Editor’s note: In the wake of today’s HUGE news, the Derrick Rose trade, we felt in necessary to republish this essay from April 2015. Enjoy-
We can safely assume that whoever created the Derrick Rose as Jesus Christ mural in Chicago was doing it ironically. The public wall painting, complete with tears of pain and a crown of thorns…”can’t be serious.”
We know that creepy, dysfunctional obsession with sports figures runs rampant in America; especially so in Chicago. Therefore this public art project analogizing the Chicago Bulls point guard to a popular Messianic figure is probably tongue-in-cheek.
Only the artist (s) know for sure what their intentions are/were, but this seems like Bucktown hipsters having fun at the expense of overzealous Bulls fans. If that’s the case, then it’s brilliant satire! And I applaud such a biting social statement.
As it’s a public work, it’s fair game to public criticism and this post is much more an art show review than it is an exercise in sports writing. First off, as they say in real estate: “location, location, location.” It’s located on a wall where Fullerton Avenue feeds into the I-94/90 expressway.
That just screams WTF?
Why?
It’s nowhere near the United Center where Derrick Rose plays his games, the Advocate Center where he practices, or Englewood where he grew up. Also, parking is horrible at this location, so if you want to look at it for more than 15 seconds, you have to find street parking somewhere off the beaten path and walk a bit. You’ll encounter homeless mendicants along the way.
All the Bulls and Rose items that used to be under this vigil are all gone now. Some were blown away in the wind; others were taken away by all the homeless people in this area. At one point this “sacred ground” was full of flowers, basketballs, crutches, jerseys, etc.
Today, there’s nothing.
When I visited, the only thing I found beneath the shrine was pigeon shit. The ground that surrounds the “vigil” is truly the most disgusting and disease infected ground imaginable, as it’s white with horrifying amount of dried up bird droppings. I’m just thankful that I didn’t catch anything as a result of my visitation.
As required, I left a few offerings of Bulls items as a sacrifice to the basketball gods. We must keep them appeased. If the NBA and injury Gods grow angry with us…you know what will happen to Derrick Rose- we’ve seen it too much already.
The Derrick Rose shrine itself has already been destroyed and then re-created since it arrived in late February. I kind of felt dumber for having visited it, and I sort of feel even dumber for having written about it, but then again this is the NBA Playoffs, and this is what you do this time of year.
When it comes to Derrick Rose coverage, I would much rather spend my time eluding dried pigeon excrement than consume another “Is Derrick Rose back/healthy?/Will he ever be back healthy?” narrative.
That storyline has been done enough already.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication.
He also consistently appears on numerous talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram