The Tragedy Of Basketball (2018 Version)

I wrote a classic poem for Creative Writing class in 2003 my last semester of high school called The Tragedy of Basketball and it was in my anthology and very unwisely read for talent night one year at church this poem incorporates the more recent teams and athletes that you have read and heard about more recently if you have paid even remote attention to NBA and college basketball you will recognize everybody or close to everybody's name in here. So without further adieu here is the 2018 tragedy of basketball:
The Tragedy of Basketball
By I. Jimmy Bott
The tragedy of basketball is that you can never miss a post or a game without feeling lame
So people have never seen Kris Jenkins's buzzer beating three in the NCAA Finals
Or Steph Curry's buzzer beating three to beat Oklahoma City unless they have
Seen the highlights or the posts or the game to have seen it
The tragedy of basketball
Is that Jason Collin's coming out and not scoring a point after doesn't get as much ink
For his courage as Kobe Bryant's non-playoff final season of failure and epic underperformance
Hurting a team for trying to play way past his expiration date just to get a record
The tragedy of basketball
Is that some people who have more privilege get more ink
For being good while the people who are marginal players often get
Lost in the public eye
These legends:
The University of Connecticut team won 111 straight games and lost in the semi-finals of the Women's basketball finals only to win all the games the next year heading into the semi-finals
Both of the games decided by buzzer-beaters and the game after that the team on the opposite side of the bracket losing again by a buzzer-beater after winning it all the year before
And an international born player played a few seasons before turning pro only to sit out
Two seasons in a row and not play half a season until his 4th year where his potential was
Realized as he got a place in the All-Star Game and the playoffs
Unfortunately these legends are not legends they are facts
Oh happy tragedy of basketball
The biggest tragedy is that one-and-done players are often ill-prepared for the NBA
And sometimes phase out and bust before they get a solid team to play on
While the Junior and Senior players often make it through teams with accolades but
Don't necessarily start off as quickly or even get drafted high
The tragedy is that a league that devalues going to school is requiring players to play
A season and hardly ever attend class just to get a ticket in the pros that seems promising
And often flame out at the end
The players who mimic Lebron James get called for palming the ball first
And traveling later
Showing much hesitation and fear and desperate measures
See how they are not prepared for prime time as this new king of this wonderful sport:
Ben Simmons who will do things someday that will take what Lebron has done seem
Like it will sink into oblivion like the sun in Korea
If he ever develops a jump shot that is the fact that he doesn't have one and will still win Rookie Of The Year is merely another tragedy in a game full of them- IJB