CELEBRATING Derrick Rose brought back nostalgia.
And with it, the what-ifs.
That’s where almost every social media post and comment was headed after the deluge of Derrick Rose content following the announcement of the official Derrick Rose Day (January 4) in Chicago and the retirement of jersey #1.
Fans claim with 100% certainty that Rose would’ve won the championship in 2012. They were sure he would’ve won more, if not for that career-changing left knee ACL tear.
I can’t blame them. Pre-injury Derrick Rose was special.
When he was injured, fans hoped and prayed for DRose’s full recovery and return to peak form. He is a superstar. He is a hero, and his hero’s journey should conclude with him on top of the world, clutching the Larry O’Brien trophy that has finally returned to the Windy City once again. Fans were ready to move on from Michael Jordan’s era of greatness, and they were sure the athletic DRose was the man for the job.
They say God doesn’t give with both hands, and DRose fans had to find a way to be ok with that.
DRose was able to return to basketball again, but he was never himself. Not during the rest of his remaining years in Chicago, not in New York, not in Minnesota, and not in teams where he could get 10 minutes off the bench only if it was his lucky day.
That his career crashed back to earth even before it reached the stars birthed all the what-ifs that took years for fans to bury, slowly and painfully, as they watched DRose fade away from superstardom and the Bulls return to mediocrity, only to quickly resurface with DRose back in the spotlight.
The what-ifs of fans were an easy target for trolls, haters, and anti-sentimentalism.
The argument is simple: don’t make DRose great on the merits of your what-ifs. As a DRose fan, it got me thinking.
Are they correct? Is it really more disrespectful to DRose that a big part of why we idolized him is based on what we think he could’ve become? Are we raising our what-ifs because we, the fans, haven’t made peace with what DRose wasn’t able to do? Is this a reflection of our own insecurity?
I think this brings to question how we see worth, and maybe because deep inside we feel only those who’ve won a championship deserve to be idolized, and reminding ourselves that DRose could’ve been a champion validates our feelings towards DRose’s greatness. That is how we rationalize in the face of criticisms that seek to demote DRose.
The realization is humbling, but necessary. Maybe it is time to stop raising all the what-ifs. Maybe it is true that fans should celebrate DRose for what he has accomplished, despite the feeling that he could’ve done more.
Only if we are truly honest about our standards can we truly start genuinely celebrating DRose.
I like what Joakim Noah said during the retirement ceremony; it was something about DRose arriving in this state of his life in peace. That is the real gift at the end of his journey, more important and profound than a jersey on the rafters or a day in your honor, because the retirement ceremony and the Derrick Rose Day are for the fans, but the peace of mind, that is a rare gem Derrick Rose was blessed to find trudging the dusty twilight road.
Someone so self-centered and so self-absorbed would continue holding on to the what-ifs that he can no longer make real. Those who can’t handle it will live a life of resentment, imprisoned by the unending chase for days of glory that will never come.
Others, however, like DRose, embrace the end with grace.
And if we are truly his fans, we should do the same. Be at peace. Focus on what he’s done, and celebrate it. Think of what he meant to you, the day you started rooting for #1.
You idolized him because of who he is. What he could’ve been is not him. It is not his life. It is not his lived experience. It is just an idea in your head.
