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I wannu have editors who don't make me write stupid for the bulldog.
DETROIT FREE PRESS
http://www.freep.com/sports/albom/mitch11e_20050611.htm
June 11, 2005
BY MITCH ALBOM
FREE PRESS COLUMNIST
SAN ANTONIO -- I wannu be Manu.
I wannu have his flopping, sweaty hair. I wannu have his mile-wide smile. I wannu enter a news conference after taking over an NBA Finals game and begin by answering a question in Spanish. I wannu be bilingual. I wannu be international. I wannu be large in two Americas, North and South.
I wannu be Manu.
I wannu have his basketball moves. I wannu heave up three-pointers and circus shots. I wannu hear announcers yell, "There goes Ginobili!" as I fly to the hoop, passing my defenders, looking like I'm falling but then slamming the ball one-handed. Haha! Fooled u!
I wannu drive that lane like a train off a bridge, awkward and speeding and bent out of control, yet somehow finish with the ball in the basket -- and me, quite often, on my rear end watching.
Who doesn't wannu do that?
I du.
I wannu laugh like Manu. I wannu enjoy life like Manu. I wannu have Tim Duncan, after my 26 points and nine rebounds in Game 1, call me "unbelievable."
I wannu have Larry Brown say, "He was marvelous."
I wannu have Chauncey Billups admit, "He was good, man." Only I would change that to: "He was good, manu."
You know, to be consistent.
Working on my Italian and Spanish
I wannu be where Manu is right now, on the cusp of it all, 27 years old, the spotlight coming like a crown to a prince. I wannu be Elvis on the "Louisiana Hayride." I wannu be Bill Gates looking at Windows 95. That's where Manu is these days, in the new curl of a new wave on a ride that is fun and furious.
I wannu rebound like Manu. I wannu do behind-the-back passes. I wannu contort my 6-foot-6 frame like a wire hanger in the hands of a sumu wrestler.
Hey. "Sumu Manu."
There's something nu.
I wannu have his back story. I wannu tell people about my childhood in Argentina, a nation better known for soccer. I wannu talk about my father making me dribble around chairs. I wannu talk about my early playing days, in Argentina and Italy. I wannu talk about my trophy for Euroleague Finals MVP. I wannu say it in Italian, which is another language Manu speaks.
I wannu say "arrivederci" with the proper accent. I wannu say "buenos noches" and not sound like a tourist. I wannu have screaming fans who love me on three continents -- in three languages.
I wannu brag about the Olympics, last year in Athens, where I won a gold medal while leading Argentina past the U.S.A. I wannu put that gold medal next to my first NBA championship ring, from 2003 with the Spurs, and maybe next to my next one, which is three victories away.
If I du what I du.
Working on my hairstyle
I wannu be reckless like Manu. I wannu be fearless. I wannu drive into Ben Wallace, knock him over and still get the call. I wannu be such a good actor that the slightest brush of Lindsey Hunter's forearm sends me flying backward like a cowboy tossed through a saloon window.
I wannu have all his cool attributes. I wannu be left-handed, strong yet wiry. I wannu think they will all go in, even when I throw the ball over my shoulder, mid-air, with my back to the basket.
I wannu celebrate like a World Cup soccer player. I wannu dazzle people with my smile and kindness. I wannu sign autographs an hour before the game, like Manu did Thursday night. I wannu hear old ladies and little kids scream, "Manu! Manu!" because all the big ones go by one name, don't they? Elvu? Madonnu?
I wannu say, when asked about Game 2 Sunday night, that I expect the Pistons to put two or three guys in front of me, so "I really got to play smarter."
I wannu say, about my personal growth, "now I know that even if I don't play that well at the beginning ... in the fourth quarter, I'm going to have the ball in my hands."
I wannu have such dewy confidence, such energy, such charisma. I wannu be basketball's version of Roberto Benigni, jumping over chairs at the Oscars and laughing all the way. I wannu be so young, so happy, my stringy hair flying over my forehead, coming off the best game I've ever played in an NBA Finals.
It's not that I'm unhappy with my own life. It's just that, now and then, you see a kid so perfectly aligned with his time and his talent, you want to revel in it, if only in your mind, if only for a moment.
I wannu be Manu.
I wannu have editors who don't make me write stupid for the bulldog.
dude, a detroit newspaper writer wrote a most glowing mj reference article about Manu.
What more do you want? They love Manu more than their own team.
My comment was in reference to Albom's recent issue at the Free Press regarding his column about the Final Four.
I love reading Mitch Albom and thought his editors should have recieved more blame for the situation than they did.
I just wannu hang with Manu.
best outta 3, 1-on-1, to 21...two's allowed.
...that's all I wannu.
I'll buy the smoothies...
Why does he say wannu instead of want to or even wanna? What did I miss?
Great article. It defines quite well the emotional side of manumania. And it cames from a Spurs fan, of course... what? it doesn't?
oops!
I wanna be ben wallace!
No, just kidding.
Play on "Manu."
Albom likes to go with crazy stuff sometimes.
I wannu have education. It's not my fault I lived under electric power cables in my youth.
I wannu learn how to write.
I wannu have original ideas without looking stupid in the process.
I wannu work for an editor that rejects any article in which 90% of the sentences start with the word Wannu.
I wannu all that, I really do,
Sincerely,
Mitch Albom.
Translation:
I want to learn how to write.
I want to have original ideas without looking stupid in the process.
I want to work for an editor that rejects any article in which 90% of the sentences start with the word Wannu.
I want to all that, I really do.
Talk about wanting some education.
It was written in the Mitch style, not mine, don't correct it!
I wannu have Manu playu like he does in the Olympics and Playoffs all the timu.
Spurs would be undefeatedu.
I guess people dont see the joke in the writing.
Jees people lighten up.
Mitch Albom is a of a writer, lay off.
He could be Shakespeare for all I care, but this article looks ridiculous after the third sentence that starts with "I wannu". Probably not his best effort if you people say that he is a really good writer.
Its a take off from the I wanna be like Mike you knuckleheads.
You should be honored.
I wannu be like Manu
Soon instead of everyone wants to be like mike commercials, we probaly see " i wanna be like manu"
Albom... "wannu" = "want to"
You... I want to all that, I really do.
Being a good columnist means keeping people reading your column all the way through.
The good ones find a way to keep their column entertaining. Albom has done this consistently in his work.
please don't say that! lol
I don't wannu be Manu... I just wannu Manu.
I loved the article.
By the way, Sequ, you don't need this:
becuase if the Hot Dog plays like he did in the Olympics and the way he has in the first 17 games of the current Playoffs, you are almost guaranteed a ring for the next six years.I wannu have Manu playu like he does in the Olympics and Playoffs all the timu.
And, the way I recall it, you are all about winning the championship.
"Just Win Baby!"
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