The Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors are currently
competing to be the best basketball team in the world. Each team is filled with
men who can be seen as modern-day gladiators according to Stefan Aarnio. These
gladiators fight on the court instead of a field, and use a ball instead of
weapons, but the parallels can still be seen.
Stefan
Aarnio, author of the book Hard Times Create Strong Men, says, “The leaders of men have always been Strong men and the greatest
athletes.” On Sunday Night Stephan Curry and the warriors proved this claim.
Despite fighting an illness, Curry played 41 minutes and scored 23 points. He
showcased leadership skills that seem to be directly from a gladiator fighting
for his tribe. The entire Warriors team showed a desire to win despite multiple
injuries to star players. Another player who showed great determination was
Demarcus Cousins. In just his second game back from a quadriceps injury he
played a pivotal roll in the Warriors win.
On
Wednesday the series will move to Golden State where the Raptors will look to
get back on track. The Raptors have made
it to the finals for the first time in their teams’ history and are seen as an
underdog to the mighty Warriors. Leading
the Raptors in battle is Kawhi Leonard, who has emerged as one if the NBA’s
best players this year. Stefan Aarnio says, “Men want to follow and be led by
men they want to be like.” Leonard is a perfect example of this as his humble
attitude and great on the court leadership have led to him being one of the
most liked players around the league.
The
Warriors have become the dominant team in the NBA and are like the Roman
Empire. Much like the Roman Empire, the Warriors may soon fall apart. Many
sources say that back to back finals MVP Kevin Durant will most likely leave
the Warriors after this season. Klay Thompson, another key player also can move
on from the Warriors this season if he chooses. This makes it even more
important the Warriors find a way to win this year despite key injuries. Just
like gladiators the Warriors will not use these injuries as any kind of excuse
and will continue to fight.
The Finals have taken all of America’s attention once again this year.
Stefan Aarnio has a theory to why we value sports so much in today’s society.
Aarnio says “it’s a carry-over from thousands of years of history where men
protected their tribes, women and homes.” In his book Aarnio describes what it
means to be a strong man in both the age of gladiators and modern time. In a
recent interview Aarnio was asked what being a strong man looks like. He said, “There’s
far more to be a truly strong man than meets the eye. For starters a strong man
is a moral man. To be strong, when you make a promise you need to keep it, and
that especially goes for marriage vows. Throughout history, Masculinity has
always been about power, while femininity has been about morality. When power
and morality come together, that is the whole package. A man in his base state
is primal like a wild beast, but when you add morality you get a really
well-rounded man, something more than a wild beast.”
Stefan Aarnio has written multiple books and has produced
hundreds of podcasts and videos.
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