Bad things happen. Sometimes stories end with you crying. If you watched the Detroit Pistons this year you know this. Stan Van Gundy watched every game. He understands better than anyone.
What does one do when they’re sad? Probably look for more sadness. The thing about being sad is that if you just go so far down the rabbit hole that eventually you snap and feel nothing. Nothing at all. Ever. It’s a risky strategy, but maybe it’ll work.
As a Detroit Pistons fan, I’ve been looking for ways to tear away whatever tattered shreds of my soul remain fixed to my soul-housing. I found an article about how during Michigan’s Empty the Shelters every dog out of 2,500 was adopted.
That hits all the hallmarks of misery. There’s loneliness, pre-existing medical conditions, sad animals, anything you want short of tragedy related to an immediate family member is wrapped wrapped up in a neat little pain package.
Presumably Stan Van Gundy was into that. Presumably he was out there like me looking for ways to bore into whatever remains of his self-regard with a metaphysical dental drill.
Unfortunately, he made one crucial mistake. He decided to fix the problem instead. Famous curmudgeon and screamy man Stanley Vanly Gundy has taken a sick dog into his home and into his heart. What a cloying shame.
It’s tough to say what this means for the Pistons going forward. The Empty the Shelters event meant no adoption fees, so i’ts unlikely that the addition of a dog will factor into the team’s salary cap this summer. But pet food and chewy, rawhide bones aren’t free. It’s extremely hard to say at this point.
Next: Meyers Leonard and the battle for confidence
In any case, this has undone quite a bit of the work I’ve done on my own misery. I’m smiling right now. This is bad.