- Larry Bird is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, as well as someone who, along with Magic Johnson, salvaged the league in the early 1980s.
- The bird was regarded as the best player in the NBA
- His popularity was only rivaled by Magic Johnson’s and, later, Michael Jordan’s when he entered the league.
Larry Bird is regarded as one of the greatest players in NBA history, as well as someone who, along with Magic Johnson, salvaged the league in the early 1980s. Throughout his career, Bird was regarded as the best player in the NBA, and his popularity was only rivaled by Magic Johnson’s and, later, Michael Jordan’s when he entered the league.
Despite all of the money and celebrity that Bird amassed over the years, he was always exceedingly modest and down to earth, which is not a trait shared by most players of his caliber.
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Bird has never understood the public’s obsession with celebrities and professional athletes.
The Bird reflects on the concept of celebrity and the impact professional athletes and celebrities have on ordinary people in his book “Bird Watching.”
Bird never understood why people were so drawn to them and was astonished by how professional NBA players
make so much money playing a kid’s game in front of so many people in packed arenas.
“Can I be honest? I’m not sure why celebrities are so appealing.
\I’ve always felt the idea of being paid to play pro basketball was absurd.
I mean, consider it. You’re running down the court with the ball, and you’ve got someone on you.
You’ve got four guys on your team, five on the other team, and some people on the bench, and you look up, and the place is filled,
and all you want to do is get the ball through the hole. It’s insane to me.
It still doesn’t make sense after all these years.
He respected the true fans who came to see him play.
The bird was always in amazement every time they played in front of their home crowd at Boston Garden,
even years after he began his NBA career.
The bird was particularly astonished by supporters who were so high up in the stands that they couldn’t even see the game
and said it would have been better for them to stay at home and watch it on TV.
D. J. would stare at me as if I were crazy, but it was perplexing to me. It still is.
Especially those fans at the very top of the venues.
You know they could see the game better if they simply stayed home and watched it on TV,
but they’re up there sweating (at least in Boston Garden—our building never had air conditioning!) and loving it.”
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Bird admired the true fans who saved money to attend the game despite not having the greatest seats in the house.
Bird had a great deal of respect for every fan who came to see him play,
so he felt obligated to come out and perform every game and give his all.
Load management was not in his vocabulary, and he made certain that the spectators received a performance worthy of their hard-earned money for the ticket admittance.
“They were the true believers. That was always clear to me.
They’re the ones that had to save for their tickets and were content just to be inside.
Every night, we’d sell out. The fans in the nosebleed seats were never far away.
When I was a kid, I never imagined that anyone would pay to watch me do anything.
And I’ll never take money for granted, no matter how much I have.”
This type of thinking, love, and relationship with average fans is uncommon among today’s athletes,
who have become completely disconnected from the fans.
His humble upbringing put him apart from the others, but he knew what it needed for normal fans to attend games,
especially those without a lot of money.
When you think about it, his statement about ordinary people admiring celebrities and professional sportsmen is deep,
especially in today’s day and age when that is more relevant than ever,
and these people have a godlike status in today’s culture.
