Yes, I basically copied Jenn Lyles’ idea, but if you know me, you know that I really dig some NBA basketball. I’ve met several people on campus that know me as “that guy that writes for the paper who really hates LeBron James,” and yes, that is me. The NFL has really disappointed me.

I’ve never been to an NFL game, and I was hoping that 2011 would be my year. I remember being a HUGE Titans fan when I was in fourth grade. I remember how terrible I felt seeing the Titans lose to the Rams. I’ve been to three NBA games this season, which isn’t many by any stretch of the imagination, and I’ve fallen in love all over again.

MLB games are phenomenal, but they lack the fast-paced, in-your-face atmosphere of a professional basketball game. There literally is not a bad seat at a pro basketball game. I sat mid-level at Madison Square Garden and in the upper level at Staples Center. I promise I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Here’s the thing, though. I paid triple face value for my tickets to the Lakers game. Granted, it was Staples Center, and granted I was seeing my childhood sports hero, Kobe Bryant, but that’s just a little ridiculous. I digress. My point is that we’ve really placed too much of an expectation on our heroes.

Kobe is reported to have dropped an anti-gay slur, but are we surprised? Do we expect him to be perfect? I don’t. What about Tiger Woods? He cheated on his wife multiple times, and the world has shunned him for that. I’m not condoning either of their actions; however, I think we expect too much out of our heroes.

We’ve placed such an emphasis on entertainment in our culture that these human beings can’t possibly compete with what we expect out of them. Have you ever lied? If you said no, then congratulations, you just did. I believe that there is no such thing as a “greater sin.” We’re all pointing fingers at our heroes when they fail in our eyes, but forget to see the faults in our own lives.

I guess I was eight or nine when Kobe allegedly raped a young woman in Colorado, and, I must say, my dreams were crushed. He was my hero, and he let me down. We forgave him then and I think we should forgive him now. I’m sure he’ll think twice before he blurts the phrase out again.

I just really think the penalties and fines players receive are absolutely ridiculous. Terrelle Pryor sells his jersey. Okay? We’re all in college and know how it is to have no money. I don’t know why he did it, and is it my business? Kobe says one slur and gets fined a nice, cool 100 Gs? What a joke.

If we’re going that route, let’s fine players that drop the “n-bomb” on the court. I love the Celtics, but I’ve heard KG rip that one out more times a game than he hauls down rebounds. It makes it hard to tolerate these fines when the league is picking and choosing their poison.

Was the NBA really worried about cleaning up the language or cultural tolerance, or were they just afraid of their overall image looking bad? I’m going with the latter.