Garnett for MVP? Not so fast

I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your opinion doesn’t matter, certainly not if you’re going to be blinded by loyalty. If you can move your bias ever so slightly back toward the center, then you can regain some credibility.

The most recent “Kevin Garnett for MVP” groundswell is like listening to a Republican defend President Bush. Even if the points are valid, the source tends to bathe the facts in a colorful light and disregard equally valid points that contradict his or her argument. It requires too much filtering and figuring for the listener. Democrats do the same thing when they’re on the attack. And all that’s happening now with KG is what happened three years ago with David Ortiz.

Then, the argument came down to Big Papi or Big Slappy — Alex Rodriguez. Red Sox fans who wanted Ortiz to win the 2005 MVP Award chose to ignore the facts — which were that A-Rod had more runs, hits and total bases than Ortiz, as well as a higher batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. Never mind that A-Rod stole 21 bases and played terrific defense. Ortiz beat him in RBI and had one more home run. Plus, he’s a nice guy and plays for the Red Sox.

Clearly, while I thought A-Rod earned the MVP, I’ll grant that arguments could be made for either man. But for the majority of Red Sox fans to pick Ortiz suggests a bias that while understandable, also invalidates the opinion.

And here it is again. KG for MVP. How many times have you seen Chris Paul play this year? How about LeBron? Kobe?

Look, I’m not saying I know who the MVP should be. All I’m saying is neither do you. You’re a Celtic fan living in a Celtic land and you want some love given to your Celtic man. I get it. But when you start massaging the facts to fit your argument, well, that I don’t get.

First, I hear it’s not about the numbers. Yes, it is. You can’t measure intangibles. So, you can’t say KG is more of a leader, or he makes his teammates better or he’s more reliable in the clutch. You can’t know those things. You can only believe those things, and usually it’s because you want to believe them.

By definition, blind loyalty means you can’t see things for what they are. Your passion, the thing that takes you to a higher place, does you in. Even if you’re right, you’re in no position to judge. And like a judge, you have to recuse yourself from the case.

Bob Halloran is a sports anchor and reporter. He’s also the author of “Irish Thunder: The Hard Life and Times of Micky Ward,” published by The Lyons Press.