Bill Simmons comments on MLK and Grizzles playoff loss

[FakeNews]

c'mon Bill

Bill Simmons’ odd comment on MLK’s assassination and Memphis sports

Martin Luther King’s assassination has a direct impact on Memphis sports according to the ESPN columnist.

ESPN columnist and studio analyst Bill Simmons recently went to Memphis to watch the Western Conference Finals. During his brief trip, he instantly became an expert about the deep-rooted societal implications of Martin Luther King’s 1968 assassination there and how they affected the Grizzlies’ inability to stop Tim Duncan and Tony Parker.

He spoke about this to Jalen Rose on his BS Report podcast:

“I didn’t realize the effect [the King assassination] had on that city. [...] I think from people we talk to and stuff we’ve read, the shooting kind of sets the tone for how the city thinks about stuff. We were at Game 3. Great crowd, they fall behind and the whole crowd got tense. It as like, ‘Oh no, something bad is going to happen.’ And it starts from that shooting and it’s just that mindset they have.”

On my pyramid of inane comments about sports and the lingering effects of civic catastrophes from pop culture writers turned sociologists, this could make a push for No. 1.

The Martin Luther King assassination was a national tragedy. Through a series of fateful events, Memphis became the stage for that tragedy. The civic effects have been studied by many people, most of whom probably spent more than five minutes in the city. But does this mean sports fans are walking around with dark clouds around their heads 45 years later, equating a missed Zach Randolph jumpshot with the worst moment in the city’s history?

If this is the case, shouldn’t the same thing be happening in Dallas? Nope. The Cowboys won the Super Bowl nine years after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in the city. But Simmons has an explanation for that, lest his grand theory on Memphis go any more off the rails. Dallas moved past JFK, in part, because of the Cowboys and the television show Dallas. On the other hand, Memphis has done nothing to establish its own identity in the past half-century. It’s still wallowing in the pain of the tragedy. That’s why Graceland is so understated and somber.

We’re already looking forward to the next podcast when Simmons breaks down how the Northridge earthquake and debut of Beverly Hills, 90210 set the stage for the NFL leaving Los Angeles.

Bill Simmons’ odd comment on MLK’s assassination and Memphis sports | For The Win

 

[2Quik4UHoes]

espn and this douche belong together.

 

[AVXL]

Did Jalen respond to that or did he start ad libbing some Bel Biv Devoe instead?

 

[Absolut]

jalen didnt say shyt in response. he just said "yeah they do"

 

[Rev]

Crowds in NY get tense when our teams get down in games & it's all because of BOTH world trade center bombings.

 

[Chrishaune]

 

[boskey]

...

 

[ZEupTWN]

This fool clearly gettin his on

 

[CrimsonTider]

 

[CrimsonTider]

He says this same shyt about every fanbase though.

Ouse to be on Simmons heavy until I started realizing he was clown

 

[FloorGeneral]

I'm a Simmons fan, but that is one of the most absurd statements I've ever read. Sometimes he grasps a little too hard for straws.

 

[Jesus]

 

[Long Live The Kane]

I listened to this today and didn't think anything of it...on paper it looks crazy, but during the podcast it seemed like some innocuous blurb just randomly inserted somewhere within the hour or so Bill and Jalen spent swooning about how great a town Memphis is...I'd conjure some faux outrage here if I could, but I all i got is

 

[SCORCH]

I listened to this today and didn't think anything of it...on paper it looks crazy, but during the podcast it seemed like some innocuous blurb just randomly inserted somewhere within the hour or so Bill and Jalen spent swooning about how great a town Memphis is...I'd conjure some faux outrage here if I could, but I all i got is

Pretty much this. I listened to the podcast and I barely even remember hearing that. When he starts to waffle I know how to switch off.

 

[MostReal]

totally unrelated