With the NBA finals starting this week, and everyone in the media (rightfully) talking about the importance of the LA / Boston match up, I decided to do something a little different (but equally important) for my first post here: A list of the top-5 NBA players who kind of look like their mascots. I’m sure that the sports media will agree that this story is of equal significance to professional sports as two of the greatest legacy teams ever facing off in the NBA Finals.

1. Chris Bosh :: The Toronto Raptors

This one is hard to do justice with just an image. To really appreciate Chris Bosh’s dinosaur-likeness, you have to watch him play. He’s got a fierce ability to slash to the basket and an overall bird-like demeanor (and anyone who’s seen Jurassic Park knows that automatically links him with the Velociraptor).

2. Adam Morrison :: The Charlotte Bobcats

I could talk about his aggressive jump shot, his ability to claw to the hoop or his wild ball-handling, but only one word really captures his bobcat-like appearance: whiskers.

3. Bryant Reeves :: The Vancouver Grizzlies

What NBA fan could forget Bryant “Big Country Reeves”? Not since Bill Wennington has professional basketball seen a real-life mountain-man take to the court. He was Paul Bunyan in basketball shoes. And though his size makes him a sure-fire contender for a bear look-alike contest (he’s 7-feet, 275-pounds), it’s his down home, back-country style that really captures the true spirit of the grizzly.

4. Baron Davis :: The Golden State Warriors

April, 2007: The 15 teams of the Western Conference descend upon you. The hard-nose, leave-it-all-on-the-court play of the Warriors point guard in the 2007 playoffs proved that like King Leonidas, Davis wasn’t afraid to stand against the mighty, top-rated Mavericks–the true embodiment of a warrior. The sweet beard helps too.

5. Mark Cuban :: The Dallas Mavericks

OK, I know this one is a little bit of a stretch considering Mark Cuban isn’t actually an NBA player. But, even though he doesn’t actually put on a uniform every night, Cuban’s animated sideline antics and his off-court dealings make him just as much of a player in the league as any athlete. He also bears an eerie resemble to a young Mel Gibson in the movie Maverick.

Courtesy of Mrs. Thinky Thoughthead:

This brings up some serious questions:

1. It’s not alphabetical, but is this list in any particular order?

2. If so, are Sports Fans worse than or better than Blasphemers?

3. What if you’re a drunk, gambling sports fan?

Before I fully commit to contributing here, I’m going to need answers.

Over at his blog, Mark Batterson (pastor of the National Community Church in Washington, D.C.) confessed to being a schizophrenic football fan. You can read his explanations why in the post, but basically he’s got emotional ties to the Redskins, Vikings, and Packers.

The Redskins are my adopted team. But I was born in Minneapolis so I loved the Vikings as a little kid. Then we moved to Wisconsin and I became a die hard cheesehead. I cried when the Packers lost which was frequently! I know you aren’t supposed to like three teams. Especially three teams in the same conference. But what can I say? I’m a schizophrenic football fan.

As someone with ties to 2 different teams (the Patriots because I was born and raised in New England, and the Cowboys because my dad has been a die-hard fan for over 30 years), I can relate to the feeling of having conflicting loyalties. Though interestingly enough, when the Cowboys and Patriots squared off a few weeks ago I was definitely rooting for the ‘Boys. I guess I’m more loyal to family than country…or something.

I thought I’d link to Mark’s post because I enjoy hearing leaders (spiritual or otherwise) talk about the teams they follow and the sports they love. Plus, I felt like fooling around in photoshop for a few minutes.

Feel free to put that picture on your new business cards, Mark.