nbaoffseason:
This may be as obvious a statement as saying that Blake Griffin greatly prefers a violent dunk instead of a simple lay up, but the NBA is a highly competitive sport. There are legendary team rivalries, Lakers vs. Celtics or Knicks vs. Heat, as well as intense player battles like Kobe’s legacy vs. Jordan’s legacy or even watching LeBron James fight his own self-confidence in a big game. That said, it still somehow seems as if the competitive nature of the sport we all love, has yet to spill over into the online community.
There will always be that hustle to provide original or exclusive content, of course, yet you rarely see writers doing the Sam Cassell dance after a great blog post or a killer tweet during a mid season Nuggets-Blazers game. While we all have our own different styles, it doesn’t prevent us from linking & retweeting the work of others who we enjoy. We are united by a common passion for the game.
Today, the team here at NBA Off Season, the self proclaimed Wu Tang Clan of basketball blogs here on Tumblr, has a request. We’d like you, our ever-loyal readers, to help us support The Classical. For those unfamiliar, The Classical intends to be more than another sports site. It will hopefully take sports writing to great new heights. A lot of people that we love, and most likely you love as well, are behind the Classical. Bethlehem Shoals of Free Darko fame, Ball Don’t Lie writer Eric Freeman, Lang Whitaker, and, Tom Scharpling, the host of “Best Show on WFMU”. That lineup, in addition to the other writers they’ve assembled so far, should have you giddy with excitement. If it didn’t, get yourself to a doctor ASAP, as you probably don’t have a pulse.
We want to help The Classical reach their Kickstarter goal and at the same time be able to help you, the loyal reader. Starting today, we’re going to donate a percentage of NBA Off Season merch sales to The Classical. So, get a cool shirt and help support a great cause. It’s a win-win situation. If you’re not interested in a shirt, please donate to this great cause on Kickstarter.
We’ve also embedded a video from The Classical below to help you get a better understanding of where they’re coming and why we need to support this.
Anyone reading this blog should totally support these guys as they (at least, a few of them) are at large indirectly responsible for the art-and-basketball type content that gets posted on here.
There was an article a few years ago on the (now defunct) FreeDarko site which recounts a time when Shaquille O’Neal once attended a Polvo concert in Orlando. One possibly unsober night I was exchanging some nostalgic tales with my roommate Jack about living in the Orlando area during the 90’s. I’m not sure how it was brought up, but the topic changed to either about the time he met Shaq or how his former band once opened up for the indie rock group Polvo. I don’t really remember how, but that very specific moment and event somehow entered our conversation. I mention to him that I had read about that exact same incident once on this basketball blog I visit called FreeDarko and then linked him the article the following day so he could check it out. I don’t really know where this little anecdote is going, but I guess what I’m getting at is that there are people out there that do discuss music, art, film, literature, comedy, and whatever else alongside basketball and other sports. And it is those people mentioned above and in the Kickstarter video who not only fit into that niche, but do an excellent job in sharing those stories.
So if you are the kind of person who enjoys a good sports infographic or illustration, thinks the 1995 Orlando Magic were the NBA’s version of The Velvet Underground or likes making other music references with sports, then you should really help these guys in reaching their goal to start this new website.
ED. NOTE: My only really super minor complaint is that despite this being a mighty fine logo, the typeface Archer has been absolutely used to death the last few years. I wish I didn’t notice these things and they didn’t bother me, but I can’t help it. Graphic designers are assholes, I’m sorry!
