A big part of travel for me is connection, building empathy. I've certainly developed kinships with places visited, the more positive the experience the deeper the bond. It's worth noting I've never watched a game where my favored Memphis Grizzlies or hometown Sydney Kings were visitors. When allegiances are tested I can only hope for a well-fought match. You could argue that my 30 Home Games mission is rooted in being openhearted and die-easy.
First and foremost, I'm a basketball fan.

- Souvenir NBA merchandise and the Politics of being a Sports Homer #30HGtees
- David Jacoby on "Homerism" and being a die-easy fan

Update: Since 2016, I've been making bandwagon logos for NBA teams that earn a playoff berth.

#30HGlogos

Team Chemistry: Pete Holmes and Bill Simmons on the bonds one makes through pick-up basketball

Pete Holmes and friends

Pete Homes' You Made it Weird' is my favourite podcast. I've quoted it extensively for my travels as his outlook echoes many of the observations and epiphanies I've found in my own life. Whilst Pete and Bill share a history growing up in Boston, Pete is unabashedly not a sports aficionado.

AUDIO: Pete Holmes on Conspiracies, Humor, and ‘Crashing’
PETE HOLMES: (18m 28s) This is a joke I've told before but when we used to play pick-up basketball, I didn't count points. I counted friends I'd made. Which is true. Like when guys fight and stuff, I'm like "Fellas. It's f*cking pretend."
BILL SIMMONS: Right.
HOLMES: It's 11 to 6 like who f*cking cares. We just made that up. That's two, that one's worth three. It's all baloney and people getting along mattered more to me than that.
SIMMONS: That's my favourite part of basketball.
HOLMES: Is what?
SIMMONS: Is the relationships. Is the going and playing, staying on the court for three hours. Making like weird friends you'd never make normally. Never seeing those people again after the game.

This exchange resonates with me. For my European and South American trips spanning 2 years, I sought out basketball experiences and pick-up games with locals in each country visited. Sometimes these came via Couchsurfing, more often than not connections were created organically.

December 25, 2013. Bogotá, Colombia.

A conversation struck up over a basketball tee might lead to a pickup game the next day. I reconnected with the driver who picked me up while hitching and watched a game at his nightclub days later. During a lonely holiday period in Colombia, my Christmas day spent hooping with locals punctuated my trip with indelible memories.

A post shared by Loz In Transit (@30homegames) on Jan 9, 2018 at 12:11am PST

It's moments like these that have me pursuing my hoop dreams of travel even as that shot clock winds down. I recently embarked on my Australia tour to tip-off 2018, having just completed my first jaunt in Adelaide. There I met a German backpacker, his "Frankfurt Basketball" tee immediately catching my attention. He remarked over beers, "I want a life I'm happy with on the inside rather than living one other people enjoy from the outside".
Echoing Pete Holmes' sentiment, sometimes we find joy in the little things. From parts of the game where one might not expect it.

Jalen Rose & David Jacoby on millennials and their relationship with Social Media

I've expressed my wariness of technology and its ability to take us away from the moment. With the ubiquity of Smartphones it's a constant battle deciding whether to log on or whip out the camera. A photographer once told me "to capture happiness, you have to be outside of it". When we derive joy from broadcasting our experiences it becomes an even trickier balancing act.
NBA alumn Jalen Rose describes the state of society and social media to co-host David Jacoby using the Russell/Young viral video as a jumping off point. Lakers rookie D'Angelo Russell foolishly broadcasted a private conversation of his teammate Nick Young discussing "men's business", this put him in an awkward spot with fiancée, rapper Iggy Azalea.

Jalen & Jacoby 12/28/16 - Best of Jalen and Jacoby Podcast 

JALEN ROSE: (7m 56s) I don't actually blame him [D'Angelo Russell]. I blame this era that has been highlighted by the Kardashians who have made a multi-billion dollar brand off of not necessarily being talented. And I don't blame them because they're the trendsetters. I blame all of the followers. People that think social media is gonna be your vehicle to your success. I don't care what your job or your career is. Its gonna be minuscule what social media pays you versus what that will pay you

DAVID JACOBY: What does that have to do with D'Angelo Russell though, he's getting paid to play basketball?
ROSE: Tupac said "I learnt to ignore what can't pay me". Now millennials are so worried about being appreciated and validated by what they post on Twitter, Facebook, Vine, Periscope, Snapchat. So many different avenues, that what I'm doing in person and who I'm doing it with is not as relevant as who I want to see or acknowledge it on social media. A lot of young people now go to social media for gratification, for self-esteem, for support... 

