Magic Johnson Number? E-notes about love and life beyond fiftyNumber 32: A moment of magic or a senior moment?Many of us go through senior moments as we become older. I believe I had one lately.
Magic Johnson Number
I visit the outdoor Dana Point, Californi Farmers Market on Saturday mornings most of the time.
Open from 9 am to 1 pm, there are roughly 75 E-Z UP booths featuring both food and non-food items.
I particularly enjoy going to see Vince the Hat Man and Julie, his business partner, where they sell their hand-crafted hats. It’s been 32 years since I met Vince. He is my friend, along with Julie.
Jeff Freeman has a booth next to The Hat Man’s where he offers premium bedding.
As a fervent sports enthusiast, Jeff enjoys discussing the most recent developments in the sports industry. We’ve also become close to one another.
Jeff said to me a week ago right after we got to the market, “Hey Tom, you’re wearing the Magic’s number.”
I didn’t know what Jeff was discussing.
“Step over here and turn around,” he commanded. Reluctantly, I did as I was told.
He said, “Look at the back of your cargo shorts.” I turned to look behind me. In addition to feeling scared and ashamed, I worried, “Is old age catching up with me?”
There was a vertical yellow stripe with several ’32’ numbers on the back of my brand-new, sparkling navy-blue cargo shorts (number 32 was Magic Johnson’s LA Lakers number).
I instantly remembered where I had been earlier that morning before going to the market. Oh no! I visited the crowded Ralphs Supermarket, the Costco gas station, and Baby Beach.
“Look at that old guy, he doesn’t know those numbers are on his back,” was the thought that crossed my mind when I noticed how many people had seen the 32 stripe on my shorts.
When he bought them, he neglected to remove the size-32 tag.”
Greta would have stopped me if she had seen me walking out of the house with that strip on my shorts.
I took off the yellow bandage and gave Jeff a heartfelt thank you for saving me from more humiliation.
What then was the issue? I purchased a pair of cargo shorts from Costco a few days ago. There were colorful tags on the back of every short on the sales table.
I thought about ordering a size 34, but then I realized that most of the shorts in my closet were in that size, and since I’ve dropped weight, I really should have been wearing a size 32.
I’ve gradually lost roughly twenty pounds over the past seven years since I sold Tutor and Spanky’s, my Dana Point deli, in 2015.
This was due to the fact that I was no longer able to enjoy my favorite cold cuts and cheese-topped Italian subs.
Magic Johnson crossed my mind.
He visited Delevinger multiple times. Greta and I grew close to him.
In 2009, not too long after we met, I received an invitation to speak at the AARP National Convention in Las Vegas. Greta and I were present, then.
In addition, Greta and I received press credentials that allowed us to attend all AARP events because I was a newspaper writer.
At the same conference, Magic also gave a speech. Greta and I, along with twenty-two other press members, attended a press conference where Magic made an appearance before to his address.
Magic didn’t know that I was anything more than Spanky’s owner and tutor.
Magic answered questions from the press during the press conference and then turned to face Greta and me in the front row.
It was evident that he was perplexed as to why the two deli owners would be seated there. He gave us a nod.
Then he lifted his hands like he was in the middle of a basketball time-out.
Look at those two guys in the front row, they make the best sandwiches west of the Mississippi,” Magic said to the press corps.
I have never seen a press team seem so bewildered. They were probably thinking, “What the hell is magic talking about?”
I introduced myself as a columnist to Magic after the press conference. Greta, him, and I all laughed a lot.
Thirteen years later, I found myself at the Dana Point Farmers Market donning Magic No. 32, though my time there was fleeting. I’m sorry Jeff Freeman, but you ruined my senior year experience.
In this chapter, I’ll discuss LeBron James aficionados in the NBA community as a whole and how they add to the negative aspects of being an intense fanboy. In relation to LeBron James
A divisive sports personality he is the biggest star player in the NBA and one of the biggest star athletes in sports worldwide.
The majority of people, including young children, teenagers, adults, and senior citizens, were aware of LeBron James’ identity and his professional athletic career, regardless of their playing style.
Now, that particular athlete has a tremendous fan base due to his high degree of recognition and renown. In the case of LeBron James,
this fan base includes one of the largest numbers of sports watchers on television in addition to fans in the sports media. He does, however, have supporters.
When a person has a sizable fan following, there are a lot of toxic admirers that idolize and praise him endlessly for both his accomplishments and his failures to reach his objectives.
justifies his MVP and first-team status. A+ in both attack and defense
As an aside, this is just my own viewpoint regarding the 2019–2020 NBA season. The 2020 Lakers “bubble championship”
is an asterisk championship if there ever was one. Because of the circumstances surrounding his victory, I will always view that championship as a magnificent title that he earned.
I know that some people will disagree with my opinion, and that’s okay. Naturally, due of all the ridiculous things, LeBron James’s incredibly toxic fan base—whether they are supporters on the field or in the sports
media—will keep spreading the myth that the bubble years were all about success. possessed the title “Toughest”.
They will bring it up because, in their hearts, they know the title is phony and because they are yearning for LeBron James to win another ring in order to establish his superiority
over Michael Jordan in the eyes of the NBA community. Is possible. Large. Due to all of the issues that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019–2020 NBA season is officially marked with an asterisk.
As an illustration, consider the COVID-19 pandemic, which completely stopped global activity and shut down the whole planet. The NBA followed suit,
closing the whole league in late February 2020 during the season. Determining the league’s resumption date after it had been closed for so long without any basketball games was the next problem.
The NBA season was held in Orlando, Florida at Disney World, which presented another problem.
All teams in the Orlando bubble had to be kept apart from the outside world and subjected to regular Covid-19 testing to make sure that no players were infected with the virus.
If they were, they would not be allowed to play any basketball and would have to spend 14 days in quarantine.
The Miami Heat, a weak fifth-seeded club with two ailing players in their starting five (Bam Adebayo and Goran 0, who sustained injuries during the series), was the team the Lakers faced in the NBA Finals Bubble. were.
That year’s NBA Finals saw the Miami Heat forced to play with three rookies, which resulted in high minutes for them and an easier win for the Lakers in the bubble race.
I want to make it clear that the Lakers’ victory does not make it an asterisk;
rather, it’s an asterisk because of all the shenanigans that went into the process of getting to the Bubble Finals in the first place.
Regardless of public opinion, any other NBA team that year during the pandemic would have still earned a fantastic title if they had won the NBA Finals.
For this reason, the Los Angeles Lakers bubble title has a large asterisk next to it. LeBron James will always have a 3-6-1 record in the Finals; he has three real NBA titles under his belt,
six NBA Finals losses, and the “Bubble Championship” (marked with an asterisk) at Disney World in Orlando, Florida. You can see how significant that victory is. is a farce.
No matter who won, the championship would have remained, but because LeBron and the Lakers emerged victorious,
poisonous LeBron James supporters exploited it to pitifully refute Michael Jordan’s claim to be the greatest NBA player of all time.
which they chose not to act upon. In the NBA Finals, LeBron James’s 4-6 losing record is the one that LeBron James aficionados find most offensive when discussing his career record.
This is especially true when it comes to the debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James over who is the “GOAT” and who is ranked first, second, or possibly third.
Now, when these arguments arise and LeBron James supporters begin to lose their composure in a debate, they turn to rage. Declaring that NBA supporters who oppose LeBron James are “haters,
making illogical claims about ridiculous topics like ad hominem, and making LeBron appear more impressive than he actually is.
slandering former teammates, highlighting
LeBron’s positive stats, and downplaying his negative ones. Mention the teams that LeBron has played for and the injuries that he has sustained.
When they get to that position, they will begin mocking anyone who disagrees with them, all the while ignoring all the Hall of Fame players on LeBron James’ squad that he played with during his NBA career.
LeBron James must prove to the world and everyone watching that he is the greatest of all time, even though fanboys can talk trash and try their best to portray him as this mythical god-like figure to everyone.
