Sports psychoanalaysis at its, uh, best. ESPN’s Gene Wojiechowski takes an even closer look at UNC’s Tyler Hansbrough. And you guessed it– he works race into it, pondering the old would-America-love-him-if-he-were-black angle:
Yes, Hansbrough is overexposed. Some news flash there. Let’s see: He’s the best player on the top-seeded team in the NCAA tournament. The Tar Heels spend more time on TV than Oprah. And he’s a compelling player to watch. Duh.
But it can’t be just that, can it? Instead, we supposedly watch Hansbrough because, “America loves a tough white guy.”
Really? I know a year ago that America loved an old-looking guy from Ohio State (Greg Oden), a young-looking guy from Texas (Kevin Durant), a carefree guy from Florida (Joakim Noah), and a true worker bee from Wisconsin (Alando Tucker).
I don’t think it’s so much that Hansbrough’s white as he’s a big, goofy-looking kid who carries his team on his shoulders, with just a little help from a wide array of supporting characters. The dance after the winning shot against Virginia Tech was a perfect illustration of just what makes Hansbrough intriguing. He scored zero style points with dance, looking bigger and goofier than he already is. But there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind that the dance was an explosion of pure adenaline after leading his team to a physical, hard-fought victory. And I mean physical. Mike Gminski noted time and again the Hokie bodies constantly banging against Hansbrough, dismissing any notion that he “gets the calls.”
All this from a guy who doesn’t really care for the Heels. There’s a sick part of me that wants to see them lose. But I filled out my bracket today and I just couldn’t bet against a team with a guy like Hansbrough in the middle.
