Too Legit

Technically, i'm a Knicks fan.

I know, the Knicks are gone. They have no new players and haven't been a threat for a long time. But in terms of sports, i'm a total yankee. Knicks and Yankee's for me, on yeah.

I've never been an athlete. In gradeschool, I tried the hurdles but we had some incredible runners and very little slots. High School, St. Mary's was volleyball country (we produced RP national team members) and I can't even fucking serve.

Volleyball was so ruthless in my school that I have now developed a phobia for flying balls the size of anyone's head. You don't know what it's like to be the unwilling receiver of a spike delivered by someone from the fucking national team because it's fucking required for PE. It's not fun.

But college gym basketball was fun, so that sort of lessened my phobia.

Plus, basketball is mine and Lara's bonding sport. We both like to shoot hoops while talking, sometimes even doing a little one on one.

So watching the NBA Finals (Go Piston's) wasn't exactly a chore. My dad and I tune in from time to time between shows to check out the scores, and usually stay on for the whole last half if the game is really intense.

Now I have a new reason to watch: Luke Walton.

Granted, he's not the cutest guy on the court (far from it, a bit scary sometimes) but he's definitely my type.

Sort of like, if he had computers skills and didn't play ball and just turned out to be a giant geek, I would still go for him.

I have a thing for the geeks.. I don't like masculine looking men, neither do I prefer those overly feminine ones that Brits and Japanese women go for. I just like...kind eyes. He sounds like he’s a good kid.

My dad thinks its nuts while my mom is convinced that I am entering a kind of neo-pubescent stage at this stage of my adulthood.

Going out more often, changing hairstyles, getting into clothes and discovering boys.

Only now, the hairstyle has been shorter, the clothes are getting to be a bit more expensive, and the boys have grown into men.

I think my dad is more annoyed with the fact that I am now eager to watch the finals because of Luke Walton than me going “boy-crazy” for the second time around. He claims it ruins things for him. Sort of like a little brother who thinks his sister has cooties because she now likes boys. You do not treat basketball athletes like you would the pinup boys in the pages of BOP. It’s destructive to their way of living.

As it is, he hates the fact that five minutes after Game 3 ended (way to go, Pistons!) I already know that L. Walton was born on March 28, 1980—which makes him older than me—was the star player at Arizona State and third in the draft.

Lara has her own “basketball weakness” in Vince Carter and a number of our local UAAP players, though Vince was her inspiration for trying out for the basketball team at Miriam College this first semester.

Good for her, since my only sport in college was debate. We were the only varsity team that got invited to Jocks Night and various varsity sponsored shindigs but were denied the perk of free meals from the university COOP.

Guess which perk I prefer.

Owing to my irrational obsessions, I keep wondering what Luke Walton would have been like as a debater.

I haven’t heard him talk yet, but I can imagine that him as a speaker would have been like listening to an oratorical giant. A 6’9 kid in a suit, passionately proving his case on globalization (favored topic of all). If his notes fell while delivering his speech, it would take a longer time for him to pick it up than most.

I would probably have to crane my neck when I look at him if he asks for a point during my speech (dream on, kid) I usually look at the desk and pretend to meditate, but if it were him askid I’d probably stare, stare, stare.

I already downloaded a picture of Luke Walton—a bust shot of him sweaty and smiling as he looks to a photographer during practice—which means I’m certifiably into him.

The only perk I’ll have from this is that all that watching will probably improve my game (I was a decent center, dammit) and it’ll irk my dad to no end that I am watching the Finals because of “a boy”.

The downside is that he plays for the Lakers. I hate the Lakers.