Question: Who wins the bronze medal in our Soundbyte of the Decade countdown?
Answer: The Answer
Ok that's not the real intro... let's try again.
The one and only Allen Iverson comes in 3rd place for his glorious 2002 rant about practice. Congrats to AI for making such an irreverent topic so notable! Iverson is perhaps one of the most polarizing figures in recent sports memory. Either you love him, or you hate him. You've heard all the arguments before:
He's the face of a league in need of a new image with the cornrows and the tattoos...
He's so inspiring by how hard he plays on the court night in and night out...
He's too selfish to win a championship, you can't play with him...
He can take a team of misfits and role players to the promised land...
I've always had a soft spot in my heart for AI. So misunderstood by the vast majority of sports fans, always getting a bad rap for his past, never given the credit he deserved. Yes, he may be a difficult teammate on the floor, but I don't think there is any other baller in the past decade who left it all out on the court the way AI did, well, at least during the game...
It's sad that now, Iverson is a basketball castoff, having to look for a roster spot in Clipperville, Miami, or God forbid Memphis; it doesn't look like he's going to get a real run at a ring like Malone or Payton did. That wasn't the case in the early part of the decade though. AI was the center of the NBA universe after he lead the Sixers to the NBA Finals in 2001 in one of the most remarkable playoff runs ever. Yet, the next season the 76ers were bounced early from the Playoffs by the C's. As his relationship with AI went up and down, HC Larry Brown complained about Iverson's practice deficiencies after the defeat. Iverson responded in one of the most famous press conferences in history. As an NBA nut, I fondly remember watching this one live as it happened, looking forward to what the vocal AI would have to say to defend himself. Needless to say, I wasn't disappointed! Here's our #3 Soundbyte of the Decade, which is actually more of a closing argument for the Defense than a soundbyte. It's hilarious that Allen can't believe it himself how much he actually says the word practice. I've seen the official counter range from 23.5-25, so play along at home for yourself and find out! I wouldn't advise practicing it though. Mr. Iverson, you have the floor...
This weekend RSS will present our #2 Soundbyte of the Decade. I'll give you three clues. Muhammad. Alexander the Great. Jim Gray. Can you figure it out?
