Carmelo Anthony, he of the amaranthine trade rumors, told ESPN reporter Colleen Dominguez that it is his "ultimate dream" to play pro basketball in New York City. Mind you, he did not specify between the New York Knicks or New Jersey Nets (who will, in two years, become the Brooklyn Nets, or Heavens forbid the Brooklyn New Yorkers). He just said that he dreams of playing in New York, the city of his birth and early childhood, and by many accounts the greatest city of the world.
And this, like all things that slip from the lips of America's young, wealthy and more often than not black athletes, is somehow contemptible.
An example of some of the GARGH! headed in Melo's direction can be found on the Twitter feed of Chicago Bulls broadcaster Chuck Swirsky.
WIth all due respect to Mr. Swirsky, who I don't mean to single out, this is the most ridiculous instance of morally superior indignation I've seen since ... well, since the entire Western Hemisphere deemed LeBron James to be Satan for picking South Beach over Lake Erie back in July. And this isn't to disparage Denver, a cool town (well, a cold town) with a passionate NBA fan base. But we're talking about New York here. The greatest city in the world.*
'Melo would rather spend his time in New York than anywhere else in the world. You know who feels the same? The 8.4 million who live in the city. The tens of thousands (or more) college grads who migrate there every May, June and July to start their careers at the center of the civilized universe. Every musician, ever. Every visual artist, ever. Every stage actor, playwright, set designer or wannabe theater director, ever. Just about every athlete who isn't a clownfraud choker who can't take the New York media pressure. (Lookin' at you, Cliff Lee.)
You can't regulate dreams, man. If 'Melo loves New York, like noted jacktaters Frank Sinatra, John Lennon and Flava Flav, he loves New York. I mean, Brooklyn is where 'Melo spent the first nine years of his life. He's gonna be vilified for saying it is his dream to go back? Are you kidding me?
Reality to the people of Planet Earth, come in people of Planet Earth: your life experience is not the same as that of anyone else. Your definition of "home" and "loyalty" is not the same as that of anyone else. Just because you would never openly talk about dream job while being employed by something less than a dream job does not mean that someone else (someone who is being badgered constantly on this topic, by the way) should not talk about his or her own dream job. You can't regulate dreams, and you can't live other people's lives for them. Stop tryin'. Please please please stop tryin'.
In conclusion, in solidarity with 'Melo, I hereby announce that it is my ultimate dream to cover Indian Premier League cricket for the Times of India. I sincerely hope that I have not offended other NBA writers and my SB Nation bosses by revealing this.
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* ... if you don't include San Francisco, which is really the only fair thing to do.
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