Last night, the Mavericks played the Clippers in Dallas in their first match up against one another this season. Since most of us don’t live under a rock, you can imagine that last night’s game had a few more people keeping an eye on it after what was easily the strangest sports story this summer.
Hell, even ESPN got in on the the fun by airing out this promo a few days before the game:
As you’d expect, DeAndre Jordan, a Texas native, had his name announced during the pre-game announcements and, as you’d expect, the crowd booed mercilessly. It never stopped. Every time DeAndre got the ball, got a rebound, just a wave of “fuck you’s” would rain down on the court. Just absolutely relentless jeering for a guy who, really, just had a change of heart.
But that’s Texas. That’s Dallas.
Hot-blooded fans who, at their core, believe that “if you don’t play for us, you are (in fact) the enemy.” It’s unapologetic and it is the fabric that makes up why sports in Texas is inherently different than anywhere else in the country.
In Dallas, Dez caught it.
In Dallas, Texas beats Alabama if Colt doesn’t go down.
In Dallas, fuck DeAndre Jordan.
There’s nothing wrong with being passionate about your team. I’ll be the first to argue what sports means to our humanity; your team is your team. It’s your identity. It’s a spirit that lives well beyond the field and permeates a larger part of what connects us as people. But if there ever was a point where reality and morality needed to sink in for a minute..now might be a good time.
Van Gundy had it right on the money calling out Dallas fans last night:
“They’re booing DeAndre Jordan tonight, and they’ll be cheering for someone like Greg Hardy on Sunday.”
He’s right.
Last week, Deadspin released photographs and police reports detailing the incident between Greg Hardy and Nicole Holder in what can only be described as simply fucked up. It was Dale Hansen who famously, back in April, said that we all would “shoot his ass through the glass” if the victim been one of our daughters. The problem, Dale, is that it wasn’t any one of our daughters. No one in Dallas cares about any of this in the slightest.
I’m not saying that the NFL or the Cowboys should police the morality of their players (since they do such a bang-up job doing that anyway). Greg Hardy went through our criminal justice system and came out the other end guilty and that should be the end of it, right? The guy did his time so now, it’s ok to root for him right?
Let’s read the bullshit Jerry Jones spoon-fed us this week:
“While we did not have access to the photos that became public today, we were and are aware of the serious nature of this incident. We as an organization take this very seriously. We do not condone domestic violence. We entered into the agreement with Greg fully understanding that there would be scrutiny and criticism. We have given Greg a second chance. He is a member of our team and someone who is grateful for the opportunity he has been given to move forward with his life and his career.”
That’s the answer of a man who knows he has to cater to the millions of fans who are counting on him to validate their sick defense for this asshole.
But that’s Texas. No matter what everyone else tells us about them, we stand by our own.
But fuck, why do we gotta stand by THAT guy?
