That Russell Westbrook, he comes off as half-crazy.
Isn’t it great?
Wednesday night’s “Zaza Turns Russ Into OverTurned Big Rig on 880” incident was all the talk on our show Thursday morning, and not just for the full impact of a 6-foot-11, 275 pound Eastern European flooring a 6-foot-3, 200-pound Southern Californian.
It was Westbrook’s postgame call-out that resonated.
“I’m going to get his a** back, straight up,” Westbrook said after the game.
Asked if he saw Zaza standing over his fallen body, Westbrook doubled down.
“I didn’t see that until just now,” he said. “But I don’t play that game. I’m going to get his a** back. Whenever that is, I don’t know when that’s gonna be. But I don’t play that game.”
Finally! In a sports world where athletes share agents, pregame laughs and likely vacation homes, it’s refreshing to see a throwback attitude of pure vitriol, venom and vengeance.
The whole thing struck me as very Bob Gibson —and that’s a compliment.
Lore has it that the old St. Louis Cardinals fireballer burned as much to win as anyone, and viewed any opponent in his way as something to be conquered, demolished and obliterated. In former Giant pitcher John D’Acquisto’s memoir, he recounts a postgame elevator tussle with Gibson after the two squared off in a pitching matchup.
Yes!
When we all plunk down big dollars to go to games, or when we invest our time on our couches to watch these silly sporting events, it’s sometimes a bummer to find out the athletes don’t care as much as we’d like them to. We are invested in the escape from reality, and even though the games are ultimately meaningless, the idea of competition at its highest level thrills us. It adds to our experience to know these athletes aren’t looking to text, but looking to beat each other’s rear ends. It’s a fundamental part of the human experience: compete! tussle! win!
Cool. I just got all fired up typing that, and am currently looking for a pickup basketball game to unleash my inner wolf.
Back to Westbrook. Sure, he comes off as a bit off-kilter. One might argue that true competition isn’t about calling out someone for a physical foul, but playing the game at a high level and keeping the competition clean. I understand. A valid argument.
Sometimes, though, it’s good to know that these athletes are looking to test toughness. I’m not advocating dirty play. I coach gosh darn 3rd grade basketball, and don’t want the authorities called on this Sunday’s game. But two alpha males tussling on a sporting court? That can be fun to watch, and distract us from this trail of tears we call life.
Plus, on a purely comedic level, Westbrook’s call-out of “whenever that is, I don’t know when that’s gonna be” opened up the idea of Westbrook going full Max Cady/ “Cape Fear” on Zaza. Who knows? Maybe if Zaza is trying to enjoy a movie with his family this summer, he may find Russ Westbrook two rows in front of him, smoking a cigar and letting his presence be felt. Kind of like this:
Stay half-crazy, Russ Westbrook. You’re entertaining all of us.