Who in Croatia even cares about Mario Hezonja right now? Do his parents even care about him? I can imagine Hezonja’s dad sitting in his living room in Croatia, watching shady internet streams of 76ers games at four in the morning, getting hyped every time Saric does something good on the court. I can imagine Hezonja’s mom cleaning out her son’s old bedroom so that she can put up her growing collection of Dario Saric posters on the wall. I can imagine Mario himself coming back home for Christmas, ringing the doorbell of his childhood home, then getting turned away by his parents because “he’s not Dario Saric, who we would much rather have as a son than the monumental bust that our true son has proven himself to be.” Mario returns to the cold Croatian night, sleeping in the alley behind his house among the dogs and the garbage, weeping to himself until sleep comes, but even in sleep, there is no respite, because his dreams are haunted by images of the superior player Dario Saric, the player who has captured the hearts of all of Croatia…
Yeah, I’m getting the feeling that Croatia as a whole, and specifically, Mario Hezonja’s parents, have totally moved on from Mario Hezonja. Maybe Mario Hezonja has moved on from Mario Hezonja. Croatians should feel free to correct my misconceptions, especially if they happen to be the parents in question, or if they are Mario Hezonja.