Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Andrew Bynum Talks Allot of Talk

Andrew Bynum plays video games and he wants you to know that his gamer tag is AndrewBynumXT.  That certainly isn't abnormal, given that he's just 21 years old.

But for the life of me, I cannot seem to figure out what to make of this young man.  

On the one hand we have a 7 ft 280 pound baby-eater who, from my vantage point cant seem to miss when he's got the ball in the paint (the dude was leading the league in field goal percentage last season and during the off-season ties Amare Stoudemire and Chris Kaman to a pole in-order to do biceps curls with them).  To top it off, in the words (more or less) of long time LaTimes beat writer Mark Hiesler, he descended upon Los Angeles like an angel saving the post-Shaq era.  

On the other hand, he just seems kind of goofy.  And Im not even talking about the kind of goofy that makes Shaq so enduring.  Im talking DREW GOODEN goofy.  The kind of goofy that effects the way you play, the kind of goofy that makes me think of the disney character every-time Drew Gooden swivels around for that weird-ass shot.  Its the kind of goofy that makes you injury prone, the kind of goofy that makes you an undependable player.

Its not simply the fact that he plays Halo (which is probably about the most normal thing someone his age could be doing) that is bothering me.  Nor is it the fact that this isn't his first run-in with letting us know he does kid-stuff when we all think he's supposed to be a baby-eater (remember his myspace page revelation as a 17 year old rookie that Skip Bayless couldn't get over?).  Its not even walking into showers with his socks on.   It isn't even the fact that every time he seems to get mad or irritated by refs (or for that matter just gets mad for no reason), or celebrates a dunk on Amare Stoudamire (im not even gonna bring up the Shaq fiasco -- ok here it is) he just looks a little odd.

Its the fact that he WANTS you to know his xbox live game tag.  Call it pure innocent fun -- issuing a challenge to all the gamers out there to take him on -- but it reminded me of way back when he was a freshly minted rookie (youngest player to ever play in the league in fact), comparing himself to Shaq by telling the world he would in fact be better then his predecessor because he could shoot free-throws.  It struck a chord with how, right after his big injury last year, he told the world it wasn't as bad as it seemed and that his knee "felt better right away," only to miss the entire rest of the regular season leaving the lakers with anti-bigmen.  

It all seems arrogant.

The kind of arrogance that can go either way in basketball.  Its the talking before walking the walk.  The kind that can either set you up for failure or the kind that intimidates your opponents.  And that IS classic Bynum to me, talking the talk.   

Think about it, here he is, after ONLY a half a season of almost utter domination and demolition (even causing the Suns to blow up their team) and he is arrogant enough come out and rave how excited he is to get the season going, how ready he is, how 100% he is, making us all think we are in for 82 more games of pure domination and demolition of all babies.  Sure this gets the Laker freaks excited, it gets us ready and pumped for the upcoming season, but it doesn't exactly spell maturity to keep on talking about things your gonna do before you do them.  I can't really imagine Karl Malone doing this, or the dream, or whomever, when there only 21 and completely unaccomplished in the only world that matters -- the playoffs.  

But its this arrogance that also gives me hope.  Its the kind of arrogance that Shaq had... the kind of arrogance that all lakers fans have.  The kind of arrogance that allows fans to know that if their team plays the way its supposed to play they will win -- that is, the outcome has nothing to do with the other team.  He's the kind of player that just might guarantee a championship or a playoff victory.  Come to think of it, here is almost guaranteeing a finals birth this year, with more of his usual talking the talk.  Its the kind of talking that can intimidate opponents into giving up before they step on the court, cause they just KNOW you are going to bring it.  

And that is what is so perplexing for me.  I dont know which one it is.  If its the arrogance thats all goofball and leads to injury plagued seasons or is it the kind of arrogance that leads to down the stretch and in the clutch playoff production.  

Only time will tell.  

27 comments:

Anonymous said...

your grammar blows all kinds of balls.
go to school you t4rd

rebelsushi#9 said...

I agree. My grammar does blow balls, but I refuse anymore schooling.

Anonymous said...

I'm just looking forward to some good Andrew Bynum knowledge, he's the man.

Anonymous said...

Don't you think you are reading into his words a little? Seems like all this could be written off as him being a little young. One of those high school generation players.

Anonymous said...

That was a complete waste of time.

Anonymous said...

"demolition of all babies".... excellent.

Anonymous said...

Your dedication is right. That was arduous.

Anonymous said...

im not sure exactly what is so odd about bynum when he gets mad... seems like its just like any other basketball player

Anonymous said...

This is a grate post. If only the auther would fix the grammer mistakes.

BoO

Anonymous said...

I think that the "author" is on to something very important in this post. Namely, the (de)construction of the postmodern superstar.

