So I had a bad case of writer’s block a couple weeks ago. I wanted to get a new post up on the blog. I really did. But I just couldn’t think of anything worthy. Every idea that popped into my head I almost immediately hated.

Luckily, my brother randomly called me during this bad case of “The Block” (Has anyone used this to describe writer’s block before? No? Good, I’m claiming it). I’ve gotta give him a hat tip for planting the seeds of a really interesting idea in my head. I was really excited about this idea. For the first time on this blog, I actually took notes about this idea. I usually just think of something and start writing. Not this time…I cared enough about this idea that I really wanted to organize my thoughts. I wanted it to be good.

Then, disaster struck. I was taking a break at my job and reading Grantland, Bill Simmons’ website about sports and pop culture. This is not a rare occurrence for me. I’m kinda sorta obsessed with Grantland. Just ask my friends…I’d say about 87% of my conversations with them include me mentioning “something that Grantland Writer X talked about that day.” Hell, I’ll probably write a post about how awesome Grantland is some day (hat tip to my friend Mitchell for THAT idea). Then said post will lead to Bill Simmons himself somehow figuring out my cell phone number, calling me, and telling me how much he loves my blog. Then he’ll offer me a job with the website. That’s how that works, right? Don’t answer that.

Anyway, during my Grantland browsing ritual, I came across this article. It was a particularly well-written piece by a Grantland contributor named Michael Baumann. Baumann wrote about why fans of certain baseball teams unfairly criticize their teams’ best players, citing Joey Votto of the Reds as one of his prime examples.

This is all well and good but there was one problem…THE GUY STOLE MY IDEA! THAT’S WHAT MY BLOG POST WAS GOING TO BE ABOUT!

That’s of course ridiculous. Baumann did not steal my idea. It’s not that unique of an idea, and unless he NSA’d my phone conversation with my brother, there’s no way I was a victim of highway robbery. Regardless, I’m still going to blame him for this travesty.

But you know what? I’m going to write about this topic anyway. One, because I can, OKAY?! Two, because I’m too lazy at the moment to think of a new topic. Three, because I think I had a different spin on the topic all along. Here goes nothing!

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As you know, my favorite sports team is the Cincinnati Reds. One thing you might not know is that my second favorite team – and favorite NBA team – is the Boston Celtics. Pretty random choice of teams, right? Well, that’s what happens when you’re from the U.S. Virgin Islands and don’t have a hometown professional sports team. I’ve been a Celtics fan since I was 10 years old. I would delve into the origins of my C’s fanhood, but this post is going to be long enough already…I’ll save that for its own piece.

The Reds’ undisputed best player is Canada’s own Joey Votto. For the Celtics, it is point guard Rajon Rondo. Each player’s greatness doesn’t stay in Cincinnati and Boston, however. Joey Votto isn’t just the best player on the Reds – he’s one of the best players in baseball. He routinely racks up OPS’s in the .950-1.000 range (elite-level), hits for both power and average, and plays great defense at first base. It’s a pure joy to watch him hit. Just look at the stats. The man is a machine. That’s really the best way to describe him. A machine.

Rondo, on the other hand, is one of the best point guards in professional basketball and, in my opinion, one of the best all-around players in the game. The man just doesn’t have that many weaknesses. He has passing and court vision skills that should be illegal, plays lock-down defense, grabs a criminal amount of rebounds for his size (6-foot-1), and is a fantastic ball-handler. His only weakness is his jump shot, but it has improved to the point that defenders can’t sag off him as much as they could in the past. Rondo was part of the Celtics’ 2008 championship team that featured future Hall-of-Famers Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen. Despite the reputation and superstar-status of those three guys, they still referred to the Celtics as “Rondo’s team” multiple times while they played together. That says a lot.

Okay, so Votto and Rondo are really good. I think I’ve made that clear. Here is where things get interesting – neither gets a lot of love from the hometown fans. Cincinnatians harp on Votto for being too serious, not hitting enough home runs in recent seasons despite his obvious power potential (he hit 37 in his 2010 MVP season), and not knocking in enough runs as a three-hole hitter. I’ve read multiple times online that Votto “cares more about taking a walk and getting on base than getting runs across the plate.” In other words, some fans think that Votto would rather work the count and take a walk than get himself out with a sacrifice fly, even though it would produce a run. For how good he is, Votto sure doesn’t have a lot of fans in the Queen City.

