In today's NBA arena experience, it's cool to be a conformist.
I'm not certain when it became en vogue for 18,000 fans to wear the same shirt for playoff games -- it feels vaguely like a mid-aughts invention. By now, it's a wholly expected visual. If I feel disconnected from it all, please understand I root for the New York Knickerbockers, a team with an aversion to relevance since the turn of the millennium.
Anyway, if you want to be part of the scene in today's NBA, wear the same T-shirt as everybody else. This is especially true for people in the 100 sections and courtside seats. Texans star J.J. Watt attended Game 1 of the Rockets-Thunder series on Sunday and was probably under the impression that his celebrity precluded him from the dress code preferred by the commoners.
And now your latest evidence that the JumboTron, now 40 years into its existence, remains a deadly effective shaming tool.
By the way, everyone wins here. The Rockets get Watt in their team gear, the fans of Houston get to have some fun with one of their favorite sons, and Watt -- you know he obviously just loves this. The "You want me to fit into that?" expression is just classic from the guy who once clicked send on this.
Watt's clearly disappointed when the shirt fits him better than the one he wore to the arena. Never change, Justin.
