A Death in the Family

Although this post is long overdue, I hope to hell someone reads it, because it is reasonably important to me. One of my favorite blogs is stopping - Free Darko - and as it provided at least some inspiration for me to start this new, incredibly prolific blog, its passing deserves more than just a passing note. Free Darko provided intelligent commentary on modern day basketball events and goings on that not only made the sport respectable on an intellectual level, it opened the door for other communities of legitimate highbrow thinking about sports, athletes, and culture. Who can honestly find an accurate analogue to Sisyphus in ice hockey or Walter Berglund in football? And this goes without mentioning the fantastic books and art work put out by the blog/collective. Spend 15 bucks at your local Barn to pick up 'The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac' or 'FreeDarko Presents: The Undisputed Guide to Pro Basketball History' - either is easily worth three times the price, even if you don't like basketball. I'll let Shoefly, a contributor at 'The Rumble' summarize my thoughts a bit more tersely:

"That’s why I’m proud of FreeDarko. Sports should be about people, I think. We follow it because we care about them. It’s not just the stately march of commerce across the heartland if you’re doing it right. Which Shoals always did – and does. Not just well, but often, to my abiding admiration and awe, a fierce advocate and soldier for meaning in sports. I expect he, and all of us, will find a victory in the end."

True, the blog wasn't without its faults. At times, it was far too 'inside the beltway' with its contributors for my tastes (somewhat like academic texts that critique others' critiques of famous works), and it was often too confused, indecisive, or existential to exist as anything but a place for people to post these thoughts. Without doubt though, the benefits far outweighed the cons, and to say I'm sad to see it go is an understatement (although perhaps my boss isn't). While we at A Rare Blue Flower aim for slightly different goals through slightly different means, we certainly would not exist were it not for FreeDarko, and truly, who would we be if we didn't acknowledge our forebearers? Rest in peace, Grandmama.