If he fails to accomplish his goals, such as winning an NBA title and continuing to pursue the “ghost” in Chicago, then his fans will continue to make even more absurd excuses for him,
and regardless of whether he wins or loses, they will still refer to him as “the GOAT,” which demonstrates how irrational and
As an aside, I don’t give the NBA “GOAT” debate—or the discussion about the best five players of all time—the same amount of thought that I used to.
I’ve come to realize that everyone has an opinion, therefore I no longer debate with people too much about why they picked particular players for their top five or top ten lists.
Regarding Michael Jeffrey Jordan, I think he is the best player of all time. The reasons why I consider Michael Jordan to be the “GOAT” are obvious, so I won’t go into too much detail here
Instead, you can visit NBA Reference and look up Jordan’s accomplishments and accolades to see why I think he is the best. I don’t think anyone will ever be able to convince me otherwise.
In my estimation, Lebron James is the sixth greatest player of all time when it comes to all-time greats.
Regarding my own ranking, Michael Jordan comes in at number one, followed by Kareem Abdul Jabar at number two, Bill Russell at number three, Irvin “Magic”
Johnson at number four, Tim Duncan at number five, and Lebron James at number six. I don’t give a damn about what people think or how much you disagree with my ranking.
Lebron James can, of course, rise in my ranking, but only if he can demonstrate his worth by winning additional NBA titles.
Furthermore, it is quite doubtful that he would win seven NBA titles throughout his NBA career, which is the only way he may become the best player of all time.
To restate my position on the subject, I believe that LeBron James is a fantastic player who ranks in the top 10, but he is not the best player of all time.
I have witnessed Lebron James’ successes for the most part of his career, but I have also witnessed all of his setbacks.
There will never be the best basketball in history if there is a player who loses a lot and has tantrums during the NBA Finals.
When the subject of Lebron James comes up, toxic fanboys should prepare for an ugly verbal duel. They should be prepared to dispute or argue with them.
They are unwilling to criticize their “king,” Lebron James, especially when it comes to one of the most debated subjects among NBA fans:
who are the top ten greatest basketball players of all time? Most NBA fans rank Michael Jordan at the top of their list.
While some consider Kareem Abdul Jabar to be the greatest player of all time at worst two or three, Lebron James aficionados believe that he is the
“GOAT” despite the fact that he has a losing record in the NBA Finals
and hasn’t won any regular season MVP, defensive player of the year, scoring, assist, or rebounding titles, among other honors.
Now, granted, I’m not assuming that Lebron James is a bad person or anything because I am aware that he is currently the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, among the top ten in assists and rebounds,
but even so, his toxic fanboys overvalue his career and make the smallest of accomplishments seem significant in order to boost him up. They even talk about how great he is when he crosses the state line or breaks some pointless record.
Since the Lebron James narrative has been going on for more than 20 years, I may presume that people are weary of it.
Basketball has changed in the past few years, and there are now excellent players in the NBA who could be elevated.
However, they are still centered around the Lebron James narrative, which is detrimental to the league’s long-term success because it’s like trying to squeeze every last drop of juice out of an orange.
Yes, Lebron James remains one of the league’s biggest stars to this day, and the league makes money off of him, but when he retires, the league will find it difficult to
move on from him because they will no longer be able to cover other stars and give them the credit they deserve.
Because they are so ingrained and fearful of the other NBA fans who don’t view Lebron James in the same light as they do
—that is, as a “christ-like figure” who is going to save them—you could argue that the worst aspect of James’ fandom is his fanboys in the NBA community, who are supposedly paid “plants” on these sports media networks.
Particularly when you visit various Lebron James fan accounts on Instagram and Twitter and witness them continuously glorification of this guy.
Then you see absurd remarks like “my glorious king,” “he is my GOAT,” “MJ can’t ever,” “all hail King James,” and many more absurd statements like this on these fan pages, as if Lebron James is a real “king.
This is extremely cringeworthy and demonstrates the intensely fixated love that these people have for Lebron James.
No, he’s not a real-life king; rather, he’s a skilled professional basketball player, but if you try to
