10/08/2008 - 23:52
Witnessing History
by Tyson Chandler

We had practice at the Indiana Fairgrounds yesterday. And right across the street, Obama was doing a rally.

When I first heard about it, I was kinda debating whether to go or not, because I wasn't feeling well at the time. I was thinking, "Man, do I really want to go stand out outside for a rally when it's about to rain?" I wasn't sure if I was gonna go.

But then Mo Pete said, "Man, you need to go! You're about to witness history!"

I was like, "What do you mean? It's just a rally. Obama isn't gonna be there."

He said, "Obama is gonna be there!"

So I jumped to go. We walked across and they had a little section cut off for us. We sat there and listened to his speech, which was absolutely incredible.

He's just one of those dudes who comes off so poised, calm and just touchable. I've never felt like a Presidential candidate was touchable, that you could actually sit down and have a conversation with him. But with Obama, I feel like I'm in touch with him, like I understand what he's talking about.

I've watched debates in the past, and I never knew what was going on. I never realized what the President was talking about. But Obama breaks it down so that I can understand, my grandparents can understand, anybody can. He bridges the gaps and brings everybody together.

I was sitting at the rally yesterday and I saw this older black gentleman with a camcorder. He had grey hair and he was recording it. I was just watching him and he looked so proud. It looked like he was gonna record it and go back, show his grandchildren and say "I was here on this day."

And next to him were some older white ladies, who when Obama was making his speech, were jumping up, screaming and raising their hands. So, I was thinking, "Wow, look at that." You had different nationalities there, different ages and different genders, and everybody was there for the same cause. We haven't seen this in a long time. And it was just a great thing to be a part of.

Then, I guess our PR people met with the people that were running the rally to try to see if we could maybe get a handshake afterward. His schedule was really tight, but I guess he heard that we were there and he wanted to meet us.

So, we go in the back and he walks in and is naming all the players. He cracks a couple of jokes, saying that I'm always welcome to come back to Chicago, that Chicago misses me. I told him that time has passed. But I wanted to tell him that I'm just like him and it was "Time for change." Ha ha.

So, we took pictures with him, shook his hand and conversed with him. It didn't feel like you were in there with a Presidential candidate. I felt like I could have been talking to one of my uncles or my grandfather. It was just a great feeling to know that I was a part of history. It was incredible.

I've never known anything about politics before, never got involved. It was just too over my head, and it seemed like I could never do anything about it. I felt like my voice wasn't to be heard or anything. And for whatever reason, Obama makes you understand that you do have a voice and what you do effects this country, no matter how major or minor.

He was saying that it's gonna take the whole country to make a change, and it's gonna be up to parents to cut the lights off a little earlier, put the video games away and help your kids study. And I felt that.

Obviously, I haven't paid too much attention to politics, but to me, that's something I've never heard before. And the way he speaks, it's like he's really truly trying to bring the whole country together and help this country get better from the inside out, starting with our own children and our own families and taking that responsibility.

It was just amazing to hear this man speak. He so much reminds me of my grandfather, the way he's so soft-spoken, and respectful, and poised, just a man of honor. I told my wife that he reminds me of an educated version of my grandfather. And that's not a knock on my grandfather. Obviously, he grew up in a time where he didn't get an education, but it says a lot about the way I feel about Barack, because I respect my grandfather more than any man walking on this Earth. And for me to compare Barack to him says a lot.

It's funny, because when Obama was giving his speech, he said he was gonna give a tax cut to 95 percent of the people. He says, "If you make under $250,000 a year, raise your hand." And everybody there raised their hand, except for this one small section of guys. That was our section. And everybody around us was laughing.

But you know what, it's a bigger cause. And the way I look at it is that I can afford to pay more in taxes. But my parents, my grandparents, my cousins ... with what they make, they can't afford to cut back in their household with what they're trying to survive with. I can afford to make cuts and still survive. They can't take that knock.

I think that's what's going on now and the reason why the middle class is struggling so much. The upper class, we can take that hit. Obviously, nobody wants to take it, but we still can. And we can afford to live nice lives.

I've lived in both situations. And not only that, I'm obviously the only one in my family that can say that I'm a millionaire. I've seen my entire family struggle. So, would I rather see my whole family struggle while I get a break, or have me not get a break while the rest of my family gets one? I'll take my entire family getting a break.

BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
Chris told me he wanted to take me out for dinner, and he surprised me. He had the whole team there. I thought it was just gonna be just me and him, but all my teammates were there, which was very special. My family wasn't in town at the time, so to have my other family, my teammates, do something like that for me was a huge deal.

They took me out to a nice steakhouse and we celebrated. I had my own menu, birthday plate and all that. It was nice.

I'm just 26 now, but I do feel old in NBA years. It's funny. Hilton Armstrong and I are about two years apart. And this is my eighth season and this is his third. And then I was talking to Sean Marks. He was telling me he's in his ninth year, and he's 33. I'm in my eighth and I'm 26. That's weird.

I always think I'm so much older than some of these guys because of my NBA years, but we're about the same age.

GETTING BETTER
Last night, I thought we played great as a team. I thought we started to put some things together defensively. We were out there talking. I think guys are starting to get in better shape, and when you're in better shape, you can talk more and be more vocal. It's hard to talk when you're winded. Ha.

I felt we got better on the defensive end, so I told the guys after the game that I thought we took a step forward.

I worked on my game all offseason and then I sprained my ankle five minutes into the first game, so I'm like "C'mon." You get all geeked up about being out there and the next thing you know, you're back in the locker room watching.

I was a little geeked up again last game to get out there, but I was a little too geeked up and I got winded, because I hadn't been able to practice much the last couple of days because of my ankle. But come the second half, I caught my breath, made a couple of nice moves and played some good defense. I felt better, trying to get into a rhythm.

So, the ankle was just a minor sprain. I just had to stay off of it for a couple of days in practice. I'm feeling good now. Just a little banged up from training camp like everybody is. A little sore.

EUROPE LIVE
We leave Saturday for Berlin. I had to make sure I was packed before I left for this trip, because B-Scott doesn't give us any days off. We get the work in. We practice on Saturday first, so I won't have any time to pack up.

But I'm definitely excited about the trip. It's gonna be a great time. I think it's great to do something like that in preseason, because it takes the whole preseason aspect out of it. You really just want to get into the regular season, because preseason games get long. But being in Europe gives us an extra little twist. So, I'm definitely looking forward to it.

I've never been to Berlin or Barcelona before, but I don't know exactly what they have planned for us.

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