Response to TrueHoop and Note of Who the Real Victims Are (aka Earl the Usher)

Thanks to Henry Abbott and TrueHoop for posting my blog yesterday and especially for raising the biggest point I completely forgot. (Side note—I wrote that blog after receiving some big, bad news from home. I guess if I was an emo kid, I would have written sad poetry or something…but alas, I’m just a member of Generation WTF and thus I missed a huge point I should have hit).

Henry made the point that fans are not the real victims of this lockout. In fact, he said this: “I know a lot of fans are really bitter about the lack of NBA basketball. And I respect that. I'm one of them too! But my main thought has been: Be glad if only your entertainment life is at stake here. For the players and the owners and all kinds of other people in affiliated businesses, this is way more real than what they're going to watch on TV or in person. So I get a little antsy when I hear that fans are the real victims. The players are losing $2 billion a year! You're losing a TV show!”

That is the big thing I missed. First off, I have no sympathy*** (or empathy) for the players, except the rookies who are yet to get paid. Sure, they work hard. So do I. So do you. My minimum salary isn’t $400k+. Of course, people wouldn’t pay to watch me work…or would they? I’m toying around with the idea of a webcam in my office, where you can watch me update corporate Facebook statuses, argue with angry customers on Twitter, and write incredible newsletters. C’mon, you wouldn’t pay $10 a month to watch me?! Ok, bad idea. Anyways, I get that the players are losing money, but I don’t feel bad about that.

What I do feel bad about, especially in my self-absorbed post yesterday, is the fact that I failed to mention the true victims. Like Earl.

Earl is my favorite Jazz usher. I’d guess he’s probably mid 60’s or early 70’s. He always looked rad in those cool green vests the Jazz ushers wear. He was always fun to talk to, especially when I called him by name, because he acted like nobody ever had done that before. He never once remembered me, and that made him seem even cooler. By now, Earl has met my sister, brother-in-law, mom and dad, ex girlfriends, wife, and several friends. And now Earl is jobless.

Now, I really don’t know if Earl worked as an usher because he needed the money, because he was bored, or for some other reason. All I know is he can’t do it now, and that sucks to think about. There are hundreds of workers at the EnergySolutions Arena that are either on unemployment (can they get unemployment during/due to the lockout?) or finding other jobs. They are the real victims.

Just today, I heard a guy on the radio mention a restaurant in downtown SLC that I really enjoy. He then said, “Please go. They need your support, because so much of what they do depends on people coming in before and after Jazz games, and that ain’t happening.” They are the real victims.

So thanks to Henry Abbott for keeping me honest and for the reminder that yeah, us fans are bummed. I am sad to not have the distraction of NBA ball, but at least I have a job. This lockout goes far beyond typical fans like me, and that’s where I missed the ball. The real victims are the ones who have to deal with the reality of being jobless in a tough economic time. (And Delonte West, for having to apply at Home Depot and work on a furniture truck).

***Again, Mr. Abbott showed me the error of my ways in a comment. Saying I have no compassion kinda turns me into the inhumane monster, doesn't it. I don't mean that. I mean that it's hard for me to sympathize with ultra-rich, ultra-extravagant lifestyle NBA players. The grunts, and those on 10 day contracts, and those in and out of the D-League, and heck, even the ones that just seem like cool dudes, I do feel for. I can see where they're coming from, and I think my post seemed a little too narrow in my approach. Duly noted, good sir.