Friday, June 03, 2005

Warming Up To Shaq

I've never been a Shaquille O'Neal fan. Not in college, where I thought his team underachieved. Not in the pros, where his game was more one of might than of skill, in my less than fuzzy opinion of his skills. Then there was his infamous "I have won at every level" statement issued at a time before he had won anything on any level. I was not on the Big Guy's bandwagon.

As the years have passed, O'Neal and I have matured. I've learned to respect his power game, even if not overly enamored with it. I have grown to enjoy his sense of humor. I like his banter with the media. He even seems like a pretty decent guy in spite of the millions. Yesterday, Shaq revealed that side by offering to pay for the funeral of basketball legend, George Mikan.

Like O'Neal, Mikan was the dominant big man of his era. Also, like Shaq, Mikan was an ex-Laker center. Apparently, some type of admiration developed between the two men and when O'Neal heard Mikan's family was having financial problems, he offered to pay for Mikan's funeral.

It was a class move. I stand impressed. Even if it was done in part for public relations, no one else made such a public offer to the family of pro basketball's original superstar. O'Neal may never be my all-time favorite player, but he certainly has changed my opinion about him.

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