From time to time The Phalanx has derided the failings of American society. A culture absolutely unconcerned with education and an embrace of ignorance, a growing sense of entitlement, a rejection of the concept of personal responsibility, easily distracted by the mindless, the inane and the unimportant and so on and so forth…

Nowhere is this cultural failing more apparent than in the case of Carl Cook, the so-called ultimate Clippers fan. Cook is an LA Clippers season ticket holder, every year Cook spends over $3000 on basketball season tickets. There’s just one problem, Cook is homeless and earns less than $10000 a year. He sleeps on a friend’s boat and work’s odd jobs here and there just to get by.

Regardless of this Cook (46) is committed to seeing his favorite team. During every home game he bikes from Marina del Rey to the Clippers home at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles, a 16 mile trek through LA’s congested city streets. Cook sees nothing wrong with devoting a third of his income on basketball, with no concern or desire to better his self, typical of a society which places no value on substance, only Bread and Circuses. Certainly Cook has every right to lead the life of a homeless basketball fanatic, but his story explains how so many Americans can be content with mediocrity, uninterested in bettering themselves resting on their laurels, content simply to “get by”.

Perhaps Cook should be commended, however, at least he hasn’t grown dependent on the state, but imagine the strides he could make if he applied his fanaticism to more fruitful endeavors…
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-clipfan12may12,0,1600418.story?coll=la-home-headlines