I don’t want to excel at something mediocre. Some may be lulled by the realization, upon looking around at their peers, and deciding (for the sake of this argument, we’ll say “correctly”) that they are made of better stuff than those around them.

It is tempting to say to yourself, I could do that.  But if it’s not what you want, then why do it?

It’s like if I turned out to be a better soccer player than average, would I play soccer?  No, I wouldn’t.  I’d rather be a second string football player because I prefer that game.  And let’s be honest, the better athletes play football.  If you don’t believe me look at the salaries.

But metastatizing, it might be more accurate to say that “being the best” isn’t what I want.  Some people could fairly make a choice and decide that though they love football, their love of celebrity (or playing in general) is greater than their love of the individual sport.  (NOTE:  Don’t go into soccer for celebrity unless it’s only a very minor celebrity you crave.  David Beckham is 90% famous for having his name in the title of a small production film about a teenage girl from India.)  But supposing it were two equally popular sports, like say soccer and tennis (see, I am giving soccer some credit.)

If you could be Pele (Who? cry all the Beckham fans — go rent a Bollywood flick) or … (the name of a minor tennis celebrity escapes me), which would you choose?  For some people they’d rather be the Jordan of whatever it is.  For others, the question depends more on how much they prefer tennis to soccer.  Both fair answers.  But that’s a false dichotomy.

The real question is closer to:  if you were Robert Horry, would you rather play in the CBL, and feel like a star in Ibiza or pass the ball to Hakim and get a gold ring?

But that’s still not quite it.