Here we have an example of a relatively (un)accomplished player boasting of his dominance of a virtual medium (a virtual reality?). This reification of the virtual, the cyberfication of the real, if you will, has been used to create a mythology of actual superiority. It's almost as if Andrew Bynum has created a rupture within the traditional discourse of the superstar. With this (in)vitation to the general public he has fused the universal with the particular, and has created space for all agents to participate.

As if this weren't enough, we are brought into this competition through a virtual (re)creation of the original act.

Thank you, rebel sushi, for this much needed problematization of the virtual/real distinction.

Anonymous said...

I'd be delighted to spell check and proof read your stuff for $10 a word.

phillip_owen_dees said...

bynum just better ball this year,thats all that counts yell

www.myspace.com/panhandoelrcorp

Anonymous said...

What exactly is your complaint against Bynum anyway?

That he gives out his Xbox gamertag? Sounds like he's trying to reach out to fans who want to connect with him. Even Gilbert Arenas has given out his gamertag on his blog. It's nothing new.

Anonymous said...

Jacques,

Your concentrated burst of pseudo-intellectual psycho babble is more of a waste of time than the original post of this pathetic blog.

Consider this an (in)vitation to get a life.

Anonymous said...

I cannot wait to play Xbox against Bynum. Great post!

Anonymous said...

Dinksmack, amen to that...

Anonymous said...

I love how this blog is dedicated to the scientific study of Andrew Bynum. Keep up the great work.

And, Bynum most certainly reminds me of the Chief (I even heard that the Chief gives out his gamertag on his website).

rebelsushi#9 said...

dinksmack, im pretty sure Jacques is being sarcastic (notice the repetition of the very same idea in every single overdone sentence).

only a numskull wouldn't see that.

Jacques is the man.

Anonymous said...

idiotic

Anonymous said...

You are an idiot. The Shaq comments were a joke, and what's wrong with posting your gamertag? At least he's not out getting into trouble. I feel dumber for reading your post.

javdog said...

eude. Don't be a gabroni. If you had in fact read the post in its entirety, then you should have known that Bynum having a gamertag is not the concern. The main concern is that Bynum has exuded arrogance at times and what this means for the Lakers in the playoffs. The gamertag and open challenge to all is just an example.

Bynum doesn't strike me as the type that will shrivel up like a prune in the playoffs (ala Odom and Pao last year). He strikes me as being internally motivated, which not all NBA players possess and I think this will translate to mental toughness when the pressure is on.

The post at least raises this issue. Good Job and I look forward to another great season of NBA basketball.

nobody222 said...

I never respond to people's blogs online, but yours was so stupid I had to say something.

First of all I watched the Bynum interview and he never said he was the best video game player. He also was joking when he laid out that challenge to anybody online.

Second you said he looks goofy when he plays. I don't think he looked goofy when he was going up with two hands and rebounding over two other guys. He also didn't look goofy when he was jumping a foot above the rim, and catching ally oop passes, and dunking them with two hands.

Later you talked about people not understanding how bad they are at their chosen professions or their hobbies. Then you listed Stephon Marbury as an example, and how said he's the best point guard in the world. Dude, that is so stupid. He is in the nba and he's been an all star. He is one of the best point guards in the world, there is no denying that. Of course he thinks he's the best. Anybody in the top .0001% of their profession is going to think they are the best at what they do, some people just hide it better than others.

You also talked about your body hoisting 2 or 3 three pointers up every time he plays pick up basketball, and how he always misses. Maybe he's just trying to have fun and he doesn't care if he misses, it is just pick up basketball.

Anonymous said...

"throw me the fucking ball!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mOzQnwhqFE

Anonymous said...

I thought the blog was great. As for giving out the Xbox gamertag...it is an arrogant Man-Child thing to do.

I'll be back to read more....

rebelsushi#9 said...

nobody222

Im pretty sure you were drunk when you wrote that because i have no idea what article you are talking about.

i didn't bring up Steph Marbury once nor did i talk about shooting three pointers. who are you?

lol. oh and the whole point of the post is that his arrogance/goofiness my be the key to his success as a dominate player... as in "demolition of all babies" or it might make him a nobody. Which seems to agree with the wide spectrum of opinions about him.

wah wah....

simplified said...

WOW that totally sucked balls not in a you sucked my balls kinda way but i don't know,hmmmm sort of like a you fucking suck kinda way.WTF is "destroying all babies",bro get another hobbie like sucking balls

Anonymous said...

its the wierdest thing someone a few days ago asked me if andrewbynumxt was the real andrew bynum i dont follow basketball so i had no idea so i looked it up and i found out that the person i added when i was 12 playing halo 3 was a all-star now crazy right