The Basketball Feelings Podcast, Episode 17: William Lou

Randomness happens, but then we tell stories to make sense of it, to draw a through-line, but that through-line is not going to be very accurate a lot of the time. I think that’s what probably bothers athletes the most. It’d bother us too.

I wanted to have William Lou on to talk about something I noticed in these playoffs, especially early on — and something I was at the receiving end of — which was the perceived “line” people who’s careers are in the NBA walk when it comes to their jobs and their fandom. Specifically Will, because he’s always been an ardent fan as much as a discerning critic of the Raptors, and while he’s certainly had his share of freaks in his mentions, he’s also established himself as a pretty unique voice in sports media with a foot in both worlds. We talked about whether that line is blurring, or on its way to being erased, and the learning curve of public personas.

We also talked about fandom, Will’s brand of tough but fair criticism, how media is changing for th…