The Orlando Magic: Where Dreams Come True

I would really like to thank the Orlando Magic for making all of my basketball dreams of what was possible in 1999 come true. The Spurs were fresh off of a championship, so now drunk off of glory and cough syrup, I was truly able to appreciate the game for what it was.

However, 1999 was the start of something incredible. The sophomore seasons of Vince Carter and Jason Williams completely redefined what was possible on a basketball court. Rifled 60-ft passes for alley-oops? Sure. In-game windmill dunks in traffic? Fine. Buzzer beating threes? By the shitload.

This train of mixtape wackiness and fanciful flavor gallivanted across the nation on a nightly basis. Some people will only remember the beginning of the Kobe-Shaq dynasty, and the continuation of the Spurs and therefore Western Conference hegemony. Not I. 1999-2000 will always mean Houston rappers, a West Virginian in Sacramento, and a Floridian in Canada to me.

Hundreds of thousands of NBA Live 99 teams had to have been manufactured to include these two players. Ten years later, the dream has been fulfilled. Ten years later. After ten years in athletics, it's going to be different. These two players are in fact shells of what they once were. Empty craters of potential that blew up in our faces. Settling for jump shots and textbook chestpasses weren't part of this fucking dream. So I leave you with videos remembering the good times. Just as a reminder that at the turn of the century, nobody did it iller than these two.





Nobody had cell phones, the Internet was slow as hell, but the roundball was dope.

A tale of two collegiate athletes

YammaHamma!
So after watching this play several times, you may conclude that the dunker is destined for greatness, destined to take the world's breath away with death-defying dunkery. Maybe even something greater.

You'd be right. 15 on the baby blues did shock and awe the world with his athleticism and his nose for the hoop. Now, he's kind of broken down, a shell of himself. Vince Carter, we hardly knew you.

What about the guy getting flushed on? The guy that was too slow on the backside help? The one without enough hops to even remotely challenge VC's flush? He did alright. He finished college, got his degree. He was subsequently drafted with the number one pick, and has four rings under his belt. Tim Duncan, we still know you.

So I'm not sure why, but I thought it would be nice to look back today. More than a decade after the fact, we see these two superstars in very different lights. From beasting on competition in the ACC, they have gone on to win gold medals, inspire people, and make millions of dollars. Vince was the biggest draw in the NBA from 1999-2001. Timmy's definitely headed for the hall, and the fifth Spurs number to be retired (he will also someday kill that rat bastard John Connor). The artist formerly known as Vinsanity has a far different legacy, for better or worse.

Favorite Commercials of All Time, Vol. 1

When you think about great commercials, you have to think about great commercials involving athletes. This one is fabulous for several reasons. First, the grainy video and sound quality add to the fake authenticity. The 70's styles involved are hilarious. Finally, the character of Dr. Funk. Vince Carter is summoned to help his losing squad by the chanting crowd of Rucker Park (real place, for all the white people out there). He subsequently crosses someone and makes them fall, buries a 3, two-hand pins a ball on the other end, makes the outlet, then windmill-dunks the oop after the behind-the-back alley. All in all, poetry in motion.