Jalen & Jacoby on Social Media

It's a little counter-intuitive for Jalen to admonish fans for doing what they love as their own 'Jalen & Jacoby' program first began as a passion project on the Grantland network. The labour of love netted them a following which earned the duo a primetime radio spot and TV show. Technology has democratised the media allowing everyone the chance to offer their own analysis, from commenting on messageboards to creating their own sports talk show.

JACOBY: Obviously we're talking about the video that somehow found it's way on the internet of Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell recording a private conversation between him and Nick Young that has then blown up his relationship with pop star Iggy Azalea and also allegedly blown up the Lakers locker room with the other Lakers freezing out D'Angelo Russell...
I completely disagreed with you at first when you blamed the Kardashians and social media however you said something that I definitely agree with you with. What's happening now today is that the conversation you're having, the experience that you're having is somehow not good enough. You need to record it and share it with every single person you know. And I think that's what this is...

Outings and Eats with @30HomeGames

Its a tightrope I've had to walk since launching IG @30HomeGames 134 weeks ago. I retired my Sydney content after 2 years but during its heyday I was on an obsessive hunt for hoops-inspired shots. On the flipside, it catalysed me to be active socially and culturally, I just needed to redress the balance between being an observer and actor in my own life.

ROSE: For D'Angelo Russell, while it was irresponsible. While it was immature and a flagrant foul he highlights what happens daily. Young people go to social media for appreciation and for validation. What I'm doing at the dinner table, what I'm doing at the house, what I'm doing at my job isn't enough for me. I don't feel as confident till I post it. I need everyone else to tell me that I look good, that I sound good. And a lot of times these are people that don't know what they're talking about. You're taking opinions from a lot of people that are not necessarily experts in the field that you're trying to get validated for. And you're spending time on social media and it's not paying you a dime. Social Media isn't paying you millennials anything. When are you gonna wake up?
JACOBY: I love millennials and I'm gonna back millennials any chance I can because there are a lot of millennials that up there profile through their social media persona, there are people that get jobs because of their social media persona

My IG despite lukewarm numbers has netted me great friendships and experiences. It got me a memorable maiden NBA arena experience with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. On my recent trip to Texas, I was welcomed by @00_rocketgirl  and enjoyed a Rockets game alongside their Red Rowdies cheer section. Harnessed correctly, social media can make the world feel smaller and connects like-minded folks together.
You follow?

Souvenir NBA merchandise and the politics of being a sports homer #30HGtees

People arrive at their favourite teams through all sorts of ways, usually via their favourite player. Some find connection through their first piece of team sportswear, building affinity through NBA fantasy, video games or a celebrity supporter. It could be boarding the bandwagon of the day.
Being from Australia, I didn't have a regional connection to an NBA team. No automatic link. My brothers and I were regularly given sporting gifts by family visiting from and travelling to the States. As kids, we got shirts and sweaters emblazoned with colleges like Duke and Georgetown plus an assortment of teams from the 4 major sports leagues.

I still recall the first moment I noticed the depth of meaning in repping a team. I was a teenager travelling with family to Disney World. As we queued for a ride, I witnessed two families bonding over their native Denver, a passer-by flagged for his 'Broncos' sweater. It only dawned on me then that team colours signified more than a love for the game, it reflected identity. Not only what one valued but importantly where they were from. Who they saw themselves as.

A photo posted by Loz In Transit (@30homegames) on Dec 25, 2016 at 2:02pm PST

For Americans this may seem intrinsic but for a distant fan of the game it was something I grew to understand. It wasn't just about liking a logo, colour scheme or having a favourite player. Fans of "the world game" [soccer] may be able to relate, being wedded to a team through no initial connection but later forged through years of sentiment and support. What might have begun as a fashion choice becoming a defining characteristic.

