Gilbert Arenas, you will be missed (by one fan, at least)

The first time I really started caring about the Washington Wizards was during the 2004-2005 season. That was the first year in forever that they were actually good. They had this guy on their team- Gilbert Arenas- who could just blow by anyone. No one could stop him. I remember watching Game 5 of their series against the Bulls. I remember that buzzer-beater shot Arenas hit over Kirk Hinrich to give them the win and eventually send them into the second round of the playoffs for the first time in about 20 years. The opening sentence of the article in the Washington Post the next day went something like this- "The Washington Wizards blew a 20 point halftime lead and then a six point lead with 30 seconds left. But Gilbert Arenas bailed them out. Hey, that's what superstars do." For the first time in forever, the Wizards had a bona fide superstar on their team, and things were looking up.

And this wasn't just your average, generic superstar. Arenas seemed to get it like no other NBA player could. He knew how to connect with fans, because, he said, he was still a fan himself. It wasn't about the money or the fame for him. It was just about playing the game he loved. Back then, he seemed like the nicest guy in the world. I remember hearing one story about how he heard about this little boy whose home had been destroyed in a fire and whose parents had been killed, and just took him in and paid for everything. I heard another about how some random fan sent him a message on Myspace, and not only did Gilbert respond, he actually got the kid a job as Wizards ball-boy. He started a program where for every point he scored in a home game, he'd donate $100 to a needy DC school. He had that crazy blog where he would tell the truth exactly as he saw it- no platitudes, no hesitation. Who couldn't love him?

On the court he was pretty good too. In 2006, the Wizards played in one of the most exciting playoff series ever against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even though they lost in the first round, it was okay because Gilbert Arenas and Caron Butler were just going to get better and Antawn Jamison was in his prime. Back then, it seemed like they had the whole world in front of them. Then, they had that amazing start to the 06-07 season. I remember seeing Gilbert score 60 points against the Lakers- he was unstoppable man- then, after promising to drop 50 on the Suns, he actually scored 54 against them. I remember watching him hit two ridiculous game-winning threes (in the same week!), and just walk off the court as if nothing had happened. I still imitate his arms raised, back to the basket celebration when I play basketball with my brother or friends. For a while the Wizards had the best record in the Eastern Conference and Arenas was the front runner for MVP. When asked about the team's success, Gilbert said that their "swag was phenomenal". Who else but Gilbert would say something like that?

And then, in one second, on one play, it all came crashing down. Arenas got injured and was out for the year, and the Wizards ended that season getting swept by the Cavs in the playoffs. Then, being the idiot he is, Arenas tried to return from his injury after only like three months when he should've waited at least seven months. What followed were two seasons in a row lost to injury.

And then Gun-gate happened. This time you couldn't excuse it as just Gilbert-being-Gilbert. Arenas had always tiptoed the line of decency with his inane comments and weird pranks. That's just who he was. But this time, he'd gone way too far.

People asked me why I still liked him. Why was I still a fan of someone whose jersey I was too ashamed to wear to school? Why was I a fan of a thug, a lunatic? The reason is because of all those times he carried the team on his back to victories. Because of all those clutch shots he hit. Because of all those memories he provided. Because, for five years, Gilbert Arenas WAS the Wizards. I realize I'm being irrational here. This guy wasted three whole seasons for the Wizards. He screwed up everything for this franchise. But you have to take the bad with the good. John Wall, if you can provide even half the happy memories that Gilbert did, I'll be satisfied. I hope you can help me move on.

College Rejection

So I had applied to Columbia as an Early Decision candidate back in the beginning of November. The decisions came back a couple of days ago and unfortunately I wasn't accepted
:(. I'm obviously disappointed by this, but at the same time I'm not crushed. I realize that Columbia is one of the most selective schools in the country and, regardless of how intelligent I think I am, there are hundreds of other kids in the country who applied who think the same exact thing and are just as qualified, if not more so, than me. I was reading collegeconfidential.com (a momentary weakness, it won't happen again, I promise), and saw that one of the few people on the thread to say they got accepted was some guy from a tiny school in Iowa who works on his farm every day, had an SAT score in the 2200's, was on the varsity football team, and had been the star of two school plays (yes, I know this could be made up, but I'm inclined to believe it). I realize there's no way I can compete with that. Honestly, I wasn't 100 million percent sold on Columbia anyways. Don't get me wrong, I love it a lot and I did want to go there (which is why I applied Early Decision in the first place), and this isn't a cop-out, but I wasn't really sure if I would've been able to adjust to the fast-paced city life that is NYC. I would have figured it out eventually, but it might have adversely affected my college experience.

I try not to, but my rejection does make me second guess myself. I know my SAT score and GPA were high enough to get in, and I'm pretty certain that I did all I could within my ability to burnish my extracurricular resume (and I feel my extracurriculars should have been sufficient for Columbia), so it keeps on coming back to my essay. Did my personal essay make me sound too conceited? Too underhanded and dishonest? Maybe it just wasn't written well enough? But when I look at my friends' essays and compare it to mine, to me mine seems to be a lot better written and have a much better communicated message than their's. Maybe it was my "Why Columbia" essay? I'll admit to having looked up random famous Columbia professors on Google and included them in my essay, and maybe Columbia saw through that.

So what's next for me? I definitely want to get into Georgetown. That's my new #1. Georgetown is also a very selective school, but I'm hopeful (and even confident) that I can get in. The only problem with applying to Georgetown is that I'm going to have to take another SAT II, because they require three, and one of their essay questions asks about my "goals in life". I don't know what my goals in life are- I'm only 18 man. Whenever I get that question in person I try to deflect it, so it's annoying being forced to formulate a well-crafted answer to it. (Georgetown, if you somehow find this blog and are reading this, please know that I still love you and would be extremely honored to attend your college.) (Other colleges that might read this, know that my love of Georgetown doesn't diminish my love for you and I'd still be grateful to be accepted into your school.) In addition to the Georgetown essay, I now have to write 10-15 more (relatively short) college essays for the other eight to nine colleges I'm applying to. It's going to go back to the school-clubs/sport-homework-college apps-sleep cycle that I was on while applying to Columbia. Four years from now, when I graduate, I hope it'll all be worth it, and my rejection from Columbia just a bump in the road. Only time will tell, I guess.