Ok, so Washington, D.C. isn’t “hell”. I love this city. It is nice … but it’s also been really, really cold lately. Sports hell? Well, now you’re talking. The only saving grace these days comes in the form of some Russian dude leading a ‘Rock the Red’ revolution.
The Washington Bullets used to wear red. But now some are saying that that damn Gilbert Arenas fellow has ruined any chances of the franchise ever returning to the team name (and colors) of yore that so many true, dedicated fans are fond of. Bullets Forever y’all.
Back to this hell concept. Fabricio Oberto isn’t in the depths of Hades, but he can’t be in a good place. You gotta feel for Fab. He’s such a nice guy. Plus, he must deal with the current situation while his family is back home in Argentina. Then again, getting paid just under two million dollars for six months of basketball can’t be all that bad.
The 2009-10 Washington Wizards just might be the worst team Oberto has ever been on. I can’t confirm this 100%, but I did peruse his resume and the history of the teams he’s played for on usbasket.com, and it looks to be a valid claim.
I first introduced myself to Fabricio at media day, informing him that I used to date a girl from Argentina and had been down there twice. By the way, Argentina comes highly recommended as a travel destination. Beautiful people, awesome sights, diverse geography, great food (especially meat and Merlot wine), and Argentina is very, very affordable. For example, we had a dinner for four, including wine and dessert, at a very nice restaurant in Buenos Aires, one which was recommended in the fancy airplane magazine, and it only came to about $100 US dollars. The meal easily could have been in upwards of $500 stateside.
Ok, enough digressing … ever since I met Mr. Oberto, whether I talk to him after a game/practice or not, he often takes the time to nod his head, shake hands as we pass, or even pat me on the back while I’m in the scrum interviewing another player. Fab is also tech savvy, with a very active Twitter account (over 280,000 followers) and occasional appearances on UStream … but most of it is in Spanish, so I have no idea.
Oberto may not be in the best situation, but when the Spurs came to town for a game on January 2nd, at least Fab got to bring in the new year with some familiar faces in his buddies Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley. I spoke with Oberto about his reunion. He told me it was great to get up with his friends, and they always take a photo, such as the one at the top of this post, to put on Facebook, etc.. He’s close to Ginobili because of the obvious Argentina connection and said he became friends with Finley because they started in San Antonio the same season and used to live a couple blocks from each other. Fab said the trio went to dinner the night before the game at Cafe Milano in Georgetown.
A reunion …. on a cold day …. in basketball hell. See? Not everything is bad.