And So Legend Of Blake Griffin Begins...

"Blake Griffin jumped over a car!" That's what you will hear in recreational centers and playgrounds across the country today. The legend will grow, and it will be total B.S.. He jumped over the HOOD of a car. That's something that, at least, 145 players in The Association can do. Nothing really special for an athlete at that level. The lie lies in the hype machine that is sports media. For days leading up to the contest, analyst, after analyst marveled at what Griffin "potentially" could do. He was THE media pic. He had the best hype man in dunk contest history, in Kenny Smith, who happens to work for the network broadcasting the event. He had been priming the home viewing audience, the people that vote on the winner, for Griffin, for about two hours prior to the event. And then there was the choir, the car, and the expectations. Everyone WANTED him to jump the car. No one wanted to be disappointed. Than it happened, and everyone went crazy, just like they were supposed to. But, in reality, the presentation was way better than the dunk itself. And, honestly, I wasn't surprised. The Clippers front office, as a whole, would of went into cardiac arrest had he actually tried to jump over the roof of that car. We ARE talking about the Clips, a team with the worst track record EVER concerning #1 draft picks. His agent, and sponsers wouldn't have been happy with him either. And with all the build up, he couldn't afford to miss. He had to do it on the first try. So he played it safe. But a standing ovation from the judges? The crowd reaction? Everyone simply wanted him to be icredible, so in their eyes he was. Hype, and expectation sometimes blurr the actual results. Even Sportcenter led with "Griffin jumps over car", misleading at best. But, the thing is, HE was the story THEY wanted, and the player THEY hyped. So, I guess they are going to spin it the THEIR way. And so the legend begins.