Previously Ranked: #3
When I made the Man Crush Hall of Fame, there was one thing I struggled with: eligibility. You see, in sports, the various Hall of Fames (Halls of Fame?) usually have a grace period that a person must pass prior to being eligible. Basically, active players are never inducted (in basketball, you're not eligible until five years after you've retired.) I like this idea a lot, because not just anyone should make a Hall of Fame. It's not for people that were good. It's for the few people that were great. For example, a guy like Chauncey Billups. He was a very good player. He won an NBA Finals MVP, a championship, and had a very good career. He will also probably retire after this season. Now, upon retirement, every good player has a few days/weeks/months of praise. People/fans/media/teammates are excited and eager to celebrate the player's career. And they should be. But, in that wave of excitement, people caught up in the hype might consider such things as a Hall of Fame induction. Chancey was good. But I don't think he was a Hall of Famer. Give a committee five years to cool down from the excitement of 'career celebration' mode and they'd probably come to that same conclusion.
I'm not saying I'm not immune to getting caught up in the excitement either. Had there been a Man Crush Hall of Fame in 2006, Gerard Butler might have been inducted into it the very moment I saw 300. I was just that excited about him. However, looking back now, (there was no Hall of Fame, so even though it wasn't really a 'grace period', it still ended up being one), I am happy that I wasn't so rash. I like the man. But he's not a Hall of Famer.
Basically, it's like this: if the Academy Awards were the Hollywood Hall of Fame (and in some ways, they kind of are), do you really think Crash would have been named Best Picture in 2005 if the committee had to wait five years prior to crowning a winner? No way. Time (and public opinion) has not been kind to that movie. In fact, it might not have even been nominated by a committee in 2010. But, because cooler heads were never given a chance to prevail, they now have to list that turd as the best movie of the year for 2004 for the rest of time. Same with Shakespeare in Love over Saving Private Ryan, and Dances with Wolves over Goodfellas.
My point being, I really like the idea of a five year grace period prior to eligibility in any Hall of Fame.
"But Travis" you say, "Jim Carrey still makes movies, Schwarzenegger just released that Last Stand movie, and Gord Downie could probably make music for another 30 years at this point. And yet all of them made your Hall of Fame…"
Well, I… err… um…
Ok, fine. Maybe I did do the opposite for this Hall of Fame than what I just described as 'the only way every Hall of Fame should ever be done.' You don't have to be such a jerk about it…
But ya, that's what made some of these decisions difficult. Because a Man Crush is different than an athletic career. It's hard to fully justify a five year grace period because Bill Murray might not technically be retired for another 20 years. Jackie Chan might last another 10. None are likely to ever regain the same amount of Man Love that I once felt for them, but it still feels silly to wait 20 years to properly honour them. And this choice - Kevin Smith - was one of the tougher ones. I haven't been nearly as into to him as I once was. But, should I assume my once great love is only going to keep fading, and induct him in the Hall of Fame now? Or should I leave the door open for a come back? I don't know. For now, he remains on the list, but just know, this was one of the tougher Hall of Fame vs. Active List decisions that I had to make.
New Entry
I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with LeBron James. I hated The Decision. I hated the creation of a super team in Miami. I hated that they threw a freaking parade before they had even played a single game together. I hated that he disappeared without explanation in back-to-back years of the playoffs, in the most important games possible. I hate that he's a little too aware of how good he is. And I hated The Decision. Did I mention that already? Good. It deserves to be on here twice.
But...
I just love the way he plays basketball. I can't help it. As much as I want to hate him, at the end of the day, I just can't. I'll never root for Miami. But I can't help but root for James on an individual level. I want to see him perform at his best every single time that I watch him. I never want him to have a bad game, even if I still almost always hope that the other team wins.
The thing about LeBron, that I just simply can't remember ever with another player, is that I'm just in constant awe of him at all times. Other players have moments of awe here and there, but never complete and constant awe like James. He's just a specimen beyond belief. He's able to do things that just shouldn't be possible. There are no holes in his game. He scores, he rebounds, he is a brilliant passer, and in my opinion the best (and certainly the most versatile) defender in the league. No one has ever been that well rounded. Scottie Pippen? Maybe. Grant Hill, pre-foot injury? Perhaps. But LeBron is still at another level than even those very great players.
Now, don't get me wrong. I still think Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time. And I don't think, even at his current pace, that LeBron will surpass him. Jordan was just too crazed of a competitor, and in order to supplant MJ at the top of the list, LeBron would have to be too. And he's just not. He's plenty competitive, don't get me wrong. But for Jordan, it was almost a mental disorder. A sickness. And while it was probably what made the difference between him simply being great and being the greatest of all time, it's not a burden I would wish upon anyone. Even LeBron.
That said, if he did have it. If he did have that unrelenting drive to be the absolute best. To win every game at all costs, having no concern for the wake of destruction left in his path. Then once you factor in his ability, and his physical gifts, he absolutely could be better than Jordan. And he's one of the few guys that you could ever say that about. Ever.
You cannot claim to be a fan of basketball and not love what LeBron James is able to do on a basketball court. If you're not in constant awe of him then there is something wrong with you. You don't have to like Miami. You don't have to defend The Decision. But I don't know how you cannot love LeBron James. My boy Bill Simmons said it best (as he often does): "If you love basketball, I really hope you're appreciating this."
Previously Ranked: #6
I still love me some Jemaine, but seriously, I need more of him in my life than I'm currently getting these days. Obviously more Flight of the Conchords would be ideal, but even if that's not in the cards, I would taken any other option provided to me. Something. Anything. Please.
New Entry
It's no secret how much I love Breaking Bad. It's not just the best show currently on television, but also one of the greatest ever. We really are in a golden age of television. In fact, TV probably surpassed movies a couple of years back, in terms of being the better medium for story telling. A notion that would have been nothing short of laughable back in the 80's or 90's. But it's true. There's just no way to squeeze the amount of narrative, character development and emotional investment into a two hour movie like you can over the course of a well-planned out season of television. And that's why, now that the proper time, attention and money is starting to be invested in great television shows, that they are now at the unsurpassed level of quality which we are currently seeing.
But that's not the only reason Cranston is here. No, he's just a great dude. Funny, self deprecating, humble. Just a ridiculous ball of talent, that never for a second let's any of it go to his head.
And don't forget, it's not just Breaking Bad, he was also in several episodes of one of the other greatest television shows of all time, too: Seinfeld.
New Entry
Back when I made the original list, I had only been introduced to Simmons a few months prior. I was enough of a fan even then that Sneep predicted he would make that original list. But, alas, he did not.
Since then, it has been non-stop Simmons in my life, and I couldn't be happier. He influences my opinions on basketball. He convinced me to watch The Wire (his pick as the greatest television show of all time). And his weekly columns and regular podcasts are all consumed by me with great anticipation, and rarely end in disappointment.
He is the highest 'New Entry' on this list. And he couldn't be more deserving of the honour (assuming being on some random dude with a Blogger account's Man Crush list is actually an honour...)