ESPN staff writers Zach Lowe and Kevin Arnovitz light-heartedly discuss the politics of wearing team branded clothing

'The Lowe Post': Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN (11/18/16)
KEVIN ARNOVITZ: (40m) I never feel comfortable wearing the Milwaukee Bucks shirt I have even though I like it a lot...
ZACH LOWE: Loosen up, loosen up
ARNOVITZ: Can I loosen up? The threshold I make is if its a real throwbacky thing where it kinda ventures into design more than team loyalty. I have this old San Diego Clippers thing that's kinda good looking, like that I'll wear sometimes. Cuz to me it doesn't have the current city in it. I actually have a Sonics sweatshirt that I wear to the pool and that I'm allowed to wear obviously and its not expression of loyalty to the Thunder or anything. It's just a great Sonics sweatshirt I've had since college
LOWE: But I also think it can give you a fun human interaction with strangers so I'll give you an example
ARNOVITZ: I don't want that. I don't want to interact with strangers. It's terrifying.
LOWE: I forgot how misanthropic you are... I have a Milwaukee Bucks shirt and on the back it says #34 Greek Freak and it has like Greek Style lettering kind of. They look like the lettering of every Greek Restaurant you go to...

Giannis Antetokounmpo "Greek Freak" promo shirt

I share Zach's sentiment about the value of bonding through Sports. It was a large driver for embarking on this 30 Home Games mission, an avenue to connect with cities and locals to enrich my travels. Rather than team loyalty, I wear my shirts as a bridge to connect with people and express my passion

ZACH LOWE: And I'm sitting in this lounge in my apartment complex where you like work and stuff. And this kid, probably 11 years old comes up to me. Sees this shirt and said "Where'd you get that shirt?". I was in Milwaukee so I got this shirt. And he said "I'm Greek and he's my favourite player now and we got League Pass at my house and we watch the Bucks every night. I'd really love to get that shirt". You know what kid, I'll give you this shirt. So I go home, wash it and give the kid the shirt. I'd worn it once, I'd just gotten back from Milwaukee.
Now he and I are buddies. I see him around the neighbourhood all the time. He's always talking NBA with me and he wears the shirt. It makes me very happy. I feel like a good person

KEVIN ARNOVITZ: You know what? You've sold me. In a moment in history where globalism and everybody is turning inwards. Where globalism is a bad word, I'm going to now wear this stuff to forge relationships and moments with people who are unlike me... 

My brothers and I had our teams when we began following the NBA in the 90s. We don't support the same teams we began with but I'm sure they have fond memories cheering the "Boom Baby" Pacers and the Stockton & Malone era. I remain nostalgic for the "Clutch City" Rockets, ghosts of our youth. We didn't have access to merchandise in those days, so our clothing never matched our fandom. We were limited in what we could represent prior to the internet and the international expansion of the NBA. Not to mention we were kids with little pocket money.

30HG collection of souvenir basketball shirts

At my advanced age, I only update my wardrobe when I'm on the road. Through my travels I've collected over a dozen basketball souvenir shirts, commemorating my time spent in places from China to Latvia. I tend to be a "homer" for places I've visited, celebrating the tragedy and triumph of my favourite destinations when I see them compete in international competition. Heartily cheering for incoming internationals like Kristaps and Domantas as they enter the NBA.
Zach Lowe echoes this sentiment of supporting various teams as a larger expression of love for the game.

Sports Homer

ZACH LOWE: (38m 18s) I have clothes now from half the league's teams so if I'm out and I have a Nets hat on and a Timberwolves thing on, I feel like I'm Homer Simpson holding the NBA pennant. Just "Fan of basketball". I think that's OK.

I'm having to navigate these allegiances as I build connections and experiences with teams and cities on my quest to visit all 30 NBA teams. So far I've been a lucky charm as I've provided timely wins for all 6 of the home games attended. Building a nice collection of travel merch to match the passport stamps and memories made.

- Souvenir NBA merchandise and the politics of being a sports homer #30HGtees
- David Jacoby on "homerism" and being a die-easy fan

Former LA Clippers teammates Spencer Hawes and JJ Redick share their favourite NBA Road Cities

Spencer Hawes returns as a guest on 'The Vertical podcast with JJ Redick', the first and only pod anchored by a current NBA player.
They briefly discuss their favourite Road Cities in the States.

