Shouts to my dude A.King from PNC Radio who put me on to this documentary screening at my local watering hole. SODA Bar on Vanderbilt Avenue was hosting the screening. HBO pictures produced this tight little doc about the relationship that two of basketball’s supreme competitors now share together. Magic & Bird is all about the obstacles that these two men had between them when they were pretty much mirror images in their love for the game of basketball and how hard they were willing to work to become winners.
What made the film so compelling is that you got to see a side of Larry Bird that made me wonder why I h8’d dude so much (other than the fact that he was a Celtic). Larry Bird grew up wild poor. Hardbody poor. Magic’s family wasn’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but Magic’s dad didn’t end up merc’king himself like Bird’s dad did. Larry Bird was obsessed with Magic [ll]. With his stats and his achievements. Bird used Magic to propel himself faster and harder [ll]. Magic only wanted a hug from Bird. This shit was more than a bromance, these two wanted to mouf kiss each other.
At one point in the film while Magic was being interviewed he broke down into tears recalling the moment that Larry Bird called him up to ask how he was doing after Magic had publicly disclosed that he was HIV+. For Larry Bird, he secretly viewed Magic as one of his siblings that he constantly fought with but cherished dearly. This fuxing documentary almost made me get a piece of dust in my eye like that gotdamn Antwon Fisher bullshit. I pounded on my chest tho’ and the dust went away. Still and all, this was an incredibly revealing film for these larger than life NBA characters.
The Association needed Magic and Bird and the level of competition that they brought to the league. Magic and Bird needed one another for the challenge of competing and then later on the camaraderie. If you are a fan of the Association then you need this documentary to show you how these two players combined to save professional basketball. Bryant Gumbel’s commentary in this film was heeelarious. The filmmaker’s research and the archival footage used was vainglorious. From the Sopranos, to The Wire, up to Curb Your Enthusiasm, Home Box Office stays winning. Make sure you DVR this movie so you can watch it on repeat.
Magic & Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals
Saturday, March 6th, 8pm
they both agree on one thing…….they both hate Isiah Thomas.
^^^So do I.
word TG…what do people on the left coast have against Zeke?
knicks fans don’t like him on gp…chicago bulls fans probably still don’t like him…
you root for one of those teams?
I’ll say this about Isiah….as much as jordan,magic, and bird get the accolades,etc.. pistons defeated celtics,bulls AND lakers to get that first ring….
I wish the league had those storybook rivalries these days. No dice, though. Instead, we get cats pulling guns on each other in locker rooms. Or even better, players getting other players wives pregnant.
Basketball is slowly becoming the skinny jeans of sports entertainment.
Get-
To be quite honest, it’s probably just a matter of hearing my dad & grandfather shit on him for so long, that now it’s automatic. Old school Lakers fans were fierce about the rivalries. Probably all that coke they were snorting in the early 80s in the livingroom watching the game(s).
TG..speaking of which
that phantom call on Laimbeer against Kareem is the reason the Lakers beat the Pistons that one year….
it wasn’t quite the Lakers/kings fuckery that refs pulled years later….but it was a setup….
BEAT L.A.
Lol…I haven’t heard a complaint about that in years. Bill Lambeir was a douche nozzle. He should’ve played hockey. When I was coming up, only “white” dudes who got play in my pops’ house was the one & only Kurt Rambis aka Clark Kent. & Pat Riley, of course, but he wasn’t really “white” because he used Afro-sheen on his hair.
hehe
speaking of Pat Riley..I roomed with dudes from detroit before and they were talking about how PR’s gear is overrated….and that Chuck Daly’s gear was hotter,etc…
I didn’t give a F one way or the other, but The D is one of those “funny color suits and gators” parts of the country….aka steve harvey zones….so I told them that I’d take their word for it…
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question to you TG…and all others… what Isiah was quoted as saying “Bird is a tremendous talent, but if he were Black,,he’d be just another player”…………..
agree/disagree? and why?
comments were made after the Pistons were knocked out of the playoffs by the Celtics..with Bird abusing Rodman something awful…
As cliche as it sounds, had Bird been Black, he would’ve been expected to excel, athletically. The whole “White men can’t jump” mythology. His court vision would’ve still gotten him certain accolades, but it is what it is.
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I though Chi-Town was home to all the players? Thats what Bernard McCullugh had me thinking.
Bird was a great player and were he Black we wouldn’t be having this discussion, but the fact he was white brought corporate dollars back to the league.
I was not a fan of his when Bird played. Boston would smash the Knicks up (before King came) and manhandle my GOAT Julius Erving unmercifully. I really didn’t appreciate Bird until Reggie Lewis went to the Bean.
Isiah was spot on with his comments tho’. Bird’s whiteness made him marketable, but his work ethic and winning record made him legendary.
who knew that bird and magic was that close. it’s a good thing to see something dealing with sports that is positive. baseball could never do a story like this. it would be about roid use and hookers hahahah. that got me thinking about babe ruth was a overweight cigar smoking alcohlic. who could smack homeruns like it was nothing was he on something? fuck it other than jackie robinson i think every player has been on something hahahah.
” This fuxing documentary almost made me get a piece of dust in my eye like that gotdamn Antwon Fisher bullshit. I pounded on my chest tho’ and the dust went away.”
the movie remember the titans i had to pound my chest and leave the room for a couple minutes. you know because of my allergies i’m allergic to popcorn hahahaha.
