“I … drink … your …. milkshake! [sucking sound],” exclaimed Daniel Plainview in the scene of the movie that most reminds me of the 2011 NBA Lockout. The movie is P.T Anderson’s, “There Will Be Blood,” a dark look at the underbelly of the hyper competitive spirit of the oil soaked American wildcatter. In this scene, the central character Plainview, played by Daniel Day Lewis, reveals to a corrupt preacher that he stole his oil by slant drilling, an oil drilling technique that is actionable under the law because of its general underhandedness and harm it brings to the industry and society, where one steals oil by drilling at an angle to reach your neighbor’s oil reservoir.
Like most hardcore NBA fans, I have now given in to my anger. I want blood. Only, I don’t know who to blame – the players’ agents, the players, David Stern, or the owners.
Here’s what I do know. Someone is trying to drink someone’s milkshake and its leading to missed NBA regular season games. Even greedy people would agree that missed games are bad for business. Player’s don’t get paid, owners don’t sell tickets and the NBA loses fans.
However, the blood sucking, milkshake slurping types let their competitive spirit consume everything… at great risk to the group. I want to win, I want to subdue and defeat my opposition. And I’ll gladly drink your milkshake. It’s killer instinct, not greed, that has brought us to the edge. The greedy would simply settle for the best deal possible without the great risk of losing big.
As an outsider, I don’t pretend to know which party is to blame. And, because I want blood, I’ll have to blame them all.
