Clear out the front page: Amar'e Stoudemire feels Jewish!
In what can only be described as the funniest turn of events this summer, Stoudemire, the Knicks' new star center, who is 6 feet 11 inches tall and black, took a vacation to Israel to explore his spirituality. After the Knicks stopped Stoudemire from playing in the World Championships because his new $100 million contract is not insured and he has a history of knee problems, Stoudemire created his own Birthright trip to see the country. Like all the Jewish 20-somethings who go there for a personal "Real World: Judaism," he had a great time, telling the Times he feels spiritually and culturally Jewish, loved visiting the Western Wall and the Mount of Olives, and knows some basic Hebrew sentences. (The last two are more than I can say. I've never traveled to Israel and Hebrew School's lessons never stuck.) He also posed for the most unintentionally hilarious photo ever, which is above.
Isabel Kershner and Ira Berkow report Knicks executives were apparently worried that Stoudemire's trip would be viewed as a shameless marketing scheme by the team's Jewish fans, which is probably about 40 percent of the base, considering there are more Jews in metro New York than in Israel (or anywhere). The Knicks should embrace this! After squandering the franchise for the past decade, with terrible contracts, awful personnel decisions and a horrific sexual-harassment lawsuit and trial, this is exactly what the team needs. Something goofy buy heartfelt to give the team a spark. I've only watched the team with bemused disgust the past several years, but am now genuinely interested again. Why deny faith?
Sure, Stoudemire is taking a religious turn that's a stereotypically shallow one for pop stars and usually heads toward born-again Christianity or Islam for black athletes, but he seems genuine enough. Stoudemire doesn't have any actual Jewish ancestry through his mother, as first rumored, but considering his biography includes all the worst postmarks of urban black athletes' childhoods -- multiple high schools, absent father, etc -- maybe what he needed (and still needs) is an overbearing Jewish mother to keep him on the right track. Why anyone would think that someone who can play ball like Stoudemire would be any more 1/132 Jewish, I don't know. But that's not the point. He's maturing, which is very important.
And the Knicks can be the first NBA team with a Yarmulke Night, while Stoudemire davens with Sandy Weill and Bloomberg at Temple Emanu-El.
No comments:
Post a Comment