I think Bird was a beast….and he played in an era of elite small forwards…Alex English, Bernard king, Adrian Dantley etc…
and i forget his name but the bucks had beast 3s too…plus nique ,mark aguirre,
the fact that bird was able to win 3 mvp awards smack in the middle of that golden era for small forwards is THAT bullshit…….
east coast sports media bias, playing in boston and being the white saviour for the league was a big part of him getting those mvp trophies…the celtics did dominate the eastern conference during the first 75% of his career
Bird even said a few years back that the NBA needs some better white “american” players to draw more fans in.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1818396
he said some funny shit too..here’s a quote
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Yet later in the discussion, Bird described being guarded by another white in his prime as “disrespect.”
“The one thing that always bothered me when I played in the NBA was I really got irritated when they put a white guy on me,” Bird said. “I still don’t understand why. A white guy would come out (and) I would always ask him: ‘What, do you have a problem with your coach? Did your coach do this to you?’ And he’d go, ‘No,’ and I’d say, ‘Come on, you got a white guy coming out here to guard me; you got no chance.’ … For some reason, that always bothered me when I was playing against a white guy.
“As far as playing, I didn’t care who guarded me — red, yellow, black,” Bird added. “I just didn’t want a white guy guarding me. Because it’s disrespect to my game.”
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Good stuff, tho’ I don’t like to give motherfucking Isaiah Thomas for ** anything **.
No doubt Bird’s whiteness had appeal but tell me the # of players–white or black– with his talent who worked as relentlessly. Magic, of course, MJ…
DP, did the film get into the weird thing about the Celtics franchise and race? I’ve never heard anything about Red Auerbach (of Brooklyn) being funny that way– and I doubt Bill Russell would have kept quiet about it he were– but the ownership… I dunno.
Writing this, btw, makes me wonder if there was ever and Bill & Wilt documentary?
As a Knicks fanatic, white hasn’t meant shit on the court since Bill Bradley and Dave DeDusscehre, unless I’m forgetting, uh… Brad Lohaus?
P/S– Isiah Thomas and the CBA, thanks for everything, asshole–
http://www.cbamuseum.com/cbaisiah.html
funny converse commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJasNo0An28
from a SNEAKER standpoint….the Bird celtics had the ILLER shoes…the Black converse weapons and the the Black and white reeboks that ainge were were HARD
http://img118.imageshack.us/img118/3969/reebokbb5600black2rb0.jpg
Willis SW,
The thing about Bird is that he was so nice. If we compare his MVP awards to Steve Nash’s then you have to agree that Bird put in work. Fux the stats, he won with dudes that were marginal players. Who was the other superstar that played alongside Bird? McHale slightly, Johnson (RIP), Maxwell? Bird had less talent around him than Magic did and when it was the Pistons and MJ’s era he had nothing left in the tank.
I need for people to stop shitting on Isiah tho’ because he was a great player in the league and a great coach in the T.dot and Indy. It wasn’t untol he came to the accursed Knicks that his shit got all fuxed up.
“This fuxing documentary almost made me get a piece of dust in my eye like that gotdamn Antwon Fisher bullshit.”
*dead*
Also, another reason to hate Zeke is over the whole suggesting Magic was teh ghey, then again for being a shitty individual who basically stole money from the knicks while he was there.
Bird was a great player……but truth be told….during the great run when he won the last 2 rings..he played on a hall of fame frontcourt..bird,mchale,parrish all hof..
and dj should have made the hall of fame…. they also had a back from injury bill walton-hof
i think for the first ring he played with on last legs tiny archibald
when they had the 50 greatest players of all time……..there were mad celtics and lakers
Mad celtic and lakers
^^^Which is why it’s the illest, longest rivalry in the nba. Garnett is the new Parrish sans the Frankenteinery.
^^Frankensteinery
mchale was frankenstein
parish was the chief………and he got caught mailing weed ,so the nickname fit..he liked to chief one at halftime
^joke…but he did get caught with weed addressed to his house
I guess we should start calling Artest “the sip”. No homo.
Don’t forget,Isiah led the supposed freeze out of Michael Jordan in Jordan’s first All-Star game.This and all the hard fouls the bad boys gave the Bulls is the reason Jordan still hates Isiah.Calling Bird overrated,accusing Magic of being gay,Isiah is hated by the Holy Trinity of the NBA.
just finished watching the doc.
excellent.
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TG
.I just got the bernie reference….
hahahah
chicago and detroit are next in neck when it comes to funny colored suits and gators..
documentary was unfair to isiah……
my best magic memory and the one that always brings a tear to my eye… is how that last all star game ended for him..
hitting the three pointer with time running ……the victorious look on his face and then all the players lining up and hugging him….*
that was planned by Isiah….and that did as much to help Magic’s public persona as anything…Magic hadn’t played that year but when he was voted in the all star game..tim hardaway allowed magic to take his starting spot
dudes are finished playing an exhibition game and with sweat pouring they’re not afraid to hug Magic and show him respect…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4nDCfv0Hy4&NR=1
documentary mentioned comments Isiah allegedly said to Magic’s agent…..they should have taken the time to point out that Isiah organized the post game public hug fest and show of respect.
+ at the time, I thought that was gonna be the final public image of Magic…TRIUMPH
@ getsthesenets: The whole Bird quote about him getting pissed when a white guy was sent to guard him. BANANITES! That shit was HILARIOUS CLINTON! Who knew dude was so effing funny?