Pound for Pound hearts Rasheed

In the spirit of the last post, and as an ode to the Philly attitude, I have to shout out my bol Rasheed Wallace, who dropped some truth on the nation North Philly-style before his visit to the White House recently.

As reported by ESPN:

One player who wasn't as enthusiastic about the team's White House visit was Rasheed Wallace. Asked on Sunday what he would say to President Bush when they met, the Pistons forward told the Free Press: "I don't have [expletive] to say to him. I didn't vote for him. It's just something we have to do.

Another Philly kid just tellin' it like it is. So proud and so inspired. Sheed, do your thang, and know that Philly will always love you.

Before I could get this posted, I came across two nice items that look at the love between Philly and Rasheed. First, the Detroit Free Press looks at the love and admiration that the city has for one of our native sons, after the Pistons killed the Sixers on Monday night. Rasheed:

"I've said before that when we won the championship, I felt like Philly won because they give me so much love when I come home," Wallace said. "The people here have always supported me."

Rasheed was the only reason I rooted for the Pistons last year in the Finals, as I wanted to see him win. He has always represented Philly, and it was nice to see him vindicated after all of the criticism he has taken. [Now, if only he could win one with A.I. here in Philly, all would be right with the world.] There is something very special about the relationship between Philly and its athletes, one built on respect, knowledge and history. We know our basketball, and love it when one of our own succeeds and shows the world what Philly can produce. But, when you turn your back on us and the city, you are doomed for life. Ya know what I mean Kobe?

I came across this fansite devoted to Rasheed, which lists 100 reasons to love the man. Slightly disturbing, but you got to follow your passion, I guess. #52:

Yet, "I'm a city boy at heart, so I do miss it sometimes. Especially my boys. They're all at Villanova."

Great stuff. I think that Rasheed has become one of the leading spirits behind this blog, a "city boy at heart", a champion, one of the best, a Bush-hater and a proud representative of Philly. Oh, and I must say that it is so great to talk about a real sport with real athletes. I look forward to delving more deeply into basketball and its connection to this city, its history here, and the local legends who I have heard about since I was a kid.