In Bill Simmons’ recent article entitled LeBron is Still Painting his Masterpiece, Simmons argues that LeBron James’ legacy is far from its inevitable twilight. He compares James’ past and present obstacles to those of other legendary athletes, such as Michael Jordan. Simmons, using a plethora of writing structures and styles, also discusses the historical ups-and-downs of the National Basketball Association. The article uses several anecdotes and facts to both humor the reader and support the author's thesis stated in the title.
Why the hell does our society care so damn much about sports? There are hundreds upon thousands of men and women making millions of dollars quite simply because they excel at hurling an orange ball into a circular hoop. Bill Simmons wrote a nine page article about an oversized man’s “legacy” of putting a ball into said hoop. This poses a rather difficult question, are athletes really worth all of that money flowing into their pockets? The answer, shocking as it may be to some, is yes.
To understand why it is that athletes are deserving of their pay, one must first realize the odds that these millionaires battled …show more content…
When we see a player throwing down a ferocious slam dunk or raining in a plethora of three-pointers, a certain response is triggered. For many that response may be “Oh, I could never do that.”, though others may find themselves thinking “Oh, I want to do that!”. Those people then go to their local YMCA and give it a shot, and fail. Miserably. And thus, these people make an effort to get into shape and better themselves and, of course, their game. Voila, an unsuspecting professional basketball player has just inspired several people to make a positive change in their lives. Plenty of studies have cited countless social and academic benefits of sports for youths. Undoubtedly, participation rates for athletics would greatly be minimized if professional sports did not
Why the hell does our society care so damn much about sports? There are hundreds upon thousands of men and women making millions of dollars quite simply because they excel at hurling an orange ball into a circular hoop. Bill Simmons wrote a nine page article about an oversized man’s “legacy” of putting a ball into said hoop. This poses a rather difficult question, are athletes really worth all of that money flowing into their pockets? The answer, shocking as it may be to some, is yes.
To understand why it is that athletes are deserving of their pay, one must first realize the odds that these millionaires battled …show more content…
When we see a player throwing down a ferocious slam dunk or raining in a plethora of three-pointers, a certain response is triggered. For many that response may be “Oh, I could never do that.”, though others may find themselves thinking “Oh, I want to do that!”. Those people then go to their local YMCA and give it a shot, and fail. Miserably. And thus, these people make an effort to get into shape and better themselves and, of course, their game. Voila, an unsuspecting professional basketball player has just inspired several people to make a positive change in their lives. Plenty of studies have cited countless social and academic benefits of sports for youths. Undoubtedly, participation rates for athletics would greatly be minimized if professional sports did not