Aw shit.
I have feared this day all my life. I knew it would eventually come. Frankly, some would say this day came a long time ago but I was too ignorant and naive to acknowledge it. But it’s here now, and there’s no running from it.
Should my punk ass stop beating around the bush and actually tell you what this day is? I’d rather not, but if you insist…
On Tuesday night… some shit went down:
Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards are two of the brightest, most promising youngsters in a league filled with bright, promising youngsters, as they both displayed on Tuesday. What else do they have in common? Both were born in the year 2001…
You know who else was born in the year 2001?
Your boy.
Last night, 20 year-old Anthony Edwards just dropped 40 for the 4th time in his career. 20 year-old Cade Cunningham just became the first rookie with 30+ points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 blocks in a game since Michael Fucking Jordan (yes I used a capital F. It’s Michael Fucking Jordan). Meanwhile, 20 year-old Rafe had 2 scoops of ice cream at 11 A.M., played about 4 hours of Madden, took a midday nap, and gambled on an Australian Open match at 1 in the morning. There’s levels to this shit, and I am about 70 levels below Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards.
I have spent the bulk of my life idolizing professional athletes, aspiring to be like them one day and excelling in my craft the same way they do. Their larger-than-life nature and immense talent has given me the impression that they are lightyears ahead of me in both skill and time on this Earth to develop said skill. Now only one of those is true. I’ve finally caught up to them in age, and frankly, it’s demoralizing as shit. I think I’m having a quarter-life crisis (honestly it’s probably closer to a mid-life crisis based on my physical shape). I know it’s unhealthy to compare yourself to people, but like… damn bruh. In the same time that these men grinded their asses off to maximize their god-given talent, what the fuck have I done with my life? No offense, LFG Sports.
Ok… I’m rambling. Nobody likes a rambler. But the moral of the story is, if life is like running on a track, these guys have lapped the shit out of me. But instead of getting pissed at myself for not being as fast as them, I have to use them as pacesetters who motivate me to pick up my slack and cover some ground. Instead of turning the inspiration that these athletes gave me into self-deprecation, I’ve gotta use them as motivation to get off my ass and make shit happen. Right now, you could say I’m down 28-3 vs. Cade Cunningham and Anthony Edwards. Maybe even 3-1.
The comeback begins now.