Stephon Marbury's new blog is fast becoming a must-read. In Wednesday's entry he shares his plans for continuing his career once his deal with the Knicks expires in 2009. He's planning to go to Italy where he will work to spread the game of basketball the same way a European is working to make soccer a bigger part of the American landscape. And while he's there, he might as well sell a few sneakers.
For my 14th pro season, I want to go when I can still go hard and give the people what they want. I'm looking at how David Beckham is getting love for coming here. He's 32. I'll be 32 at the end of my Knicks' contract. Imagine if someone told him not to follow his heart to play soccer in the U.S.
I want to do the same thing for basketball and spread the Starbury Movement so people all around the world can benefit. I want to make things affordable for everybody.
He then shares the impressions Italy made on him during a recent visit.
- Tuscany was "fly" and he and the wife did "the 50-cent window shopper"
- He fell in love with wifey all over again in Venice.
- He became free in the Sistine Chapel. "You walk in one door and out the other and you become free in mind, body and spirit."
It's only July but I'm really surprised how excited I am for the Knicks season. It has nothing to do with the bogus Summer League but everything to do with the new Starbury. I've been cynical about Marbury in the past, even when he's played well it's been a grudging acceptance that he's a key part of any hopes the Knicks might have. But he's charming the pants off me like a gondolier with his goofy interviews, shoe-selling frenzy and plans for a Tuscan twilight of his career. It's my own personal Starbury movement, you might say, and I'm loving every minute of it.
Comments