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FIRST-PERSON: Thanksgiving & Ron Artest by Tim Ellsworth Date: Nov 24, 2004 |
JACKSON, Tenn. (BP)--Since Thanksgiving is upon us, I was pondering a holiday-related topic for this week's column. But then Ron Artest and the Indiana Pacers decided to pick a fight with the city of Detroit, and I figured the Thanksgiving column would have to wait.The more I thought about it, however, and the more I thought about the Pistons-Pacers brawl, an inspiration hit. Why not combine the two topics? So after watching the fight and its fallout, I realized that I'm thankful for many things: -- I'm thankful more people weren't hurt. Take a bunch of drunken fans and add a few hot-tempered basketball players set on knocking someone senseless, and you've got yourself a mess. Although the incident was ugly, it resulted in only minor injuries. It could have been a lot worse, and someone could have gotten killed. -- I'm thankful I'm not Ron Artest. This guy has some serious psychological issues, and Friday's game was just the latest manifestation of those problems. First he wants to take time off from a fresh NBA season to promote his new album (um, the Pacers are paying you millions of dollars to play basketball, Ron. Call me crazy, but I doubt they'd be too keen on that idea). Then he goes berserk after a fan throws a beer at him, and starts a riot in the process. I have no idea what it's like to be Ron Artest, and I hope I never find out. -- I'm thankful David Stern took quick, decisive action. Stern suspended Artest for the entire NBA season and doled out harsh punishments on the other players involved. This type of fracas is becoming too common at sporting events, and Stern made it clear that he simply won't tolerate players going into the stands. I'm not sure how preventative the measures will actually be (since someone like Artest doesn't think about the consequences before acting), but Stern did what he had to do. -- I'm thankful I'm not an Indiana Pacers fan. Only a handful of games into the season, and their high hopes are all but shot. With Artest out for the year, Stephen Jackson suspended for 30 games and Jermaine O'Neal gone for 25, the Pacers have practically no chance of being competitive this year. I hear Indiana fans have asked the permission of Cubs' fans to borrow their official motto -- "Wait till next year." -- I'm thankful I'm not a Detroit Pistons fan. No, not every Detroit fan is a beer-chucking thug. But those who are beer-chucking thugs with their infantile behavior succeeded in characterizing an entire city as such. And I'm thankful that although I'm a huge sports fan, I'm not immature enough to embarrass myself and my city at a ballgame. -- I'm thankful that although some players are far too volatile on the field of play, for the most part this country has been free of the massive riots that take place regularly at soccer games in other parts of the world. -- Finally, I'm thankful that my family and I have never been in danger at a sports event. I hope we never will be. --30-- Tim Ellsworth writes this column from his home in Jackson, Tenn. Write to him at bpsports@sbc.net, or visit his web log at www.thewinningspirit.blogspot.com.
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