Spencer Hawes joins The Vertical Podcast
JJ REDICK: (11m 20s) My favorite roadtrip when I was in Orlando was when we would hit the Pacific Northwest. We'd always go to Portland and Seattle, usually have between 4 and 5 days between the two cities. You'd be guaranteed to be in one of the two cities for 2 or 3 days. And they're two of my favorite cities in the US. And certainly Portland is one of my favorite cities to visit as a road city.
What are some of your favorite Road Cities? Maybe the ones -- obviously New York, San Francisco -- those are my two favorites. What are some off the beaten path, some underrated road cities to you?
SPENCER HAWES: Obviously you gotta throw LA and New York. You can't really count those for obvious reasons. Obviously San Francisco is a terrific city. I'm really a fan of Toronto
REDICK: It's cold.
HAWES: A lot of times when we go up there due to the schedule its in the dead of winter, you see kind of the worst side of the city when it's 15° and snowing out but I got an opportunity to go up there during the lockout a few years ago. I believe it was during the fall and had an unbelievable experience so Toronto's definitely one of my favorites.
Where else would I throw in there. What's another one you like? Chicago?
REDICK: Chicago. Well Chicago is great. Good town. I'm gonna throw one in there and it's similar to Toronto in that the weather is always awful when ever we play there but I think its a world-class city: Minneapolis, Minnesota.
HAWES: Yeah (agreeing)
REDICK: Great restaurants, great music scene, great sports town. Also [Redick's wife] Chelsea, if you're listening to this please cover your ears but I also dated a girl from 2 years in college that was from Minneapolis so I got to spend some time up there in the summer and go to Twins games and go out on the lake. It's an awesome city!

The discussion brings up a predicament with my 30 Home Games mission. As the NBA season is on during winter, the cities' may not as be as hospitable as they'd be if I visited during the summer months.

HAWES: I think that's like a lot of Midwestern cities. If you were a baseball player your experience would be completely different from that of playing in the NBA if that's your hometown because you experience baseball season, the summer, the lakes everything. All the best things the city has to offer.
REDICK: No question, being a [Twins' catcher] Joe Mauer or something like that. Your opinion of Minnesota is a little bit different rather than a guy who's been playing for the Timberwolves a couple of years and moves during the summer as soon as the season is over.

Both JJ and Spencer were teammates in Los Angeles, and their fondness for each other is evident on the pod. They touch on their time in China as their respective teams [Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Clippers] faced off at the 2015 NBA Global Games. I was lucky to catch some of that action on the Shenzhen leg of the tour.
I highly recommend the Redick podcast. Its similar in vein to the insight Jalen Rose has provided with David Jacoby and Bill Simmons for ESPN but from a current player's perspective. Rose and Redick diverge in other ways too, Redick more likely to talk about current movies and TV shows especially with his connection to LA.

Spencer Hawes' pick: Toronto, Ontario

JJ Redick's pick: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Find Champagning and Campaigning posts here:
- NBA Cities: Eastern Conference
- NBA Cities: Western Conference
- Jalen's Black Guy City Power Rankings

The Tao of Jalen and Jacoby: What to do in each City

Jalen and Jacoby on what to do in each city

I'm a big believer that the reason we enjoy travel is more in the spirit we carry than the destination we're at. When we're abroad, we find novelty, we are more adventurous and outgoing. We have an appreciation for our immediate surroundings. That's partly the reason I've gone on these FIBA adventures, the destination is negligible. I know that if i'm there with a pretext that excites me (basketball) I can find novelty when I'm on the ground or I'll have a blast seeking it, it's just a matter of setting expectations.

Jalen and Jacoby talk Kyrie Irving, Super Bowl and more (1/29/15) | Grantland Channel
DAVID JACOBY: I've been to every major city in the country. Not every city is New York, where things open late and there's big parties and big night clubs everywhere but there's something to do in every city. It's not like Cleveland is dead. You know what I mean, there's trouble to get into if you want to get into it if you're J.R. Smith.
JALEN ROSE: That's not accurate. Yeah if you want to get online and do all types of things that you would do on your computer yeah that travels with you. But if you're talking about going out to dinner, hearing music, going to lounges, clubs, speakeasies, bars.
JACOBY: Its not gonna be the same as New York but they have that.
ROSE: But if you're used to eating that Tao at 11 o'clock, that comes with the lifestyle [rather than]... Applebees at 7:30... there's a different infrastructure when you're in that comfort zone.

