Walking in C-Webb’s Footsteps
February 6, 2009 by Jason Thompson
What’s up Kings fans!
It was a big sports weekend with the Super Bowl on Sunday. My prediction was almost right! That might have been one of the greatest Super Bowls ever with Ben Roethlisberger and Santonio Holmes coming out on top at the end. Larry Fitzgerald showed us he’s on pace to become a Hall of Famer, if he keeps doing what he’s doing. I feel his pain though. He’s worked so hard to get established in the League. In college, I remember being so close to getting to the NCAA Tournament. Being from a small conference, the only way you can get to the NCAA Tournament is to win the conference championship. Two out of four years, I went to the conference tournament but fell short. Being short of a championship hurts, but it pushes you to work even harder so you can strive to have that feeling in the future.
I did a dinner appearance at ARCO Arena for Kings Season Ticket Holders on Wednesday night. KingsVision was down on the court and some of the stands were pushed back. There were about 400 people at the dinner. As a rookie, I was honored to be one of the guys they wanted to ask questions. Fat Lever was with me and so was Coach Natt. It was a lot of the Season Ticket Holders just asking about my rookie life. We were there for a full hour. It was kind of like we had our own TV show — a little bit like Oprah! Some guys aren’t comfortable with public speaking, but I was comfortable with the mic. I just told people what life is like as a rookie in the NBA. I received a lot of applause, a standing ovation and a lot of good remarks at the end of the night.
I’m comfortable talking in front of a crowd. I graduated with a degree in communication, emphasis on television and radio. So if I’m not good at that stuff or uncomfortable, then it’d be a waste of a degree! It’s good to be in those situations and hopefully after a number of years in the League, I can do something like what C-Webb is doing with TNT or try to be on SportsCenter!
Tonight is the big night C-Webb gets his #4 jersey retired. It’s good to look up to a guy like him, especially since I was drafted by the Kings. My first authentic NBA jersey was a C-Webb Kings jersey — go figure! I just had my jersey retired at Rider. Now witnessing him get his retired by the Kings will be a great thing. Just for me to see how much he means to the Kings community and the city will be great. I’ve met him and he seems like a real nice guy. Hopefully I can keep in touch and get some workouts in with him because he’s obviously left some big shoes to fill! I’m trying to achieve his status and earn the respect he had from his teammates, the city and other opponents.
My journey continues tonight against the Jazz. Hope to see you there!
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