Ordinarily I’m a fan of celebrities/professional athletes show a sense of humor.
These two groups routinely get paid to live lives that most of us can only dream about, so when they take it too seriously it seems as if they aren’t enjoying themselves. This not only makes them look spoiled, it makes the rest of us angry that someone who ‘has it all’, fails to appreciate it as much as we are sure that we would.
When they crack jokes at their own expense we feel closer to them. The self-deprecation reveals a relatable insecurity about having the world at their feet.
The exception to that is when those jokes come across as arrogant, self indulgent, and completely unaware of how us regular folks are feeling.
Want an example? Look no further than @DwayneWade; “I’m available for all bar and bat mitzvah and weddings…but my specialty is balloon animals.”
The feeble attempt at a joke was in response to Wade, and the rest of the NBA players, being locked out as of midnight last night. Wade’s frat boy humor probably goes over well with other players, like Voldemort (He who shall not be named on this page) and Chris Bosh, but those guys will follow him anywhere. For the rest of us, it proves how woefully unaware today’s superstars can be.
Perhaps Wade should have used the 140 character limit to accept some form of responsibility for the lockout. He is responsible for a team that will be using 60 million dollars of its payroll on three players. Did they consider the financial ramifications of this for the Miami Heat, or the rest of the NBA? Or was it too important to start building a three bedroom clubhouse down by the beach?
To joke about the fact that there is, according to some guy on ESPN yesterday, a “75% chance there is no 2011-2012 NBA Season”, shows how far away Wade feels he is from the fans. Shouldn’t his first reaction have been to lament the possible loss of a season for all the NBA fans out there? You know the people who watch the games, buy the jerseys, and essentially pay his salary.
Nope. Wade’s first reaction was to crack a joke, and a lame one at that.
You know what’s really funny? Watching Wade and his friends choke in the NBA Finals after they guaranteed victory in the off season. Come to think of it, maybe that’s why Wade is so blasé about the whole thing. He knows his team is the best in show when it comes to crowning themselves champions before actual games are played. So if the lockout affects the season, they never have to back it up.
The professional athletes we spend obscene time and money to follow, may never care as much as we do, but the least they could do is pretend.
For how much we are paying them, they at least owe us that much.
——Corey
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