Why do you play?

Saturday when I was at the Honda center I watched fans get excited, stand then sit and root for their respective teams. It made me wonder,"How much do these fans really factor into what's happening on the hardwood?" The Bruins made a run late to secure the victory against Texas A&M and the crowd stood up with its U-C-L-A FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT business. But does Luc Richard Mbah...Shipp, Westbrook or the others get amped by the crowd? You have to think that the last two years have been very successful years for Bruins. They've been to the championship game and the final four the last two years only to be handed defeat by some well coached Florida Gators. You'd think that by now they were on a mission and don't need the inspiration of bunch of fans.

But the question remains, "Why do players play?" Better yet, "Why do you play?" I used to say that I played out of love for hoop. I was lying. Truthfully, I played to prove my worth to people. "Look, I can play. Somebody, anybody, look at me dunk a basketball. Please be impressed. Tell me I'm worth something." It's like there was some little kid inside me keeping me from enjoying the game the right way. But have you ever been honest with yourself about why you do the things you do? Why do you play the game? And better still Why should you play the game? I'm curious....let's get this conversation started.