"Ball Up Top"
not a bad idea...
Today marks the first day of the 2024-2025 NBA season.
That doesn’t mean a whole lot to me, but it’s quite different for the majority of my social circle who will be watching the Celtics v. Knicks opener with rapt attention (I love you all equally, but I do enjoy watching you guys chirp each other).
The NBA definitely leads the way when it comes to capturing the essence of modern marketing, whether it’s through virality or making household names out of their superstars.
My hockey-loving heart yearns for the day the NHL finally follows suit, but it’s wise not to hold our breath on that.
Basketball has always had a certain “cool” about it, an everyman (and woman) relatability that other sports seem to lack.
Basketball phraseology has worked itself into the American lexicon for the better part of a half century now. We’ve heard “alley-oop”, “slam dunk”, and “airball” used in common conversations all our lives, from classrooms to boardrooms.
More recently, “shoot your shot” has had it’s moment (and it’s something you should be doing everyday)…but today I want to talk about “Ball Up Top”.
“Ball up top” essentially means the same as shaking off a pitch on the mound, calling an audible at the line of scrimmage , or cycling the puck in the offensive zone- it’s a reset after a botched play in basketball. Pass the ball back to the point guard at the top of the key and go with option B (or C).
The common use of this term that’s blown up recently is far more interesting…and darker.
It’s become to go-to phrase on Twitter, used primarily by men who find themselves in a less than desirable position, and dealing with the ensuing psychological fallout.
Needed that Hail Mary parlay to hit, only to loss it on a fluke dropped pass?
Ball up top.
BTFO by the girl you’ve been seeing?
Ball up top.
Got pulled over and hit with a CVS receipt worth of tickets? (I wonder who I’m referencing here…🫠)
Ball up top.
It’s become the de facto go-to for those of us smacked in the face by the perils of modern life, a three word encapsulation of “I can’t ruminate over this, I need to figure this out now and worry about the ramifications later”.
Lastly, the streetball nature of “ball up top” (hopefully) precludes it from mainstream adoption, unlike it’s more technical predecessors.
I just know there’s some guys (and girls) out there that had to suffer through hearing “in the clerb, we all fam!” in a soul-crushing 10AM company policy Microsoft Teams meeting, brought to them by the same Millennial HR Lady cohort that led “very demure, very mindful” to an early grave this summer.
Ball up top becomes even more appropriate now that we’re in the season of what Tik Tok is calling “The Winter Arc”, which consists of people locking in during the colder months to chase their personal goals and a better version of themselves.
It’s an extension of the “grindset” mentality that has permeated the social media landscape post-pandemic.
The fyp and the X feed are aplenty with pictures and shorts of people adorned in grey hoodies pulled up, putting themselves through the rigors of deadlifts or rounds on the heavy bag.
It’s raw, it’s rooted in the outlet of pain, and it’s beautiful.
In an ever-softening world, this competitive-style toughness is a welcome trend.
Where Does This Come From?
While it’s noble and inspiring to see a collective movement of personal toughness and rejection of victim culture take root in the subculture of the internet, an analysis of such a trend would be incomplete without a look at its eminence.
As with many situations in life, clarity can be gained from looking at the scenario from the outside.
America’s younger generations (for argument’s sake, let’s say under 35) are up against incredible odds.
There’s the absurd growing cost of living, rampant inflation, political divide, and the previously unchartered waters of intersexual dynamics in a digital age. Couple this with the ever-growing trend of absolving oneself of responsibility and the rise of victim culture, and you’ve got a certain recipe for disaster.
It’s the rejection of these aforementioned societal perils that make the ball up top/grindset/Winter Arc mindset so refreshing.
It’s an acknowledgement that while the game is getting harder, it can still be won.
We live in an age of previously unseen opportunity, with the rise of online income and the shrinking of the globe through digital means. This mindset rising up the ranks of the online community stares the mainstream “Eat the UberEats, watch the Netflix, smoke the pot” lifestyle right in it’s lazy eyes and says no.
It’s a realization that while there’s a time and a place to heal and work through traumas, it can wait until the problem at hand has been solved or at least attacked.
There’s a growing dichotomy, and it’s clear to see which side will be the victors in the long run.
As for the doubters, ball up top isn’t "“shoot first and ask questions later”, rather it’s stoic rejection of hypersensitivity with the strategy of putting healing- though important- on the backburner.
Inspiration from Teddy
I often wonder what notable historical figures would act like if they were younger in the present day. It’s a weird mental “what if” game that is irresistible to me.
Could you imagine the level of shitpoasting on the TL from a 30 year old Donald Trump? The numbers the girls would pump Marilyn Monroe GRWM’s to?
It made me think of another historical icon, one who would’ve loved (and embodied) every mantra on “Mount Mental Healthmore”, and it’s none other than someone on the actual Mount Rushmore itself: Teddy Roosevelt.
He’s long been a favorite of mine, as he is for many others from Long Island.
Recently, however, I’ve noticed an uptick in mentions and threads about Teddy Roosevelt on the timeline. The Twitter bros are even catching on:
Teddy Roosevelt is someone we can all look up to at any time, but his example especially looms large as we collectively navigate the absurdity of our modern world and enter our respective “winter arcs”.
He’s a man who led our nation, led cavalries into battle, embarked on expeditions, and overcame health issues and unspeakable personal loss to become one of the stalwarts of American history.
Did he stop and look into the mirror and say “woah is me”, or did he plow through his obstacles with a combination of aggression and unique grace?
The answer is clear.
Through his recent mini-rise in popularity, I came across what is now a personal favorite speech of mine, one I implore you the reader to listen to or read, titled The Strenuous Life.
As I spoke about in Season Finale Syndrome, we’re on the verge of all-but-guaranteed chaos as a nation with the most contentious election in modern history on the horizon. The divisions in everyday social and familial life and MSM psychobabble will be massive in scale, as we have spoken about.
There will be new battles to be fought, whether it’s against oneself in staying focused on personal goals, or drowning out the noise and tension in the air in the workplace or at the dinner table.
The challenges are there, but so too are opportunities for quantum leaps and personal growth on a massive scale.
I consider myself a good writer, but I believe Teddy put it a hell of a lot better:
"I wish to preach, not the doctrine of ignoble ease, but the doctrine of the strenuous life, the life of toil and effort, of labor and strife; to preach that highest form of success which comes, not to the man who desires mere easy peace, but to the man who does not shrink from danger, from hardship, or from bitter toil, and who out of these wins the splendid ultimate triumph."
or…y’know…
Ball up top.
Written on 22 October 2024
-John Abbate