4/28/2012. Round 1 of the NBA Playoffs. Bulls up 99-87 to the Sixers. 1:20 left on the clock. Chicago is about to captivate their first playoff game with a W after finishing the regular season in 1st place. Derrick Rose just became the youngest player in the history of the game to win the MVP award. The morale in the city of Chicago is as high as it was since the days of Michael Jordan. Anyways, Rose crosses up a defender and starts driving towards the hoop. He throws the ball up in the most cringe form. Almost as if he stepped on a tack once his feet left the ground. He drops to the floor with only one leg reaching for the court. With the ball still in play, nobody notices. Everyone still focuses on the basket. It was like a shootout in the midwest. One of the cowboys gets hit, but the dust surrounds them. Anticipation rises as the crowd waits for the dust to settle, to see what happened. Derrick Rose is on the court, grasping his knee – nothing but a face full of frustration and pain. Just like that – the superstar, the new hope of Chicago, the savior of our city suffers a gruesome ACL tear. All fans, friends, and family around the country were in shock. Silently praying for him to get up – he just stayed down. Nobody cared about the game. Nobody cared about our playoff or championship hopes. We just hoped our hometown hero was going to be okay… and just like that. A young man with the potential to reach the sky, had hit his ceiling. The youngest MVP of all time would never be the same.
«What if.» What if Derrick stayed healthy? I don’t know if I see another MVP season. As much as I want to, it’s hard to do. What I do see? I see a happy and healthy person – a team player. With the motive to win a ring. Determination to be a champion. Humble beginnings often lead to humble endings.
I could go on and on about the recovery attempts. Adidas’ #Return campaigns. The external falls of #1. But I won’t. Derrick Rose is a legend to the game of basketball and deserves to be respected as one. He’s one of the best players to ever step on the court. We could dream about what could have been. But let’s not. Let’s enjoy what we witnessed and leave it at that. Being able to watch you play and see what you did for the city of Chicago was indescribable. You brought hope to a city when it needed it.
Thank you, Derrick Rose. Forever a legend.
If you’re in for a good cry, watch his MVP Highlights on YouTube.
-Chef
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