The Golden State Warriors are the NBA champions.
I do not know how to process this reality.
I’ve only been a fan of the Warriors for four seasons, before they had gotten back to the playoffs and before Steph Curry became the MVP. For four years I’ve followed their players on Twitter, daily read articles about them and watched as many of their games as I could. A few months into this season it felt special and now it has culminated in a championship.
I am at a loss for words and that’s after only having been a Warriors fan for four years. I cannot even imagine how I’ll respond if the Cubs ever win the World Series.
In honor of the Warriors winning the championship, here are some of my favorite nerdy champions.
Anakin Skywalker
Little Ani may have been annoying, but he was quite the podracer. Poor Jake Lloyd was just trying to do his best, and he became the object of scorn for a generation of angry nerds. Sure, Jake Lloyd wasn’t the best actor, but it’s not like George Lucas gave him much to work with. I don’t think Laurence Olivier could have pulled off lines that included the word “wizard” as a positive exclamation. For all of Ani’s and The Phantom Menace’s low points, the podracing scene isn’t one of them. Lucas harkened back to his American Graffiti days and created a truly exciting and impressive racing scene. I didn’t really care that much about Ani the slave, but I was happy to see him as a podracing champion.
Flash Gordon
To be completely honest I have never seen Flash Gordon nor have I read any of the comics. Most everything I know about Flash Gordon comes from the Queen song. I do know that in the movie he was a football star and he utilized those moves to help defeat Emperor Ming the Merciless. I don’t know if Flash Gordon had ever won the Super Bowl, but defending the universe is probably just as good. Also, I’d feel like a forever champion if Queen had written a song about me.
Cole Train
Another football star, Augustus “Cole Train” Cole, was one of the main characters in the Gears of War series. I think I played through the first two Gears of War games but I stopped after that. I actually played online a lot, sneaking up behind people and chainsawing them was the best. Cole Train definitely had the swagger of a champion, confidence that helped him save humanity from the Locust hoard. Football is a violent sport so, should we ever get attacked by a subterranean race that wants to kill us, we should turn to the NFL to save us.
I can’t believe the Warriors won the NBA championship. I know that I didn’t have anything to do with it, but I’m still super excited. I haven’t had a lot of good seasons as a sports fan, but this feeling might make it all worth it.
Who are some of your favorite nerdy champions?
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