Wednesday, November 09, 2005

Tired of T.O.?

Is it just me or is anyone else getting tired of Terrell Owens? Back in my day (I just heard a collective groan from anyone who reads this blog) that would not have been tolerated from the very outset, let alone after several months (years!) of moaning.
Example. I played a little basketball in high school. I wanted to know how many points I had scored, etc. My coach wouldn't ever let me see the score book. The important thing was the total points of our team compared to the total points of their team at the end of the game. If our total was greater, that's what mattered. I remember one game I broke the single game scoring record for our school. (That has since been broken) But at the end of the game when coach took me out, he leaned over to me and said, "If I'd have known you were that close to the record, I would have taken you out sooner."
Now my coach wasn't a mean tyrant. He was not an egotistical man who jumped up and down and screamed from the sidelines. In fact, to the contrary. He rarely said anything. I never saw him get a technical foul. And by the way, we weren't allowed to get a technical foul either. He demanded class from us and he expected us to be controlled on the court. AND, we were to be an example in school outside of basketball. What mattered to him was that we were Christian young men first, the team was far more important than any individual, and he cared more about effort and hustle than he did winning. I would do anything for this man...even today.
One of my favorite comments from him was after I had won a sportsmanship trophy in a tournament. He said, "I'm more proud of that than I would be if you won the MVP trophy." And he meant it.
So, I'm fed up with T.O. Go back and learn to be a man. And once you learn what it means to be a team member, then maybe you will find some team who will take a chance on you. But you won't get any sympathy from me.
And Coach Martin, thank you! You taught me more than just about anyone I know. About basketball, about life. Have a great day! JW

1 comment:

Karen said...

I had to Google him to find out just what the beef you have with him is. The noive of some people. Yeah, let him go find something else to do. What a crybaby.