You know, it is difficult to ignore the obvious. Some people go to great lengths to ignore what is right in front of them. I know I have ignored many obvious things that were right in front of me during my life. Whether it was a great job opportunity, a chance to challenge myself personally, or a certain movie franchise based on a girl choosing a vampire over a werewolf, I have closed my eyes and buried my head in the sand. Think about that phrase for a moment, “Buried my head in the sand.” It would require a lot of dedication to bury your own head in the sand. You would need to be really comfortable with confined spaces. You would need to be able to hold your breath for a long time. You would need to dig the hole, place your head in the hole, and then knowingly put the sand all over your head. Just close your eyes right now and imagine how suffocating that would feel. You cannot open your eyes unless you want sand in them. You can’t open you mouth unless you want sand in there. You can’t breathe through your nose unless you want to inhale sand. The only remedy to having your head buried in the sand? Pull your head out of the sand. Of course, then you would have to face the obvious truth that you were working so hard to avoid in the first place. And, in Memphis, not everyone is ready for that just yet. People are more willing to leave their head buried in the sand. Fans aren’t ready to face the hard, cold, bordering on painfully obvious fact: the Memphis Grizzlies are more fun to watch than the Memphis Tigers.
I could point to a variety of factors that have pushed the Grizzlies over the Tigers over the last 12 months. I could point to the Tigers’ lackluster schedule of have-nots in Conference USA play. I mean, who is beating down the door to see Memphis play Houston again? I could point to the fact that the Tigers have lost every time they played someone who was supposedly better than them as well as to teams who were supposedly worse than them. I mean, if the Tigers can’t pull off a minor upset against a Georgetown team or at least hold court against the Murray States of the world, then what is the point? I could also point out the fact that the Grizzlies have better players than the Tigers. The Grizzlies PAY their players MILLIONS of dollars to play. The Tigers, while they may get scholarships and free sneakers, aren’t getting Rudy Gay money. However, I won’t try and convince any of the die-hard Tiger fans out there that Marreese Speights would be the best player on the Tigers team and he doesn’t even start for the Grizzlies. Those are all easy facts to point to when arguing why the Grizzlies are more fun to watch than the Tigers. I think, at least for this season, it really boils down to one simple reason: potential.
The Grizzlies HAVE potential, and they are consistently realizing that potential. Before the season started, fans and pundits had the Grizzlies pegged as one of the top five teams in the West. Then Darrell Arthur happened and everyone worried. Then Zach Randolph happened and everyone panicked. Then the Grizzles happened, but not everyone is noticing. Last year it was through grit and grind that the team found their identity and potential without Rudy Gay. This year, as coined last night by none other than Rudy himself, it is about making your own luck. The Grizzlies aren’t looking for any handouts, excuses, or freebies from anyone. They know they have the potential to be a serious threat in the West and they play that way. The Grizzlies came back, on the road no less, from 16 points down in the fourth quarter to run their win streak to seven games. I still think they will be around 19-16 on March 1st. However, they will have earned every one of their wins by maximizing their potential regularly and taking nothing for granted.
The Tigers HAD potential and have rarely, if ever, realized their potential. There are fewer things more frustrating as a fan than to see your team fail to meet their potential. As hard as it was to watch the Tigers lose the national championship game, you could always hang your hat on the fact that that team played up to their potential more so than not. These Tigers not only don’t play to their potential on a regular basis, I don’t know if I can recall the last time I saw the Tigers play up to their potential in the regular season. I have often compared the Tigers to a new born deer trying to walk for the first time. I think, at least for this season, these Tigers seem satisfied to just scoot around on their butts rather than try to walk, much less run. It isn’t disappointing that they can’t walk. It is disappointing that they seem completely comfortable in not even trying to walk. Try and fail? We can live with that. Not trying? Ughhh. No thanks. I would rather bury my head in the sand. Or better yet, I’ll just watch the Grizzlies.