When Chris Paul spoke to the press after Sunday’s Game 7 in the Clippers-Rockets playoff series, he was extremely disappointed, and understandably so. The point guard’s Los Angeles squad had just lost, 113-100, and gotten bounced from the playoffs after holding a 3-1 lead in the series.
However, Paul managed to inject a moment of levity, whether intentionally or not, into his comments by quoting from Will Ferrell’s 2006 film, “Talladega Nights,” in which the comedian plays a speed-demon NASCAR driver named Ricky Bobby.
That’s Paul, saying in all apparent seriousness, “Ricky Bobby, like I said, if you’re not first, you’re last, so being close ain’t good enough.” He was talking about how little consolation it was to have come as close as he — not to mention the Clippers franchise — ever has to a first appearance in the Western Conference finals, and Paul can be forgiven for only coming very close to what Ricky Bobby actually said in the movie:
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On the other hand, perhaps Paul purposely didn’t quite say “If you ain’t first, you’re last,” so as not to have to pay Ricky Bobby a royalty. It’s actually not the first time Paul has used that quote, but it was the most poignant such occasion.
Here’s hoping that, eventually, Paul finally gets further in the postseason, if only to hear him declare: “I’m just a big, hairy, American winning machine!”
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