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Xepa
Joined: 11 Jul 2004
Posts: 6677
Location: somewhere in the world
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 Posted: Sun Nov 25, 2007 4:16 pm Post subject: Whether through Evolution or Revolution |
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| Danny Ainge wrote: |
| Anyway I'm gone, later Y'all. |
| Real Deal wrote: |
| it's seriously time for me to go. |
| keyindabox wrote: |
Peace out guys, love you all  |
Alphonse Karr phrased it the best. “The
more things change, the more we stay
the same.” You see, the more I read on
these forums, the more I learn that this is
kind of everyone’s flaw: sitting still, sitting
perfectly still. It feels…better somehow.
Even if you’re suffering, at least the pain
feels familiar. We see an explosion of
new members, and forget that we found
ourselves here once before. With expansion
comes evolution. It’s natural.
And naturally, we oppose it. We loathe it.
Admit it or not, we enjoy our comfort zones.
We reminisce, dream, reflect and wonder
about the good ol’ heyday. Back in the day
when we had Guru, Dre Neismith, LakersGyrl,
ZenMaster, Kobe_One_Kenobi_8, and so
many more originals post. When JSM used to
update us after every game with pictures on
the gallery thread. When Clublakers himself
posted actively.
You see, you can walk outside the theatre
and ask people about their favorite movie.
They can normally recite the last line to you.
But hardly anyone remembers the opening
line, how everything starts, where the magic
first begins. Everyone focuses on the current
state of this site. We muse over the minute
nuances, the ignorance, the arrogance. We
can get so caught up in the present that we
often forget why we stayed here in the first
place. We say the spark is lost.
When really, the spark is still alive.
Scratch that. It’s not a spark anymore; it’s an explosion.
And with every explosion, comes some
uncontrollable after-effects. Yes, we see our
fair share of spammers, haters, and just plain
fools. Amidst all that, I still see the fundamental
aspects that our site built itself upon. I see
constant gallery updates; I witness bonds that
form outside of the Lakers realm in Open Court;
I still read my fair share of copyright-violated, paid
articles posted on Lakers Discussion.
And yes, I still see intellectual discussion.
Perhaps in a different form than before. I found
myself immersed in debates where I quoted
every sentence individually from someone’s post
and refuted it word by word. “Quote destroying”,
is the term I coined it. And at the end of the day,
I found myself getting to know that person a little
bit better, a little bit closer than before. In today’s
environment, I post a provocative thought and
watch ten or so people pounce upon my statement,
ready to tear it apart. I can’t find the time to
respond to all ten, so I simply present a general
argument back and let it be. Today I can’t connect
as well as I did before, because so many people
simply respond.
It’s called growth, and it’s a good thing.
Sure, quite frankly, I find some idiotic responses.
I ignore those people though and focus on the
good members. The ones who just need a little
push in the right direction. And I don’t blame
them, not at all. Truth be told, I was one of the
biggest Devean George supporters around
before I found this site. Then I started to learn
about help defense, and how gambling for steals
leads to more bad than good as it destructures
the defensive position of your team and forces
help defense to collapse. So sue me, I was 13
at the time.
Intellectual discussions have transformed into
“sides” now. What once appeared as a heated
discussion between three or four posters has now
evolved into a massive struggle between people
on certain topics (ie: Kobe to the Bulls). Fundamentally,
I still see the same spark. Yes, argument styles
change and numbers multiplied. But at the very heart
of it all you see raw, unmoderated argument.
So whether through evolution or revolution,
change happens. Shift with it. I hate change, but
I know it’s good for me so I open it as best as I can.
For a family like Clublakers, it’s worth it. So I still
post, though not quite as often (going to a national
top 21 academically ranked high school’s a pain).
I can feel free to express myself here. My voice opens
my heart, and I talk quite often.
I’m ready for whatever changes Clublakers bring,
because we’re still a family. Albeit, an extended family
with a few illegitimate children here and there that
would make Shawn Kemp proud, but a family nevertheless.
Am I afraid of too much change? Yes, but I still stick
around. I prefer pain to fear. And I suggest you stick around
too. And I suggest…you stick around too. If you leave
though, It’s alright. There will always be another member
waiting to take your place. It’s natural.
_________________
Team FARMAR.
alleon86, The Bynum Supremacy, Barnstable, Massacre, nicehair911, melo061, Chicano, Kwame's Cake, lizlakers31, KobeBryant583, popo, C-mac 4.35, dj vitus, M4mb4 24 |
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revgen
HDTV/Multimedia Guru
Joined: 03 Apr 2006
Posts: 8934
Location: Southern California
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KobeBryant583
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 1827
Location: Malaysia
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| Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 5:14 am Post subject: |
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Beautiful article, those who were here long enough will understand every single thing he's saying - nostalgic. This is my third time reading it already, and I'm still digging it, man...
Kudos to you for writing such an touching article, please keep em coming.
_________________
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Proud Member of Team Farmar |
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