The Perfect Foam

The Big Ticket

Forget about Tom Brady, Wes Welker, or Roger Federer.  My current man-crush is solely focused on Kevin “The Big Ticket” Garnett, also known simply as KG.  Being a Boston Celtics fan, I have only truly appreciated the effort that KG plays with on both the offensive and defensive ends for the past few years.

When the Celtics traded for KG in 2007, I immediately thought of a story I had read about KG being the best player on the 2000 Olympic gold-medal winning team.  On BOTH ends of the court.  From opening night of the 2007-2008 season on, it was incredible to see the energy he brought night in and night out.

Many who know me consider me to be quite the intense personality and I’d like to think that if I were a professional athlete I would also play with more energy and passion than most.  But I don’t even come close to KG’s intensity level.  Practice, pre-season, regular-season, or post-season, you better believe KG is bringing it at 200%.  Just watch him play for a few minutes and remember, this is the tail end of his career.

The man pumps himself up more than any other athlete I have ever seen (though Ray Lewis certainly comes close).  My girlfriend has often shaken her head in amazement after watching KG muttering/screaming to himself after a big bucket or while shooting free-throws.  And she lives with me- I go from sleeping to wide-awake and energetic in about 5 seconds in the morning.

I can only imagine what it would be like to see KG’s intensity on display while grocery shopping or doing any other simple daily activity.  It would probably be mildly disturbing to say the least…  But it certainly is incredible to see him play the game of basketball the way it’s supposed to be played.  It’s exhausting simply watching him!