Why I Root For Brice Johnson

I like Brice Johnson.

It’s not really about double-doubles, shooting percentage, or improving defense.

I just like the guy.  I don’t really feel like I need a reason.  He’s fun to watch.

O.J. Simpson was running through airports for Hertz a decade before I was born.  From 1969 until his death in 1999, Joe DiMaggio was always introduced as the “Greatest Living Baseball Player.”  The original Air Jordans are older than me.  I watched Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, and Bo Jackson in Pro Stars and I liked it.

This means I have never lived in a world in which athletes weren’t marketed to me.  They sell me insurance and sandwiches.

I am wary of anybody who tries to get me to buy insurance or eat a sandwich.  So, I am skeptical of an athlete’s image.  I don’t know Russell Wilson.  He just seems fake to me.  I don’t even believe his name.  It’s literally two gear brands.  His last name is the official ball of the NFL.

Players like that are role models for children, I guess.  That’s fine.  I get the “say your prayers, eat your vitamins” appeal.  But…I’m not really sure what to link.  This is Hulk Hogan’s Wikipedia page.  You don’t want that. You want a Richard Sherman Wikipedia page.  For what it’s worth, if Brice does a Richard Sherman after the Final Four game, I’ll probably buy his jersey.  Wait.  I mean I will buy a No. 11 jersey and any connection to Brice will of course be coincidental.

I root for athletes who seem like actual human beings.

Brice Johnson acts like an actual human being.

I enjoy watching the players who are just seem to be having fun.

The players who evidently do this in their free time.

Quick highlights from @bjohnson_23‘s 39 point & 23 rebound performance tonight @ FSU: pic.twitter.com/ym8sRyuwDp

— Taylor Sharp (@tsharp94) January 5, 2016

Only a real human could do that.  Robots and pitchmen would never understand.  SPOILER ALERT: A Brett Favre reference is coming.

Brice and Roy: A Love Story

The best part of college sports is that marketers haven’t completely pounced on the fun athletes.  I liked Brett Favre.  But, by the time he started slinging the ball around in the mud whilst wearing Wrangler jeans, I was done with him.  I am wearing Wrangler jeans right now.  Not so I can roll around in the mud with Brett, I just want to lean up against cars with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Brice Johnson also displays real emotion.  If it leads to an occasional technical foul, like it did for Brice in the Elite 8, it doesn’t bother me.  It happens.  I feel the same way about celebration penalties in football.  Coach Boone was wrong.  Football is fun.

Emotion can help.  Chauncey Billups once said that Rasheed Wallace played better after getting technical fouls.  “I would egg on referees to give Rasheed a technical. Because until he got a tech, he was one of the most unfocused players I ever played with. But once he got a technical, I don’t care what coach he’s playin for, I’m sayin, throw it to ‘Sheed. Ain’t no more play calls.”  I am not sure I really believe Chauncey, but it sounds cool.

Earlier in the year, Williams kept Johnson on the bench for an extended stretch after “some bad language” from the senior forward.  When he returned, Brice set a career high in scoring and led the Tar Heels to a big early season win.

After the game, Brice explained the situation.  “I kinda used some bad language and coach was really pissed off at me about it.”