This is a guest post submitted to us by Robert Goldstick, a Bulls fan from Deerfield, Illinois. If you would like to send us potential guest posts, email them to us using the “Get In Touch” button at the top of the page.
I walk away from my baseball team’s doubleheader sweep feeling very good. I wasn’t able to watch the game so I check the Bulls score and see what looks to be a pretty clean 12-point victory. Just the opening game of what looks to be a long playoff run for the Bulls.
But then I click the recap and see a headline that put me in complete shock: “Derrick Rose hurts knee in Bulls win.” I hope that it isn’t serious, that it is only a sprain. Maybe he is out for the series, maybe until the Conference Finals. For some reason though I knew that this wasn’t the case.
At 8:02 PM I received a text from my 15 year-old sister of all people. The text read: “Derrick Rose tore his ACL.”
I stopped dead in my tracks…this isn’t real life. This didn’t really happen, I am dreaming. As I read over articles it set in. Derrick Rose is out for the playoffs.
If the Bulls lose in a series I am okay. It’s just a game, a game that I am not even a part of. Despite being a die-hard Bulls fan I can get over losing. But this injury is more then just about winning or losing. It is about an injury that couldn’t have happened to a great player at a worse time.
Derrick Rose and Kevin Durant are two of the most likable superstars we have possibly ever seen in the NBA. I felt I needed to throw Durant in there because he is in the same class as Rose in many of the aspects I’m about to discuss.
First and foremost Derrick Rose is an unbelievable basketball player. He was the MVP last season and was ready to finally bring Chicago their first championship since Michael Jordan left. Rose is also humble, yet confident all at the same time. He tries to make things about the team rather then about himself. When he was asked about the MVP chants he heard all of last season he responded by saying being the MVP would be great but winning a championship was what he was really worried about. The way he puts the team before himself at all times is what makes him exactly what you want your best player to be. He is the hardest worker on his team if not one of the hardest workers in the league. His desire to be the best he can be and to live up to the high expectations he has for himself and his team are what make him GREAT.
Hearing this news made me depressed. Not because this puts the Bulls in an extremely tough position, but because this injury happened to the person who least deserved it. I will leave you with something Kyle Korver posted on his Facebook page after the game. This comes from someone who knows him personally and realizes how horrible this situation is.
“Right about now, the disbelief has faded, anger has subsided and were all
wondering… why? Why. Why. Why Derrick, again? Derrick is more than an MVP to
our team. He’s our friend, our brother he inspires us to be the very best we can be,
just by who he is and how hard he plays. That he has spent so much time this year
hurt, was frustrating. Now that he is out for the rest of the season, well its just plain
sad. No one is to blame; what happened, did. We send him our prayers, our love, our
good wishes that he heals and comes back stronger, better, healthier than ever
before. “
He finished the statement talking about how the Bulls are still a great team and they are still pushing to bring home a championship. But none of that really matters. Even if they do win a championship it wont be the same without Rose. But knowing Rose you will see him going nuts on the bench rooting on his teammates,
because it doesn’t matter if he is in the game or not: its about the Bulls winning a championship, not Derrick Rose winning a championship. This is a mentality that not many stars in this league have. It makes Derrick Rose that much more special.
Original Story:
http://www.beantownbanter.com/other/g...
|
April 28, 2012
