When I was in elementary school, every Monday, one of my parents or my brother would take me up the street to the local candy and stationary store with $1 of discretionary spending in my pocket. I would often pass on the candy, though getting 20 pieces of Bazooka Joe for $1 was always tempting, and instead gravitate towards the carousel rack of comic books, where I would grab a book, usually something Spider-Man related, though I was also quite partial to Captain America, X-Men and the Punisher, and depending on many years ago we’re talking about, sometimes even get a few coins of change in the process.
It’s a hobby I still maintain to this day, though much to my wife’s chagrin, I’m dropping more than a $1 an issue these days as I chase after 40 year-old comics with first appearances and origin stories. I guess, by definition, this makes me some kind of a geek, though I haven’t always been able to fully embrace the culture in other facets of life (Star Wars, great, Star Trek and all its iterations, not so much).
I’m providing readers with this TMI moment primarily because it ties-in to Nets center Brook Lopez. As a basketball fan, I was ecstatic that the Nets were able to draft Brook last year. But as a geek, having someone like Brook on the roster has made me beyond ecstatic. When I saw the chronicles of Brook and now, former, Net Ryan Anderson at NYC Comic Con earlier this year, I know a bunch of people were chuckling about what a bunch of big geeky kids they looked like. I, on the other hand, wanted to know what Brook bought and what else he has at home (and what kind of goodies can you get with an NBA salary).
So when I joined Twitter a few months ago, albeit, as someone who has worked in and supported dead-tree media, a bit reluctantly, one of the first people I sought out to follow was Brook Lopez. Not because I wanted to read about his training regimen or who he’s hanging out with that day (no offense to Net tweeters Terrene Williams and Chris Douglas-Roberts), but because I wanted to get Brook’s thoughts on what comics he’s currently reading, what movie he just saw and just other general tidbits from geek to geek.
I was disappointed to see that there’s a Brook Lopez on Twitter, but he’s a confirmed imitator. And in a recent interview with the Sporting News’ Bethlehem Shoals, Lopez says he’s just too “lazy” to take it up.
Wha what?
“I’m busy writing actual books and stuff like that rather than Twittering,” Lopez said in the interview.
For starters, just reading that quote gives me a visualization of Seth Rogen’s Cal character in 40 Year-Old Virgin when he tells Andy that he’s good at observing because he’s “a novelist.” On second thought, Brook and Seth Rogen seem to share a lot of physical characteristics.
While I certainly would be interested in a Brook Lopez novel, or more likely a graphic novel, I’m calling his bluff. I think he can be converted. I’m dying to follow Book’s daily musings in 140 characters or less.
So with Sebastian’s blessing, Nets Are Scorching is officially launching a “Brook Lopez on Twitter” campaign. Starting now, we’ll be occasionally informing our readers about how many days it’s been since we demanded Brook Lopez join Twitter. We will be persistent in a just cause geared towards entertaining our readers and ourselves. And we won’t stop until Brook backs away from the typewriter, and creates his own Twitter account – or until his people contact me and say I can hang with Brook for a few minutes at Comic Con next year.
