Playing basketball in a city like Chicago comes with a number of responsibilities. Every superstar is the recipient of fame and attention, but life as a star athlete in cities like Boston, New York, and Chicago is far different than that of someone who plays in Utah. Derrick Rose loves playing basketball and takes winning seriously, but he is the anti-LeBron James. Not only could he live without attention, but he would prefer it.
“It gets on my nerves that I just can’t go out,” he said during an interview with GQ Magazine. “It’s just boundaries now. People are like, ‘You can’t go here, you can’t go there, you got to let that person know where you’re going.’ It’s just weird. I’m never alone. Ever.”
That is why, Rose says, he enjoys his new condo on the 84th floor of the Trump Tower. The Bulls guard says most of the people who live in the building are from out of town and don’t know who he is. My guess is there’s an equal number of people with as much or more money than him that simply don’t care.
After missing five games with back spasms last month, Rose returned to score 25 points and lead the Bulls to a 90-79 victory over the Hawks. After the game, he stood the media up and explained that there were too many people and that he “just couldn’t do it.” We’ve seen plenty of guys leave the media high and dry after a tough loss, but rarely after a successful return to the court.
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t take anything for granted,” he says. “But it seems like the better I play, the more attention I get. And I can’t get away from it. You play great, you get attention. But I hate attention. It is weird. I’m in a bind. The more you win, the more they come.”
And the more modest you are, the more people respect you. And the more people respect you, the more people come to love you as a player and person. And the more people come to love you, the bigger your following grows. Get used to the fame, Derrick. Otherwise, you could be in for a long and tiring career.
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE
