I am no longer curious to learn where or whether the Nuggets' Carmelo Anthony will be traded. Not because it isn't interesting, but because a more profound question has emerged: what does it mean to take one's hat off to one's self? FanHouse's Chris Tomasson sat down with 'Melo, who said this:
Melo ''I take my hat off to myself for dealing with all this stuff that’s going on and still be able to go out and play at the high level.''
If you "take your hat off" for someone, you're showing respect for this person. I don't think anyone quite knows why this is so -- if I had to guess, hats were first introduced as a measure of protection from the elements, and perhaps the removal of a hat once indoors would favorably signal to the host, "your home is so well-built that it protects me from the sun/rain/what have you, and I no longer need my hat."
Back to the point. Did 'Melo remove his hat while looking in a mirror? Was he wearing a hat in his bathroom? Would he be a better basketball player if he didn't spend all his time wearing hats in bathrooms? Your answers: probably not, probably not, and definitely.