Kobe & Shaq: Why I watched the NBA

I did it. I watched an NBA game. Turned it on in the first and watched it until the end. Why? Because of two men. I love to boo Kobe Bryant. I love to cheer for Shaquille O'Neal. Rivalries make the NBA great. Bird and Johnson. Russell and Chamberlin.
The only two games I will watch this year are Lakers/Heat and Rockets/Heat. Shaq vs. Kobe and Shaq vs. Yao. This is why I like professional sports. The matchups. I get to know the players. Love them, hate them. When Shaq was traded from the Lakers I didn't care. I will cheer for him in Miami just like I cheered for him in LA. Suddenly, I am a Heat fan.

College sports, the players change to fast. The only rivalries are the teams. Teams don't have as much of a face as Brady vs. Manning or John Smoltz vs. Roger Clemens. Those are the games you can believe I will be planted on the couch or in the bleachers.

Maybe I am not a team player, but I love the one on one, mano en mano.