THEY MAY LOVE IT THE MOST
Feb 11, 2020 06:40 pm | Larry Adamson
Just some thoughts:
“THEY MAY LOVE IT THE MOST”
James Naismith:”The appeal of basketball is that it is a game easy to play, but difficult to master”
Phog Allen:”You mean just like life?”
Naismith: “Yes, anybody can piddle at it, but to master it–yes, just like life.”
=========================================
It is no secret and if you read any of my silly ramblings of “Just Some Thoughts” you know I often write and think about sports and especially basketball.
We are in the middle of some of the best times I enjoy, basketball season. No telling how many games I might see in a season. I think last year it was around fifty plus games. But you know I now notice a lot of things about sports and basketball that I once never noticed or even thought about. Age has a way of doing that to a person. Age can change the chair or the angle that one looks at things.
I try if possible at most games to sit behind the bench of one of the teams. Especially the visiting team. Generally this is not an issue cause most of the college games I go to are small college. They are not the feature game of the week, ESPN Dick Vitalie screaming stuff. Honestly I would rather go see a high school, or small college, well coached, behaved, no turkey struttin’ trash talkin’ chest beatin’ than the so-called big times boys.
One of the things I often look for at a game is I will watch the bench. You can tell an awful lot about a team (and their coach) by their bench. And more times than not I will try to pick up on the pecking order of the bench. Often the last two guys sitting at the end of the bench will catch my attention. Often they will be the ones that “will never get in the game unless they are behind by a hundred or ahead by a two hundred.” I often watch those guys in warm ups, time out huddles, or when another player comes back to the bench, etc.
Sometimes one might ask themselves why in the world would a kid who sits the bench, seldom plays,etc, why is he on this team, why is he still out there? It has been my experience that often in life some of the folks who love something so much often get to share it the least. Fortunately in life there are those who love something very much and it is not equated with how much they participate or how well they can perform a skill.
You know before we go making judgement about others and their do’s and don’ts maybe it is best we give more thought than just quick judgement. We all shoot from the hip too often and too quickly. Sometimes those that sit on the end of the bench and seldom get in the game, they love the game just as much as anyone else, maybe even more.You may put a group on the floor with five players but you cannot have a team with only five members.
Currently one of my favorite players on a small college team is one of those kids that sits the bench and seldom plays. He has no idea he has such a fan. He is a junior at this time. Recently his team was beating someone rather handily with about fifteen minutes left in the game. His coach put him in. His teammates began to put the ball in this kids hands. Make a long story short, the kid ended up scoring twenty-one points that night. For fifteen minutes the kid was “Rick Mount.” Or going back further, Jimmy Rayl. (Only Indiana people may get that.)
Some day he can sit on his porch in a rockin’ chair having a cold drink and truthfully tell his grand kids, “Hey your ole grand dad one night…..boy you should have seen me. ” And he will be telling the truth. He may have sat the bench…but one night he rattled the nets.
I love kids that sit at the end of the bench.
=========================================
February 12, 2020
Keep on,
Larry Adamson
The post THEY MAY LOVE IT THE MOST appeared first on Larry Grams.
Cllick here to comment on what you've read.
Forward to a Friend. |
