Superman No More: Shaquille O’Neal Embracing His Dark Side

I had a conversation with my brother after Shaquille O'Neal signed with the Boston Celtics.  He read my article Benedict Shaq (link - Shaquille) and thought that O’Neal had every right to go to the Celtics. I, as my article pointed out, disagreed. 

 

Of course, my brother and I got into it and went back and forth for a bit. I assumed that he being a lifelong Sixers fan (I know...you gotta feel for him), was playing devil's advocate...a.k.a. “hating.”  It seems that anyone who is not a Lakers fan feels that the Shaq move was not only the right move, but that it shouldn’t affect Lakers fans either way.  Needless to say, I was not happy.  He didn’t get it and nothing I said could sway him.  

 

And then...it hit me. He’s a Red Sox fanatic. Not simply a fan, but a fanatic—stemming from the Latin fanaticus, which translates into—frenzied, irrational zeal, excessive enthusiasm and intense uncritical devotion. 

 

So I conjured up several analogies using the Red Sox and the New York Yankees...a.k.a. “the evil empire.” My brother and I agreed that depending on who the person was determined the gravity of the move and its implications—i.e., whether it had weight or not.

 

After a number of poor attempts, I mentioned Johnny Damon’s defection to the Yanks, which I recalled ruffled more than a few feathers.  A bump in the road, but not much more he said. 

 

He bizarrely countered my Damon example with Brian Shaw and Rick Fox, both former Celtics who are now synonymous with the Lakers. The conclusion: boo-worthy, but no real weight.



 

As the logic I summoned seemingly fell on deaf ears, I said the only thing I could: “What player move would cause you unimaginable ago...

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