Coming Out

Each and every weekday, I go on the air and talk about the NFL playoffs, the MLB hot stove, the Shore Conference and whatever else is new and now in the world of sports. I love every minute of it. Its quite honestly a dream job and a strong testament to the notion that us 2.0 (Note to my future constituents: always round up.) students can be just as happy as those four eyed bookworms who "attend class" and "don't piss away thousands of dollars in wasted collegiate education." Yet, each and every day that On-Air light goes on, I find myself ignoring a little voice inside my head. Each and every day, I try to hide a dirty little secret that gnaws away at me. I simply can't go on this way anymore. I can't live in denial and hide my true self behind a mask of high school sports and spirited Jets discussion. I know I'm in the minority. I know my kind is not welcome in many fan circles around the nation. I know few in my field share my orientation and I know the majority of that minority hide it for fear of being ostracized. But Mike Krenek's gotta be Mike Krenek. Its time to step out of the closet I've hid in for years and tell the world who I am.


I am Michael Krenek. And I am die-hard NBA fan.


Ridiculously dramatic hyperbole aside, its amazing to me how quickly the National Basketball Association has become the fat chick in the collective sports world's group of female friends. I can sit for an entire column and tell you about her great personality, but by the time I get around to describing her tremendous sense of humor, your eyes will have wandered to the glorious butt of Major League Baseball, or the shapely fun bags of the National Football League. And who can blame you? The MLB is a year round phenomenon...The Winter Meetings are a group of white haired gentlemen getting together to act like sports talk radio callers/fantasy baseball owners for a few days (I'll give you Ty Wigginton and a prospect...you give me Adrian Gonzalez!) and its covered with the same breathless respect as the Conclave. The NFL is working towards pushing its season longer, with the Super Bowl coming the day before President's Day , in hopes that businesses will no longer have to deal with having 98% of their work force calling out "sick" on Monday. Even hockey has an entire nation (granted, not ours) who views it as their national pastime. So what does that leave for the NBA? I'll tell you what it leaves...a whole lot of eye rolls whenever it comes up. Both my co-host (hey, I'm not in the TMZ business of "outing" celebrities, but ask Joe Giglio about the Reignman. See what happens.) and myself have been roundly mocked many, many times for our desire to talk pro hoops. "It sucks." "Its a joke." "No one cares."


I care. Joe cares. And I'm tired of pretending that I don't. I understand that we're in an absolutely abysmal NBA market (Knicks! Nets! YEEHAW!)...and I also understand that that "abysmal" tag doesn't just apply to our little corner of the globe, but rather to just about everywhere. I know the league is bleeding money, I know the salary cap is shrinking, and I'm aware that the most discussed NBA debate at this point is "Which Arenas are emptier...3/4ths of the leagues or the ones in Gilbert's head." I get it. But I bristle every single time I hear someone say "I can't watch it anymore" or "That's not basketball". You know why?


Because those people are wrong.



What is it you want, Mr. Purist? What about today's game makes you OH SO ANGRY! What makes the game "not the game" anymore. Is it the histrionics? The chest pounding? The self congratulatory screaming? Well sorry Grandpa, but we live in the Sportscenter Era. Everyone always says "Why's he dancing! Its his job!". I agree to a point, but when did dunking a basketball (or hitting a homerun/returning an INT for that matter) become as easy as bagging trash or delivering mail? Every time a Broadway actor mouths "Oh thank you!" and blows kisses during a standing ovation, do you stand up and scream "THAT'S NOT MUSICAL THEATER!!!"? I've also got some sour news for you Jack...sports has ventured into the "entertainment" realm too. Guys sinking set shots and jogging back on defense in their short-shorts may get you all hot and bothered, but it doesn't exactly set a crowd on fire. I consider myself an "old school" guy (Tim Duncan's my favorite player), but I don't cry myself to sleep each and every time Kevin Garnett pounds his sternum.