"Everydayness": Heidegger on Death and Kevin Garnett playing a midseason Game in Charlotte

<< crossposted on 'Let's Get Real podcast' blog

An aging Kevin Garnett VS Charlotte's Cody Zeller.  

What does Champion NBA Power Forward Kevin Garnett have to do with influential thinker Martin Heidegger? Authors Daniel M. Klein and Thomas Cathcart in their humorous book on the Philosophy of death finds a way to explain Heidegger's often complicated ideas via a basketball analogy

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates:
Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between

Ch 4. Heideggerty-Dog, Ziggity-Boom, What You Do to Me
Look at it this way: Say you're Kevin Garnett and this is Game 7 of the NBA Finals. You're going to play with way more intensity, way more energy, way more life, than in one of those dreary Thursday night midseason games in Charlotte. Heidegger called the latter "everydayness," and he put it down as the ultimate drag. So let's face it squarely, Daryl, this -- right here, right now -- is Game 7 of the Finals, and what a joy it is to be here!

For Heidegger, the worst possible news would be that our souls are immortal. That would condemn us to a never-ending string of those Thursday night games in Charlotte.

My only quibble is the use of Garnett for the example. He's arguably the most consistent and unfailingly intense player currently in the L.

Basketball and Esquire's 'Meaning of Life 2012'

I don't read Esquire Magazine as much as I'd like to but I'm always impressed by the thoughtfulness of their articles. The annual 'Meaning of Life' issues, hyperbole aside are always a good read. Most notable are Cal Fussman's profiles which reliably capture the heart of his subjects.

I referenced George Clooney indirectly for my Oceans '12 Team USA poster. Clooney is a big time basketball fan, his court was featured in the cover article for Esquire's 'Meaning of Life 2012'.

George Clooney's Thoughts for Today. What I've Learned (This Year)
The court has a special, slightly padded surface, and it's set up for both tennis and basketball. Clooney's close circle of friends shows up to play regularly. The padding around one of the hoop stanchions says, "The Boys." ...

There are quite a few things that the devil could tempt me with. I would argue youth. But I could argue against it in so many ways. The only reason that being younger would in any way be appealing is that I wish I could play sports at the level I now understand them. I could dunk a ball when I was in high school. But now I know how to play the game really well. I remember getting into varsity basketball games and literally being just lost — just absolutely panicked on what to do. And now I would know exactly what to do.

-------------------------------------

Chris Bosh: What I've Learned
When I arrived at training camp, ESPN had set up shop and you'd hear, "Reporting live from training camp." I'm thinking, What are they doing? This is what they do for the Super Bowl, the World Series, the NBA finals. That was the we're-not-in-Kansas-anymore moment. And it was like that for the whole time 

 -------------------------------------

Scottie Pippen: What I've Learned
Phil got us into yoga. It was tough in the beginning. We hadn't even heard of yoga. But it was something that allowed us to calm down after practice, to relax and stop thinking about going to the mall to buy this or that. It's seldom that you go into a gym and not hear a basketball bouncing or weights dropping. But the lights would dim after practice, and over time it became a sacred place.

Comedians Pete Holmes and Dov Davidoff get existential with Basketball

Basketball inventor James Naismith with the original peach baskets

I find myself agreeing with Pete Holmes a lot but we diverge when it comes to sports

@30HomeGames Comedian Pete Holmes gets existential "Why don't I watch Basketball? Because the ball doesn't mean anything."

Pete Holmes finds inherent sadness in sports because it speaks to him existentially. He expands on this recurring thought with Dov Davidoff

YOU MADE IT WEIRD #64: Dov Davidoff
PETE HOLMES: (21m 20s) I'll watch a sports game (and I've said this on the show before), I'll go "This makes me sad. There are all these people here and we're all acting like this means something". Then I go "Oh No! That's what we're doing with everything". And then that'll get me in a crisis...

He counters that with

HOLMES: Either everything means nothing and I'm at a sports game and I'm like "Everything means nothing and that makes me feel hollow" or everything is everything. Everything IS Everything! ...

