Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Is Shaq really the best—at everything?

Of course not, but don't tell him that. He'll argue the contrary until he has you believing that he is. I know people that have this larger-than-life confidence—writers who claim they are the best in their field (um, no you're not). And while it can be irritating, there is something to be learned here. The more you tell yourself something, the more you will believe it—and other people will, too.
In last week's issue of TIME magazine I read about Shaq Vs., where he challenges people in their areas of expertise. The outcomes? Shaq always win. According to him, he beat Michael Phelps in swimming. Right. To prove he's not all brawn and no brains, Shaq challenged TIME writer, Joel Stein to an essay writing contest about Twitter. (Shaq is the 10th most popular writer on Twitter, while Joel is way behind at 180th). 

Umm, who's proud of me for blogging about Shaquille O'Neal?! I'm kind of loving my newfound interest in sports. (Confession: If I hadn't looked Shaq up on Wikipedia for this post, I would have thought he still played for the L.A. Lakers. He's a Cleveland Cavaliers man now. Oops!)

Check out Shaq and Joel's essays here

Who do you think won? And who should Shaq challenge next? I think he should battle Foster is trash-talking!!!
 

3 comments:

  1. I liked shaq's essay better, of course. It was much shorter.

    Shaq was in Miami for like 3-4 years after leaving LA and before Cleveland, this year.

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  2. Now that Shaq is a member of the Cleveland Cavs, I can't say anything bad about him.. I would be breaking a code of FANhood.. He is better than everyone(except lebron james) in everything!!!!

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  3. I agree, Flip. Joel is obviously the better writer, but sometimes less is more, and I think that's the case here. Sometimes people just want fun, simplistic things. Especially on Twitter!!

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