Alvin Williams Returns!

What do Alvin Williams and Billy Bob Thornton have in common?

Nothing. Not one blessed thing. In fact, it's shocking to see their names in the same sentence.

But both men were in town recently. Raptor fans and basketball cognoscenti know who Mr. Williams is. Sadly, not enough people outside that sport do. Tragically, a great many people know who Mr. Thornton is. That's just wrong.

Alvin Williams was the heart of the Toronto Raptors basketball franchise and he has never been replaced. Never. When Alvin left, the Raptors lost their soul. Oh sure, the franchise has played on - and with some very talented players - but it's not the same.

I'm not sure it will ever be the same.

I could give you stats - Alvin was the last Raptor to post a triple double, Alvin is the guy who put us into the second round of the playoffs - the one and only time we made it that far... but stats don't tell the story. Alvin personified basketball. I don't know how else to say it. Some guys make the highlight reel, and some guys are the face of the franchise and some guys get the shoe contracts and some make the headlines because they're feuding with the coach... but Alvin? He was the game. Now of course I don't know him - I only know the player. But for better or worse, Alvin was basketball. He always came to play, he never quit, he dove for every loose ball, he played one way only - hard - and he respected the game and its history and the people who came before him... When Alvin's knees quit on him, it was like seeing a surgeon or a concert pianist lose his hands. The loss to everyone who cared about the Raptors, who cared about the game, was staggering. Even today, it's a gaping hole. Sure, you grow the scar tissue, you move on, but there is no "healing process". You don't just get another Alvin.

He was, as we can all see now, irreplaceable.

Then there's Billy Bob. Tragically, this sometime actor is far more famous than Alvin Williams. First famous for being a middling actor, then better known for being dumped by more famous (but slightly creepy) actress, Mr. Thornton has now reinvented himself as a rube who believes "Renaissance man" is a shocking insult. After infamously sulking his way through a recent CBC radio interview (he was upset over the way he was introduced) Mr. Thornton mercifully cut short his planned stint in this country, leaving headliner Willie Nelson to muddle through on his own.

It's the difference between elegance and hubris. Alvin Williams returned to town a few days after Billy Bob Thornton fled. Taking a seat courtside, Alvin courteously signed autographs, hugged fans and kissed babies. He received a standing ovation, a brief video celebration, and sporadic chants of "let's go, Alvin, let's go!". And he watched the game. I'm guessing it was harder than any of us can imagine for him to do that. Oh not because we lost. That was expected. But this was his town, his court, and his game.

Toronto waited a long time for Alvin to return, and I'm guessing that he waited to come back until he knew he could handle it all, and handle it gracefully. Which he did. But there's no way it wasn't difficult for him. Difficult in the way that one Billy Bob Thornton could never - oh not in a million years - handle.

But Alvin could.

It's the difference between elegance and hubris, between a great player and a lucky one. No, Alvin wasn't given the same physical gifts as some number one draft picks we could name. But he was talented and he was smart, and oh man, he worked hard - and over the years, Alvin was careful to learn from everyone. The sad thing is, you can't say Billy Bob hasn't had the same opportunities - for pete's sake, his two-year-old band was given the chance to open for an American icon! But apparently he lacks the wit and humility to seize that oportunity. Hubris.

Like every Toronto basketball fan, I harbour a dream that Alvin Williams will return to do more than just watch a game. I'd love him to coach. I'd settle for him to do media commentary. I'd like him to find some way to share his understanding and love of basketball with the guys lucky enough to still be playing in the league. I know it's asking a lot. But if there ever was an artist who understood that it was all about the art, a player who knew that he was not bigger than the game, but that the game was so much bigger than all of us, well, that's Alvin. So maybe it will happen. Someday.

Oh but please, America. Keep Billy Bob at home.