Hubris, part II

Some folks simply REFUSE to learn from the ancient Greeks.  

Last week I talked about Dwyane Wade's hubris, his extended pose after a three-point shot in front of the Mavs bench that lead to a game-winning Dallas rally.

Friend, former roommate, and scholar Chris Harris (proud son of Valdez, North Carolina, since this IS Carolina and Hellenic blue) pointed out that hubris was a great sin, but the Heat may be more guilty of hamartia, which Aristotle defined as 'the fall of a noble man caused by some excess or mistake in behavior."

Wade's posing turned out to be hubris - pride before a fall/game 2 loss.

But we also saw hamartia this week when it was revealed that before game 5 both Wade and LeBron James mocked, albeit playfully, Dirk Nowitzki's cold and 102 degree fever, maladies he overcame to lead his team to a huge win in game 4.  And of course the mockers, members of the Heat, went on to lose game 5.

Not sure if the Greeks had a term for 'stupidity before a fall.'

Obviously, it makes no sense to mock a guy for playing ill, especially when he led his team to victory despite being sick. Nowitzki sucked it and did what superstars are supposed to do: lead. 

Now Wade has played well this series, but we all know James has shrunk rather than risen to the occasion.  For someone like THAT to mock Nowitzki goes beyond hubris to hamartia.  

Some may quibble if James is a noble man - though he plays the game hard and is not a knucklehead - but his failure in big games - and making fun of someone who did not - makes one wonder about his character.

So rather than the 'chosen one,' as is tattooed on his chest in a show of childish hubris, perhaps James will have hamartia tattooed on his reputation if the Mavericks win the the 2011 NBA championship.