Sometimes we forget why professional sports exist.
Professional sports exist for the purpose of entertainment. When you pay $40 to go to a Cardinals game, you’re paying to be entertained for a few hours by a group of elite athletes–athletes with skills beyond our comprehension (go to a batting cage and set the pitch speed to 70 mph to see what I mean).
That’s it. Everything else is ancillary. There is a focus on winning, and it’s very easy to get caught up in the winning, as if it means something by itself. It doesn’t. Winning is just part of the entertainment–you want your team to win so you can be more entertained by them. So you can feel good about your choice to root for that specific team.
Which brings me to the article that instigated this post. You can read it here. Basically, Joakim Noah, a player on the Chicago Bulls, tried to score an extra basket with his team up 99-93 with 3.8 seconds left in the game. Why? Because McDonald’s has a promotion that gives fans attending the game a free Big Mac if the Bulls score 100 or more points at home.
The article insinuates that some are critical of Noah taking that shot because his team already had the game in hand (and partly because Noah tried to cross the 100-point threshold with a 3-pointer. He has never made a 3-pointer in his 5 years as a professional).
I simply don’t understand why anyone would criticism Noah for trying to get a Big Mac for the fan. Sure, his team had already won the game, so why not up the ante and give the crowd what they want? The players are there to entertain the crowd. It’s not about the “heart of the game” or any nonsense like that. It’s about entertaining people.
Noah seems to get that. He said after the game, “I was trying to get the people a Big Mac. They really wanted a Big Mac.”
Yes! Of course they wanted that Big Mac. Get them that Big Mac. You did the right thing, Noah. Thank you for entertaining your fans with a win and–if you had hit that shot–a small meal.
I think this is awesome. I think a lot of players forget that, if not for the fans, they wouldn’t have jobs. He had absolutely nothing to lose by taking that shot, and at least he can say that he tried. He was thinking about the fans, pure and simple. It’s sad that he’s been criticized for it by his own coach. I think he should be proud and not regret it at all.