It's been a while since we last checked in with Paul Pierce, the world's foremost practitioner of the grim men's lifestyle. He does some studio work for FS1 now—that tracks—and on Wednesday's episode of Speak, he made a bold proclamation: If the Boston Celtics lost Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals to the New York Knicks, he would walk to work the next day. This was quite the promise, as Pierce stated on air that he lives some 15 miles from the studio where Speak is filmed.
We all know what happened in Game 2, and we are pleased to report that Pierce seems to have actually followed through on his promise. Before sunrise on the West Coast, he fired up his Instagram account and posted a video of himself—wearing sweatpants, a T-shirt, and a robe—leaving his house to begin his long walk. "Welcome to this journey, here I go," he said in the dark of the early morning.
Pierce was off, and from there provided updates on an hourly basis. By the second hour, he was noticeably sweaty and seemingly starting to feel some regret. A meeting with some fans the next hour provided him with a little boost of energy, and then at the halfway point he made a pit stop at the studio where he films his other show with Kevin Garnett. A few hours after that, he checked in again to request water from anyone who might be able to provide it. He was joined by various camera-toting guys and onlookers for the home stretch, and the whole thing ended with Pierce sitting down in front of Fox Studios to engage in some brief reflection. "I accomplished something great, dog," he said. "That was an accomplishment at the end of the day."
As far as attention-getting stunts go, this is about as good as it gets. I found myself charmed by how little orchestration went into the whole thing. There was a branded post advertising a food delivery app sloppily inserted into the middle of the journey, but that felt like the result of an agent making a few hurried phone calls. Even the obviously planned moment when Kevin Garnett drove by and heckled Pierce just felt like something two buddies had cooked up quickly because they thought it would be funny. Otherwise there was nothing more to this trip than an increasingly damp Pierce strolling down the sunny streets of Los Angeles, occasionally providing updates while his gleaming head floated in front of a phone camera.
If nothing else, it was nice to see Pierce doing something that did not involve him being slumped over in a chair while Garnett barked at him about pick-and-roll defense. Perhaps this is a sign that Pierce is entering a new phase of his life, one where morose poker nights and cocktails served in clear plastic cups are replaced with sunshine, open space, and a deeper connection with his surroundings.
On the other hand, Pierce recently used an episode of his podcast, The Truth After Dark, to declare that marriage is only for poor people and old people.
"It's no advantage to a man," Pierce said. "What does it do for a man when things go south? Like, we're going to have to give up half our this, pay child support ... it's only advantageous to a woman!"
Ah! Well. Nevertheless.
