canadians are a wacky bunch.
we're terrifically demanding and highly critical, and yet characteristically disposed to not getting involved. we love to say. we hate to do.
win more medals. don't whine about carrying the flag.
dominate world hockey. don't run up the scores.
what do people expect? that we crush everyone in the world with grace? that we pick a comfortable and non-offensive margin of victory and simply try and maintain it?
it doesn't take an army of sports psychologists to figure out the reason canadians tend to choke in the crunch: we're afraid to be cocky. we lack arrogance. confidance. the swager that all the best have when rising to a challenge. the belief that we are better than you.
we're not winners. we're gracious losers. and until we realize that, until we stop being sorry for who we are, we'll continue to be just that. losers.
conversely, antagonizing our best when they do perform does nothing to remedy this situation.
******
in completely unrelated news, all the talk on the forum, and the recent passing of valentines day have gotten me on the subject of dating. and i've come to a staggering conclusion regarding how women view the concept of dating.
now, maybe i'm wrong, me being a mere man and all, but allow me to theorize about that mysterious planet venus you all live on for one moment, while at the same time explaing to girls the thrill of........the NBA draft.
yes, that's right ladies and gentlemen. dating for girls, and the NBA draft, are essentially the exact same game. thrilling, dissapointing, and ultimately, hit or miss and full of would have, could have, should have.
what do teams look for in potential draft picks? coachability, athleticism, work ethic, fundementals, background, experience, and perhaps most importantly -- upside.
similarly, we can break down the way girls approach men with a parllel set of catagories.
they seek the exact same quantifiable qualities -- coachability, athleticism, work ethic, fundementals, background, experience, and most importantly......UPSIDE.
sure. as that bitter asian guy site notes, girls COULD go out with the perfectly decent and providing asian engineer who has a good career and stable lifestyle.
but why do that when you could go out with the more attractive guy who -- though kind of a slacker right now -- has the potential (with your guidance naturally) to be so much more. to be smart, providing, an excellent listener, AND better looking, funnier, more adept at sports and various artistic endeavours. the whole damn package. and you can make it happen if you could just work on him.
sure, at first this idea sounds retarded. you can't shape a guy. you can't turn him into something if he naturally is not inclined for it. but this is what NBA teams do all the time.
it's the safe bet versus the gamble.
it's darko vs. melo
and every pick in the draft is made for a reason. just like every girl chooses a guy for a reason.
josh smith is the quintessential guy that girls gravitate to -- you can't be sure, but you just KNOW there's got to be something great in there. look at all that potential! he's smart but doesn't try in school. he's ludicrously well rounded but doesn't have the work ethic. he's pretty good already, but he could be so much better..... and boy is he fun to watch.
tim duncan is the all-around med student who everyone loves but is inherently boring. marry him and you won't be dissapointed, although life will be utterly predictable. boring, but ultimately, always for the best.
lebron is the phenom that comes around once every 100 years. marry him and you're probably the luckiest girl alive. he's tom brady with a PhD and gourmet catering company.
gilbert arenas is like the nerd who eventually becomes rich and suddenly hey -- turns out he's not so bad looking after all to boot.
so as we can see, girls view guys much like GM's view basketball players.
playing the game of life is not much different from drafting for an NBA team. you have to scout. you have to understand the game, and understand what your team needs. it's a dangerous game.
for every kevin garnet there's a jonathan bender. yet no team wins a championship with a lineup full of patt garrity's.
and perhaps most of all ladies, if there's one thing we've learned?
always. always take the best player available.
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