Fans are cheering “MVP! MVP! MVP” as he steps to the free-throw line. Weight of the city rests on his shoulders. Fans in the stands making barbaric chants from excitement. One dribble. Two dribble. The arena reaching it’s maximum capacity of noise. He shoots; nothing but the bottom of the net. There are only a handful of players that fans in Chicago have shown this kind of love and appreciation to, and one of those players is sometimes referred to as “just a kid from Chicago”.
“Why can’t I be the MVP of the league? Why can’t I be the best player in the league? Why not?” Rose said, rhetorically asking the media in 2010.
Flash-forward to four years later, and a lot has changed. Fans went from cheering to booing, to even name calling as they watch a beat down Derrick Rose struggle to stay healthy. The NBA has become a “what have you done for me lately” kind of league; which has shattered Rose’s heroic image into pieces in many people’s eyes.
Back-to-back injuries kept the former MVP out of the league for two years straight, and adding a third knee injury once he finally returned. Never feared of being anything less than what he once was, never faltered to the media or the fans. Derrick Rose didn’t lose his composure, and his confidence remained unwavering.
Derrick Rose who was once beloved by the entire Chicago fan base averaged 25 points per game with 7.7 assists per game clinching the first seed and leading the Bulls to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance; first since Michael Jordan. Flash forward 5 years later to 2015 and you’ll see that his points dropped, assists dropped, number of minutes dropped, number of games played dropped, but most importantly, his overall performance significantly dropped. So, what happened? Do wheels fall off?
Gun shots, drugs, gangs, and deaths. Derrick Rose was raised in the heart of the inner city. Heartache comes second nature to person who hasn’t seen his father since he was an infant. Trial and tribulation is natural for a kid who didn’t know where his next meal was coming from. This is the Derrick Rose before his stardom. His humbleness and quiet nature led to the creation of Powerade’s “Just a kid from Chicago” campaign, with commercials featuring poetry from Tupac Shakur , who like Derrick Rose, used to motivates those less fortunate than him; use himself as an example for being a positive role-model in time where negativity can take a toll on someone.
It’s time for a change. This is the first summer since Rose’s MVP season where he won’t be in rehabilitation for his knees. Instead of going through rigorous knee exercises on a daily basis, Rose now has time to hone is craft. This is a summer for which fans can hope that Derrick Rose enters the upcoming season with some new magic tricks, and hopefully a run at the title.
For some fans, there is a lot of optimism surrounding Derrick Rose going into next year. Rose, who showed a glimpse of greatness in the 2015 playoffs gave some fans hope for another MVP caliber season. Other fans forget to merely mention Rose’s name when talking about their upcoming title run. They have turned to another, and even go as far as considering him the true leader; that is Jimmy Butler. Derrick Rose who they once cheered for has evaporated from their memory bank; he has become lower than an afterthought.
Regardless of whose team it truly is in the eyes of the fans, one thing that both sides know is that Derrick is Chicago, and that is he’s too big, too fast, too strong, too good. (queue Stacey King)