Maybe its not the theatrics. Maybe its "the way the game is played." Answer me this...have you WATCHED a game in the past 5 years? Go ahead, reference Vince Carter and Allen Iverson again. Its completely fine to ignore the fact that about 450 players have eclipsed both of them in "face of the game" status. Do you long for the days of stars who play both sides of the floor with tenacity and flair? Ever hear of one Mr. LeBron James? Or Kobe Bryant, he's pretty popular...Duncan, Garnett, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade. None of them ringing a bell? Are there guys who yell "Help" the minute their guy crosses the half-court line? Sure. Have there been those guys in every single era? You bet your sweet ass there have. But because these players DUNK and PUT THE BALL BETWEEN THEIR LEGS (the HORROR!), they must be selfish, me first guys who don't respect the sport. Good logic, hoss.

Today's NBA has everything a basketball fan could want. The aforementioned complete stars. Role players who do one thing and do it great (I'm looking at you Raja Bell). Intriguing young athletes with seemingly no ceiling (The Durantula). Brewing rivalries. Clashing styles...yet Mr. Purist's ilk continues to bitch and moan. Even when all facts are laid out on the table, they still have two aces up their sleeve. "The contracts! Oh the contracts!" they scream. Well, they've got me there! What can I say! Those selfish, awful new era players are at it again! Because I know if my boss walked up to me and said "Here's $100 million dollars to do your job." I'd most certainly respond "No thanks Boss! Barely getting by works for me!" And what of the classic "WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A $1 MILLION CONTRACT AND A $99 MILLION CONTRACT! SHOULDN'T ONE MILLION BE ENOUGH!" You know what the difference is? Ninety-friggen-eight-friggen million dollars. A player choosing a contract that's for $110 mil vs one that's for $105 mil is like me choosing a night of passion with Scarlett Johannson AND Katy Perry over one with just one of them. Could I get by on choice B? You betcha! But dangle choice A in front of me and suddenly I'm Tommy Dreamer.

"Thug Image!" Mr. Purist shouts. Well I'm not going to dignify that with a defense. Hey look...Gilbert Arenas, Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson. These guys and those like them are dumbasses. But there's dumbass postmen, dumbass Senators and dumbass radio hosts. But to say you don't want to watch the NBA because of its "Thug Image" is one of two things. Its either unfairly lumping every single player into a negative group because of the behaviors of the bad apples. Or its basically racism. So pick your ignorant poison, Mr. Purist.


I'm not even a little sorry if this blog comes off as abrasive or angry. Because that's its intent. I am angry. I'm angry about the BS I have to listen to spewed about my favorite sport each and every day. I'm angry that while my beloved NBA squirms under the hot lights of financial worry, Mr. Purist pours salt on my wounds with his (or her) "In my day" tripe. I'm angry that the players of today's game are continuously disrespected and stereotyped. And I'm flat pissed that nobody cares. NBA fans, its time to take a stand. No longer will we be shunned and laughed at when we want to discuss Amare Stoudemire's stat line from last night's game. No longer will our "Paul or Williams" bar debate be greeting with chuckles or apathy. "Your day" is gone Mr. Purist. Our day has arrived. We're living in a basketball golden age and its time to acknowledge it! Long Live the King! Long Live the Mamba! The time is now to stand up and take back our beloved fanhood. Its time to march on Universal Sports Fan Headquarters (wherever that is) and say we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore! Will it be an uphill battle? Yup. Will we face mounting opposition along the way. Indeed. Is there a good chance the league undergoes a drastic makeover due to its financial sorrows? Sadly, yes.

But remember this my friends...Fight and you may be mocked. Abandon the game and you'll live...at least a little while. And dying in your beds, many years from now would you be willing to trade ALL the days, from this day to that, for one chance, just one chance, to come back here and tell the naysayers that they may take our league, but they'll never take... OUR FANDOM!


I love this game. And so should you.