Update: April 2014
As part of my 30HomeGames Comedy wishlist I've been compiling a running list of Pete Holmes' NBA interviews for TBS' Pete Holmes Show:
- Fearing the Beard with James Harden
- Kyrie Irving and his long-time friend Pete Holmes
- Pete hangs with NBA All-Star Anthony Davis
- Pete hangs with Harrison Barnes of The Golden State Warriors
- Talkin' like Talls with Dikembe Mutombo

Tim Legler: Miami Heat had all there fun in the line for the Rollercoaster

The Miami Heat happy in anticipation of the ride.

Former NBA star and ESPN analyst Tim Legler in a recent episode of NBA Today postulated that the Miami Heat would be exhaling BIG once these Playoffs were over, no matter what the outcome. Legler offered this theory when Miami were facing elimination heading into Game 6 in Boston.

NBA Today (June 7, 2012) - Download  MP3 here
Cassidy Hubbarth, Adam Stanco and Tim Legler break down how the Thunder eliminated the Spurs. Plus, they discuss all the issues on the Miami Heat. 

(42min) TIM LEGLER: There is so much talk of their offense, its just so heavy. They don't look like they're having any fun. If they win it they'll be the only team in NBA History to win the NBA title and just walk off the lot, walk off the floor.
(room laughs)
Thank God! Thank God that's over. Like a 7yr old on a rollercoaster that was just taller than the clown and barely got on the ride and hated it. And got off it and was like "God! That was awful". That's how I feel about them and I'm just like "Man, Have fun!". The Thunder, the exuberance man. The fun is there. I don't see any fun with the Miami Heat 

ADAM STANCO: The only fun was when they were in line
LEGLER: That's it. The fun was in line. The anticipation of the ride. Once they got on that ride, "This is terrible". Where are the teacups?

VIDEO: LeBron James harassed at Amusement Park

Interestingly Lebron used the amusement park analogy to describe the last few years of his life.

LeBron James Says His Life Has Been Like an ‘Amusement Park’ 

‘Everything,’ he said. ‘Appreciate it.’ Then he got up and walked off... and he laughs at the very idea of what his life has been like these past two years. ‘You ever been to an amusement park?’ he says. ‘That’s what my life has been like. Twists and turns. Up and down. Uh-oh, here we go, the roller-coaster is going into the dark hole again. Where’s the light? There’s the light. Up and down. Back into the dark hole. Back in the light. That’s what my life has been like.’ 

The ups and downs Lebron has endured is not unlike the rollercoaster that Dirk Nowitzki rode to glory last year, denying Lebron. 

Will Ferrell with amusing Intros for Chicago Bulls at New Orleans

VIDEO: Will Ferrell 80's night Lineup Introductions
Chicago Bulls VS New Orleans Hornets

On the February 8 Bulls VS Hornets game held in New Orleans, Comedian Will Ferrell announced the starting lineups adding his own brand of absurdity to the proceedings. I had the pleasure of seeing the mentioned Europeans play for their respective national teams at EuroBasket.

WILL FERRELL: ... At forward, number 9. He collects rare birds and has a pet dolphin Satchii - Luol Deng.
At Center, number 13. He's a Scorpio and a horrible dancer - Joakim Noah.
...
At Guard 6' 5" from Italy, ironically he hates Italian food - Marco Belinelli.
At Forward 6' 10" from Mexico. He doesn't speak a lick of English but we still have him - Gustavo Ayon.

Demetri Martin finds Clearification: "Hand Toss" basketball facial

HAND TOSS: Demetri Martin

WARNING: Hand Toss alert!
New readers unfamiliar with my writing might find this blog perplexing. '30 Home Games' began as a basketball-themed offshoot to my 'Loz in Translation' travel blog. Both blogs incorporate epiphanies I've discovered though my twin passions (travel + basketball). Using articles, conversations and art found in each hobby, I relate it to grander themes as I explore the meaning of life and pursue happiness.

Comedian Demetri Martin in a series of viral ads for Windows Vista sheds some light:

VIDEO: Demetri Martin finds Clearification

DEMETRI MARTIN (voiceover): For a select few, life gets complicated quickly and gradually it gets out of control. I guess you could say I'm one of the select few.

I was winning at life. Focused, professional, protected, forgetful - a little bit. And all business. I was also an a$$hole...

I'm not quite sure how things got out of control. I thought I had things figured out but I didn't... Far from it. What I had was a condition "Hyper Achiever with No Direction and Tendency to Overcomplicate Situations Syndrome". Its a rare condition...