More than a preview: Grizzlies at Heat
Tonight, our Memphis Grizzlies are taking their talents to South Beach to face off against the Heat for a second night in a row, and they are doing so with the heaviest of hearts, weighed down with grief for one of their brothers.
I know I’m supposed to be telling y’all about this matchup tonight, but right now my head and my heart are somewhere else. Much like I imagine our guys felt last night and continue to feel.
This is where I’m going to take my objective hat off, and I acknowledge fully that’s what I am doing here. Today, I’m not writing this as a detached media member, or even as an attached fan. I am writing this as someone that has experienced the unique, excruciating pain of losing a parent.
So this is probably going to be less a preview and more prose, and it may well ruffle some feathers in the fan base. Allow me to speak with my full editorial authority when I say I do not give even the slightest damn if it does. In fact, I hope it does.
Some things are bigger than basketball, and losing a parent is definitely one of those things.
If what I have to say next bothers you, then maybe you needed to be bothered. Some of the reactions I saw last night bothered me a great deal, and I feel like addressing them.
The absence of Zach Randolph was certainly felt throughout FedEx Forum last night, and I don’t mean because of the loss on the court. Last night felt different because of a loss of a different sort, that of Zach’s mother, Mae Randolph, who passed away on Thursday.
Let me say that again, for the folks in the back:
Zach Randolph lost his mama, on Thanksgiving no less.
To be quite candid, I don’t care about the Grizzlies taking an L against the Heat last night. I kind of expected it, and I certainly understood it.
No team is going to win every game, and on a night where the entire team, Coach Fizdale included, was so obviously grieving for their brother, and grieving the loss of an amazing woman that many of them came to love like family, I cannot find it within me to criticize any part of that game. On a night like last night some compassion is in order.
It’s easy for people to forget that above all else, these players are real people with real feelings. Feelings that cannot be easily switched off. As much as some fans may wish that it did, life does not stop for the 48 minutes of regulation game play, no matter who you are or how much you get paid.
One thing that’s so special about this Grizzlies team is that they aren’t just teammates, or co-workers. These guys are family, especially the ones who’ve been together for years. Anyone that expected last night to be just another day at the office for them has sorely underestimated the bond these guys have, not just as basketball players, but as brothers.
Some things are bigger than basketball, and losing a parent is definitely one of those things.
So to anyone grumping about the outcome of last night’s game, I have only one thing to say: Perspective. Get some.
To Zach and the entire Randolph family, I offer my sincerest condolences for your loss.
Know that from this little corner of the Grizzlies blogosphere, we are sending you love, and will continue to hold you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.
Oh yeah, and there’s that game tonight against the Heat. That’s right, home/home back to back, because the NBA schedule is dumb.
It tips off at 7PM, and you can watch it on Fox Sports Southwest, or listen to the radio broadcast on WMFS 92.9 FM
Doesn't bluff, stays grinding.
Bluff City Born and Memphis Made
- Memphis Grizzlies Assistant Coach Niele Ivey Named New Head Coach for Notre Dame Women’s Basketball Team - April 22, 2020
- Notes From Grizzlies Media Day 2019 - October 2, 2019
- Memphis Grizzlies 2019 Training Camp Roster - September 30, 2019
THANK YOU Aimee!!! WELL DONE!!