By Doc Elder
What’s your favorite TV program? If it’s NCIS or The Big Bang Theory, you obviously are not alone because millions of Americans watch each of those shows on a weekly basis.
Interesting side note: when President Steven Gamble has a free moment, he enjoys watching NCIS.
OK, back to my original point. If you like a popular show, you never lose a minute of sleep worrying about whether your show will be canceled or not. However, if you happen to be fond of a show that hasn’t quite caught on with the American people, you live in constant fear that some network executive is going to pull the plug on the only thing that you find watchable. If you don’t believe me, ask anyone who loved Firefly or Arrested Development. Both shows generally were regarded as being exceptional—they had everything going for them except a lot of viewers.
Clever play on words, Doc, but what’s the point?
I went to Oklahoma City last Friday to watch the Thunder totally dominate the New Orleans Pelicans, and I realized that the Thunder roster is a lot like network TV. There are star players such as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, and they are the sports-world equivalents of NCIS and The Big Bang Theory. Durant and Westbrook will be back next year regardless of how far the guys in blue and orange go, just like those shows most certainly will be back next Fall.
But the Thunder also have some guys that may be on borrowed time. As it turns out, two of them are among my favorite players in the NBA.
First, I’m a huge fan of Derek Fisher because he’s a lot like me: old and left-handed. I’ve loved him since he helped the Lakers win those world championships back in the day.
Second interesting side note: I’m a huge Lakers fan. When I was five, my dad took me 25 miles north of my hometown of Farmington, Minn., to watch a pro basketball game. That was when the Lakers were the Minneapolis Lakers, so I have been a fan for a long, long time. That probably also helps to explain the nickname of the team because Minnesota is the “Land of 10,000 lakes.” If you don’t believe me, read the license plate sometime.
My other favorite player on the Thunder is Nick Collison. I like him because he’s from Iowa Falls, Iowa. His dad was the head basketball coach at Iowa Falls High School when Nick played, but the dad started out as the junior varsity coach. One of the last JV basketball games I coached at Vinton High School in Vinton, Iowa, was against—you guessed it—Nick’s dad. Pretty cool, huh? So yes, even though Nick wound up betraying the state of Iowa by attending Kansas, I root unabashedly for him as a pro.
While both Fisher and Collison played well Friday, I couldn’t help wonder how much longer they have left in the NBA. Collison is currently in his 10th year, and Fisher is astonishingly in his 17th. The game I saw them play last Friday could therefore be the last time I’ll ever see them in an NBA venue. So if you have a favorite player, or a favorite TV show, that isn’t a consensus top-echelon performer, take a moment to enjoy what you’re watching. I certainly did Friday night.