\u201cI often wonder if sports have become too important to us,\u201d<\/i> said this diehard Purdue-Reds-Bengals-Colts-DrewBrees-StephCurry-Pacers-Fever-Florida-and-growing-Ohio-State fan.<\/p>\n
We seem to have forgotten that sports \u2014 at their core \u2014 are a game\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
\u2026 \u201cA form of play\u2026 especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
And yet we look at players on the teams we love and make them heroes\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s such a great guy\u201d\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWow\u2026 so awesome on and off the court!\u201d\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cHer character\u2026 she is such a wonderful person!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
We also look at those on the teams we detest and make them villains\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cLook at him flop \u2014 again! Doesn\u2019t everyone see what a terrible person he is!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cWhat a jerk!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cSuch dirty players\u2026 I can\u2019t stand them!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n
And so we make character assessments based on minimal information. Maybe we make assessments based on their off-court public appearances; maybe we make them based on their charitable donations. But the reality is that each is still, always, an incomplete assessment. We cannot determine hero or villain based on such limited assessment.<\/p>\n
I was reminded of such watching the current NBA playoffs. It\u2019s been arguably more interesting this year with several quite talented teams (and most deciding to finally play defense).<\/i> One of those teams \u2014 plausibly, primarily due to the presence of all-world all-star, LeBron James \u2014 is the Cleveland Cavaliers. With all due respect to my northeast Ohio hardcourt enthusiasts, allow me to humbly admit that I am not<\/i> a very big fan.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t hate <\/i>the Cavs (\u2026remember this is just a \u201cgame\u201d).<\/i> I am often impressed with LeBron\u2019s tenacity and his ability to seemingly, sometimes, singlehandedly will his team to win. But I must also admit, when they miss a shot \u2014 especially if the Pacers or Steph Curry is playing in opposition \u2014\u00a0 <\/span>I am somewhat pleased. When Cleveland\u2019s Kyle Korver misses a three, for example, I am especially pleased\u2026<\/p>\n Well, at least I was.<\/i> Then I read this, last week, from ESPN\u2026<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 A 15-year veteran, Korver prides himself on his consistency and levelheadedness. These are cornerstones of what has made him one of the greatest 3-point shooters in NBA history. His mother, Laine, who once scored 73 points in a high school game, taught him that you’re not great until you’re consistent. He’d always taken it to heart.<\/i><\/p>\n But since a terrible week in March, his balance, that fragile component for all shooters, has been off.<\/i><\/p>\n Korver’s youngest brother, Kirk, died on March 20 after a brief illness that caught the family and the doctors by surprise. It was devastating for the close-knit family and for the town of Pella, where Kyle’s father, Kevin, has been the senior pastor of one of the community’s largest churches for 25 years, and the Korver brothers are treated as ambassadors and <\/i>heroes <\/i><\/b>[emphasis mine].<\/i><\/p>\n In Pella, though, in the days and weeks after Kirk’s death, there has been an element beyond grief, an unexpected uplifting. It started at the funeral, attended by more than 1,500 people at the Third Reformed Church of Pella, when Kyle and his parents spoke with such purpose that it left those in attendance in awe. And it has carried on as each Korver 3-pointer splashes through the net in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ playoff run as he plays for more than himself.<\/i><\/p>\n \u2018You know it’s hard to hold death in one hand,\u2019 Kyle said. \u2018Your brother passing. Everything you feel about that and you get playoffs. Nothing else gives you different eyes for what’s going on in the world and what’s important and what matters.\u2019\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n There is something in Korver that makes me believe he gets that there are more important things than sports\u2026 that sports are \u2014 at their core \u2014 a game\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n May we never forget that. May we never forget what\u2019s most important.<\/p>\n And as the NBA Finals begin tomorrow, at least when Korver hits a three, I might even cheer.<\/p>\n Respectfully\u2026<\/p>\n AR<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cI often wonder if sports have become too important to us,\u201d said this diehard Purdue-Reds-Bengals-Colts-DrewBrees-StephCurry-Pacers-Fever-Florida-and-growing-Ohio-State fan. We seem to have forgotten that sports \u2014 at their core \u2014 are a game\u2026 \u2026 \u201cA form of play\u2026 especially a competitive one played according to rules and decided by skill, strength, or luck.\u201d And yet we look … <\/p>\n