Metta World Peace has always been a difficult man to understand. My first strong impression of him came when he ran into the stands to punch a fan in the face during a game with my hometown Detroit Pistons. One could say the dude who threw soda at him deserved it, but that was not the dude he punched. This experience left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.
Fast forward a few years, and Metta changed his name from the wayward Ron Artest to “Metta World Peace” in hopes of inspiring youth all over the world. He moved to China, which is a country, to make friends with pandas. Upon return to Americaland, he was victim of paranormal personal privacy assault. The list goes on, but one thing is clear: World Peace is a changed man.
So what makes him tick nowadays? When rage is snuggled away by adorable pandas, what remains? Often you can learn most about a person by finding what drives them emotionally. What is their greatest desire, and what is their greatest love? Metta has never been shy with his feelings. And on Tuesday night against the Indiana Pacers he reached into his chest and tore out his heart for us to see.
Not literally. That would be gross and probably a technical foul.
Metta World Peace loves basketball.
And you know what? So do I. I think we all do in our own way.
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Metta World Peace deserves credit for this. Oftentimes we don’t truly appreciate the things we care about while we still have them. I miss my dog. I haven’t played Mario Kart 64 in far too long, and I no longer own a CRT television. When was the last time anyone ate chili cheese fries?
We should use Metta as an example. And when we don’t use him as an example, we should use him as a warning. In honor of Metta, we should all scream about the things we love today. I’ll go first.