With Rondo, it’s just as ridiculous. He finds himself in the middle of trade rumors literally every season. He gets flack for being stubborn (his feuds with former coach Doc Rivers and former teammate Ray Allen are common knowledge at this point), caring too much about individual statistics such as assists (do I need to point out the irony there?), and only giving 100% effort in the big games. Bill Simmons himself once wrote about the difference between National TV Rondo and Basic Cable Rondo

Here’s the thing though – every sports star has his weaknesses, whether it’s personality-wise or ability-wise. Guys like Miguel Cabrera of MLB’s Detroit Tigers and Kobe Bryant of the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers come to mind. Both are incredible players in their own right, but both have their flaws as well (with Cabrera, it’s his God-awful defense. With Kobe, it’s his tendency to be an asshole). And yet, from where I see it, Tigers and Lakers fans still LOVE them. You never hear from Detroit fans about Cabrera’s defense like you do from Cincinnati fans about Votto’s lack of RBIs. You never hear from LA fans about Bryant’s stubborn attitude like you do from Celtics fans about Rondo’s same issue.

So, why do the hometown fans REALLY give Votto and Rondo so much shit? I don’t think it’s really about the stats or their perceived “weaknesses.” I think it has much more to do with a specific trait that Votto and Rondo have in common.

Votto and Rondo are a lot of things, but you simply couldn’t call them “rah rah” guys. They’re very cerebral and professional in how they go about playing their games. Rondo’s interviews are incredibly boring to watch and he rarely cracks a smile on the court. You never see Votto joking around with his teammates in the dugout or on the field, and you never hear about him giving motivational speeches in the clubhouse. Both guys simply play the game like it’s their job, and that’s exactly what it is. Their job. I don’t think the fans like that.

As sports fans, we simply care too much. We talk about and write about everything that happens in sports. I mean, for God’s sake, I read a Grantland article yesterday about MLB “shirseys” (it was awesome, by the way). We get emotional when our teams win or lose. Sometimes, our mood is dictated by how well our teams are doing. That’s just the way it is.

When it comes down to it, I think we want the players we root for to care as much about the game as we do. We want them to be just as mentally invested as we are. With Votto and Rondo, it doesn’t always seem like they really care. Do they? Of course they do. But the point is that they don’t always show it, and that is what matters to fans.

Things might change soon for Joey and Rajon. Votto clearly has taken to heart all of the criticism he has received from Cincinnatians. He was recently featured in a Cincinnati.com video in which he says that he wants the fans in Cincinnati to understand him and get to know him better, and he has stayed true to this. Usually not much of a presence in the media, Votto has become a regular guest on local Cincinnati radio personality Lance McCalister’s show. He goes on the show for as long as an hour, talks baseball in the truest sense, and takes questions directly from fans on the air. The coolest part? Votto has told McCalister to answer every call that comes in. He’s going to be playing in a Reds uniform for a long time (he signed a 10-year extension two years ago), and he wants the local fans to know that he cares.

While he was still involved in trade rumors last month, Rondo is finding himself in a new situation in Boston as well. With Pierce, KG, and Ray Allen all now gone from the team, Rondo has emerged as the team’s leader and was even named team captain by new head coach Brad Stevens. He has reportedly been very open to teaching his younger teammates, and has been playing some fantastic basketball since he came back from a brutal ACL injury. Rondo’s future will become clearer after the offseason, when he starts the last year of his contract with the team. Will he sign an extension with the Celtics? Will the fans’ perception change if he does so? Time will tell.

To my fellow Reds and Celtics fans, I say this. They might not be perfect, but we need to appreciate Joey Votto and Rajon Rondo while we still have them. Other fans would kill to have them on their team. These guys care more than we realize. They are each on their way to Hall-of-Fame careers when it is all said and done, and we are lucky enough be along for the ride. Why not enjoy the ride?