FanPost

A little Canis Hoopus love and then a non-basketball discussion topic.



I have been thinking about something for a while and this seems to be as good of time as any to bring it up. Please allow yourself to remember back to the dark time in which a young spanish point guard suffered a season ending knee injury at the hands of Darth Kobe. This, you will recall, brought with it some very uninspired Wolves basketball and the stark realization that our collective playoff hopes were indeed crushed. This was a difficult time for all Wolves fans and we Canis Hoopsters were not immune. The days immediately following were filled with posts of self pity and mock optimism. It was a difficult time. Eventually this state gave way to several lengthy discussions on the topic of music. It became clear that for many of us music was as much of a passion as basketball. These discussions went on for days on end.


This brings me to my point. In one of these threads one of you smart internet poster types made the comment that Canis Hoopus is not only the best Timberwolves blog on the internet, it is also the best music blog on the internet. A nice complement indeed but, on the face of it, one that seems absurd. Presumably this comment was simply feel good happy talk. Still it got me to thinking. Perhaps, I thought, there is some wisdom to this idea. I let the concept fester.


Please allow me to share what I have come up with. First let me say that the internet is very big. Because I cannot pretend to have seen all, or even most of it, I will cease the use of hyperbolic terms such as “best.” I do, however, think that there are indeed ways in which this little corner of the vast internet does become an above average place to discuss a wide variety of topics including music and, of course, Timberwolves. There are several reasons, I believe, that this is the case.


First of all there is the fact that smart people post here. Some might suggest that my presence on this site is proof that Canis Hoopus is not home to smart people only. I will not argue this point. I do think, however, that we can all agree that at least some of the people who post here regularity are smart.


Second, and I think equally important, is that we all have one clear common bond. The Minnesota Timberwolves. The Wolves are the reason I found this site and I am willing to guess this is the case for most of you as well. This one thing that we all ultimately agree on (Go Wolves!) is precisely the reason why our non basketball related discussions become so interesting. I am not saying we all agree on the nuance of the Timberwolves team- my goodness the debate over Nicolas Batum almost destroyed us- I’m just saying that we all tend to agree that it is nice when the Timberwolves win.


The way this tends to play out it seems is this. Timberwolves fandom is, in many cases, the only thing we have in common. We have people from all walks of life and all corners of the globe coming here to root for the Wolves and ending up in discussions about off topics such as music and politics. Imagine if you will that this was a music blog. Wouldn’t it be likely that there would be a specific musical bent to the members? Perhaps we would all be jazz affectionados or Parrotheads or Pearl Jam fanatics or whatever. Might not this limit the musical discussions. I think that it probably would. Instead, what we have found here is a site in which we all root for the Wolves and then, because of the respect afforded around this common bond, are able to transfer that respect to discussions on other topics in which we have wildly different experiences, knowledge and preferences.


Anyway, I have now taken nearly 700 words to say what should have taken 40 words so I will stop. I think you get the point. Canis Hoopus is a nifty place to discuss a wide range of topics because of the varied collection of smart people treating each other with respect around the the common bond of rooting for the Timberwolves. See, it took only 36 words.


Now to test this theory.


The question I pose is this: What is the greatest American Rock and Roll band of all time? Because not all who post here are American (a fact that makes me happy) I will amend the phrasing to read “what is the greatest band of all time from your country of origin?”


As an added bonus I implore you to explain your reasoning and back your claims with statistics.


For example. I believe that the greatest Rock and Roll band of all time is the Rolling Stones. I believe this because I value longevity, popularity, influence, production and the ability to perform live. Here are the stats for the Stones:


1962-present (wiki)

200 million records sold (wiki)

Very Influential (google it- they make most lists)

Over 20 albums (wiki)

6th on at least one all time greatest live rock bands ever list (yahoo).


As for the question of greatest American Rock and Roll Band ever? I have opinions on this. You know I do. But I am purposely not going to go first. I want to know what you have to say. Who knows? Maybe one of you smart people will teach me something.