How to make a professional basketball player cry

In a FriendFeed thread about sports and weather, Will Higgins made the following comment:

I still maintain that in some situations inclement weather makes for amazing spectacle.

The operative word in Higgins' statement is "some."

While the statement is certainly true of sports such as rugby and (American) football, people who watched the three-day long World Series game realize that American baseball is not designed to withstand the elements. You don't want someone throwing a hard rock directly at you at nearly 100 miles per hour if the person can't really control it due to weather.

But usually when we consider this question, we only consider the sports that are (usually) played outdoors. Now basketball can be played outdoors, and there are people everywhere who play basketball outdoors. But those people aren't played millions of dollars to play the game.

Imagine, if you will, that when the Lakers go to play the Celtics in February 2009, Kobe, Pau, and company are presented with a little surprise.

"Um, I assume you heard about the new venue for the game?"

"What new venue?"

"Well, they've set up a basketball court in the middle of Fenway Park, and the game will be played there."

Role-play for a moment. If you're Kobe Bryant, and you are presented with this situation, what is your first reaction?

1. Oh no! My LEGS!!!


2. Oh no! My ARMS!!!


3. Oh no! My SHOES!!!

Based upon NBA endorsement deals, I would bet that number 3 would be the correct answer.

And it's not just the pro men who have shoe problems. A Converse women's shoe also doesn't stand up, according to someone who is apparently a volleyball player:

i wear these around school.they look great and work well in sports.i love the colors of the hearts they really get attention.they're very comfy and are pretty light which is good for sports.although a nice product they aren't great in bad weather.the puddles from rain soaks right through the material the shoe is made of.that made it not to great of a shoe but if you don't plan to wear them much it's great!!!

Incidentally, I assume that Converse will not adopt that last sentence as its slogan for the shoe. Faint praise...

Sphere: Related Content