Deadspin H.O.F. Class of 20??

I am quite pleased with the way this turned out.  There wasn’t a lot of great footage from the draft itself, as 1) I only had one beer beforehand and 2) this was a remarkably dull draft, and so inspiration was in short supply.  But the other stuff… yeah, I’m happy.  I marvel at how draining an experience this was — work has been very time intensive lately, and doing this at all involved sacrificing some sleep and some brain cells.  I’m also stunned that everyone from NBA Security seemed to know who I was — and that they were also quite cordial and complimentary.  And more people than ever went up to me — sometimes when I didn’t have the sock on or camera out — to shake my hand and meet the Stephen A. heckling guy.  People wanted pictures.  Very surreal.

Allow me a rant:  The NBA, in its infinite wisdom, sold fewer than 400 day-of tickets Thursday.  My guy got there at 7:30 am, only to be denied along with the overwhelming majority of people who showed up.  I cannot begin to understand why, at a venue that seats over 3000 people, you’d suddenly reserve fewer than 400 tickets for actual fans who get on line early in the morning — taking days off from work, in many cases.  It’s not like this is the Oden-Durant year, or the LeBron year (tickets were much, much easier to get a hold of the LeBron year).  The NFL Draft works largely because it’s a populist event.  It takes great pains to do well by its fans.  It’s impossible to imagine the NFL giving away almost 90% of its tickets to corporate interests.   The NBA Draft will never have that stature so long as it treats its fans this way during its one genuinely interactive event of the year.  End of rant.

I cannot thank John Moe and folks like him for appealing to Deadspin to help a puppet out, Deadspin for putting out an APB for tickets, and this dude for answering the call and making his extras available.  Also, do you like the Mets?  You should read this blog.  A good man writes it.

More thoughts on this video later this week.  Oh, and yes, I wrote and performed the song — words and music (hooray, Apple Garageband!).  Oh, and yes, this really is the last SAS NBA Draft heckling video.

twitter: @hecklingsociety

Don’t even try to argue this one.

Thanks so much to everyone who helped me get a hold of a ticket, particularly Deadspin, Moe (whose book you should read) and @thepoost.

The 2009 Heckling Society Video will be up, hopefully, on Monday the 29th of June.

Via Twitter:

@NYG26 No Sir! That part of my life is over. I’m not with ESPN any longer. No need for me to be at the Draft. I wish them well.

Well, not surprising, considering how the last one went.

No matter, Stephen A.  The show goes on, with or without you.

So yeah.  We are aware that Stephen A. no longer works for ESPN.  We are aware of his amazing Twitter page, and we even made Deadspin aware of some fun developments there.

We are also aware that some of you are curious about what, if anything, we’ll do this year.

Here’s the deal:  We’ll do a video of some sort.  This year’s “Stephen A. Smith Heckled At the NBA Draft” video will be rather different, owing largely to the lack of Stephen A. to heckle.  It will also be the last, for the same reason.  But it’s also just time to call it.  We have traversed a lot of territory – groundbreaking whimsy, triumphant perfection, dark explorations of fate – and we’ve accomplished a lot of productive silliness.  But just as all good things must come to an end, they also cry out for proper closure.  So:  One more video.

What form will this video take?  We’re still figuring this out.

But we will make an effort.  Stay tuned.  Oh, and follow us on Twitter, won’t you?  @hecklingsociety

So the story is this:  I worked somewhere near Rockefeller Center.  One day, I walk home past the rink, pondering the collapse of the global economy (as I’m wont to do), and there he is.

He was unreal.  I came back with a camera a few nights later, just knowing the odds were good that he’d be there again, and I took a few minutes of footage.  He needed to be shared with the world.  And he needed a theme song.

The words came to me quickly, and the tune followed. And so here, courtesy of a still camera with movie functionality and the miracle that is Apple GarageBand, is Floness.  Long live Floness!

I for one agree with him.  I also just dig the idea of someone with sway, like the idea of an actual Knick, taking issue with the Knicks’ frequently abyssmal peripheral entertainment choices.

HOLY  CRAP!

So a gay sex scandal.  Great.  And the Isiah Thomas legacy is now complete.

I set this up largely because the xenophobic ranting and raving of John McCain and Sarah Palin’s less educated supporters was beginning to sound awfully familiar.  Great comedy is somehow illustrative of real live events; the very best comedy is prescient as to real live events to come.  Hats off to Mel Brooks, and to the makers of Apple’s iMovie software.

So now I wonder:  Is this the sort of video that could become a one or two million-hit wonder?  I think it could, and in relatively short order.  I’ll start pushing the marketing of this thing on Monday, and we’ll see how far it goes.   I think it just might be even bigger than the drunk Met fan with the cups on his head.  We shall see soon enough.

Now you know.

Perhaps, at this point, it’s worth reiterating that Rockin’ Steady and the SASHSG are not in any way connected to Stephen A. Smith or ESPN.  Just because political posts tend to really bring out the nutcases.

But I worry about the election.  I’ve been increasingly impressed with Barack Obama and Joe Biden and increasingly underwhelmed by John McCain and his folksy but clueless running mate.  If America doesn’t get this one right, I’m calling it quits on the draft.  If America is truly worthy of another Stephen A. at the NBA Draft video, it will make the right call here.