Does being behind when the time runs out mean you lose? For a group of young men from Memphis you probably will never convince them of anything else. For millions of fans that watched all over the country you can't ever make the low any worse than what it was at the end of the game. But I stand here and say that being behind when time ran out is just an obstacle to overcome next year.
Now what we have to do is realize what those men from Memphis have done in the last few weeks. They have taken a city that watched the nightly news to see how many people have died, been robbed, raped, etc. and turned it into Tiger Fever. For a short time we got a break from reality and learned to like ourselves and more importantly have pride in ourselves as we supported a team with spirit.
No. We didn't lose. We won on so many more important levels. There is no I in loser because you and "I" won so much more by just being in the moment with them.
How many people died in Memphis yesterday? It wasn't our focus. We won!
Go Tigers Go!
Next year the fight begins again. Never give up even when the time runs out.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Go Tigers Go!!
Memphis. A town of losers? A town of criminals? OK, I'll give you criminals. Well, a lot of them any way. But losers, no you can't have that one. But what is it about Memphis that gives people that idea?
Is it the image of our city? Is it the fact that in the past there has not often been a Memphis team to get this far in the finals. Is it simply because when you are down and out in so many ways people like to keep you there?
I have grown up in the Memphis area. I have lived here for 19.66 years of the twenty years since I moved back to the city after college. I have told people that I had to move back, after just four months when I did move away, because I love Memphis. Not Memphis basketball mind you. But I loved the city and being away just didn't seem right.
Now I find myself loving Memphis basketball too. Only twenty years after I made this city my chosen home. Just a couple of years after I have decided that the metropolitan is too dangerous to live in so I will have to move when I retire. So does this mean more than just an enjoyment of a game? Maybe I am looking so hard for a reason to stay that I am noticing all the positives about Memphis I have missed for all these years.
Positives about Memphis. The one thing that the entire country can focus on right now is Memphis basketball. Is it life changing? Will it make us a better city? Does it make any difference at all? Maybe. Maybe? Yeah, maybe.
If a person finds something to be happy about he or she will pass that along. Happy people share happy. Life changing? Maybe. You never know who needs only one more negative to finish them off. Why try any more? Extreme, possibly. Basketball as a life saver? In this cut off, virtual world of limited true human contact (pay at the pump, self-check out, ATM and so on) when more bad contact happens than good contact it can make people think really hard about all things in life.
How about a better city? Why don't we all wear blue and stand together supporting a university. It might lead us to believing it is more than just basketball. The thought of going to be a part of the whole system might lead people to want education. Education will make us a better city and change a life. Hmmm, makes more sense to me.
It makes all the difference when people can stand together for something. Look at history. Think of all the things good and bad that happened when a group of people had something to work for together. The north took a more supportive effort in the Civil War when it became all about slavery. Germans supported Hitler against those evil jews (please note sarcasm), the Allied powers uniting at the discovery of the Holocaust, the Red Scare and McCarthyism, the domino theory and the USSR, Monica Lewinsky, boys kissing, stem cells, and suicide bombers.
So I will support Memphis. Go Tigers Go! I just wish I had been shopping at Ashley furniture. Look up Memphis good things to figure that one out.
Is it the image of our city? Is it the fact that in the past there has not often been a Memphis team to get this far in the finals. Is it simply because when you are down and out in so many ways people like to keep you there?
I have grown up in the Memphis area. I have lived here for 19.66 years of the twenty years since I moved back to the city after college. I have told people that I had to move back, after just four months when I did move away, because I love Memphis. Not Memphis basketball mind you. But I loved the city and being away just didn't seem right.
Now I find myself loving Memphis basketball too. Only twenty years after I made this city my chosen home. Just a couple of years after I have decided that the metropolitan is too dangerous to live in so I will have to move when I retire. So does this mean more than just an enjoyment of a game? Maybe I am looking so hard for a reason to stay that I am noticing all the positives about Memphis I have missed for all these years.
Positives about Memphis. The one thing that the entire country can focus on right now is Memphis basketball. Is it life changing? Will it make us a better city? Does it make any difference at all? Maybe. Maybe? Yeah, maybe.
If a person finds something to be happy about he or she will pass that along. Happy people share happy. Life changing? Maybe. You never know who needs only one more negative to finish them off. Why try any more? Extreme, possibly. Basketball as a life saver? In this cut off, virtual world of limited true human contact (pay at the pump, self-check out, ATM and so on) when more bad contact happens than good contact it can make people think really hard about all things in life.
How about a better city? Why don't we all wear blue and stand together supporting a university. It might lead us to believing it is more than just basketball. The thought of going to be a part of the whole system might lead people to want education. Education will make us a better city and change a life. Hmmm, makes more sense to me.
It makes all the difference when people can stand together for something. Look at history. Think of all the things good and bad that happened when a group of people had something to work for together. The north took a more supportive effort in the Civil War when it became all about slavery. Germans supported Hitler against those evil jews (please note sarcasm), the Allied powers uniting at the discovery of the Holocaust, the Red Scare and McCarthyism, the domino theory and the USSR, Monica Lewinsky, boys kissing, stem cells, and suicide bombers.
So I will support Memphis. Go Tigers Go! I just wish I had been shopping at Ashley furniture. Look up Memphis good things to figure that one out.
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