Plain and simple, Americans do great things! I too have a hero, and I will share that information about my hero, and maybe you will be inspired too. If you don’t have a hero, maybe you should get one.
I love to see Americans do great things, and I don’t care what field, music; Sciences; medical; Sports; entertainment etc I love seeing how they got there and what obstacles they had to overcome to get there, etc.
“We can’t all be heroes, because someone has to sit on the sidewalk and clap their hands as they pass.” will rogers
Like many Americans, I like to watch a college basketball game from time to time. Whether you like sports or not, this piece is not necessarily about the game of college basketball, but about the game of winning, education, and winning in the game of life. There are a couple of ways to educate yourself, paying for it yourself and getting a scholarship in various fields etc.
My hero turns out to be a basketball coach named John Wooden who coached at UCLA for many years. And this man’s track record is nothing short of amazing! They say records are made to be broken, but I don’t think this man’s record will ever be broken, at least not in my lifetime!
Let me say up front that I don’t follow ice hockey, so I can’t comment on the sport. From major sports like football (Super Bowl); baseball (World Series); And the Indy 500 race, where mechanics play a big part in the race, I think the hardest championship to win, is college basketball.
In professional soccer, there are 32 teams; almost the same in professional baseball; in the Indy 500 race there are 33 drivers at Pole time; And, in college basketball, there are more than 300 teams across the country that have a chance to win the NCAA title!
Another reason I think college basketball is the hardest title to win is because there is turnover within teams due to graduation, making it harder to replace a player after graduation, etc. In baseball, professional football, racing, there are athletes who can play for 15 years or more. Not so in college basketball.
Let’s look at John Wooden’s record at UCLA Over the years, he has won TEN national titles, count ’em, TEN national championships, and seven in a row! That’s equivalent to winning TEN Super Bowls (7 in a row); TEN World Series (7 in a row); and/or TEN Indy 500 races (7 in a row). The only coaches who come close are Kentucky’s Adolph Rupp with 4 titles, and Bobby Knight (retired) and Coach K from Duke with three titles.
Before I continue, let me explain the differences between professional basketball (NBA) and college basketball. In professional basketball, there are players who can play together for years, five, ten, fifteen years and more. Most professional gamers are millionaires and they don’t have to do homework or worry about graduating from school etc. And yes, there have been two outstanding coaches in recent years in the NBA, and they have won nine titles each, Red Aurerbach and Phil Jackson. But, there are only a handful of teams in the NBA, compared to college ranks, which makes a huge difference, etc.
Whereas, in college basketball, there is the constant issue of player graduation, hence there is constant turnover. And that’s what makes John Wooden’s record so spectacular, he’s won national titles with short teams; tall teams; white teams; black teams; black and white teams; orange teams, just won, etc. He has brought players from all over the country and made them great students and players, etc.
“A hero is one who does what he can, that others can’t.” Romain Roldan
In 1966, I had the opportunity and honor to see my hero in action, when the NCAA quarterfinals were held here in Albuquerque, New Mexico (where I live). He was amazed when the UCLA team took the floor that day and John Wooden took his place on the bench. Unlike other coaches, who yell and curse at umpires, John Wooden just sat quietly and let his team do the magic for him. They won the game that day and went on to win another national title later that year!
The most memorable game I can remember happened in 1968, and I don’t recall a matchup like this since. In those days, there were two national polls, the sportswriters poll and the coaches poll. UCLA was number one in the coaches’ poll and Houston was the number one team in the writers’ poll. How would the number one team be determined? The only way was to play each other to determine who was number one, and play each other!
It was a classic meeting or two undefeated powerhouses, both undefeated at 30-0, and UCLA was managed by Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) and Houston was managed by “Big E” Elvin Hayes. The battle was held in the Astrodome, with 55,000 fans and a national television audience, and was billed as “the game of the century!” Huston won the game, but UCLA won another national championship!
“The ability to accept victory gracefully and accept defeat without bitterness is what makes heroes.” Unknown
What makes John Wooden so remarkable is the fact that he was also a school teacher and has a master’s degree in English. He has always put the education of his players FIRST, and basketball SECOND! His players were consistently ranked at the top in terms of graduating from college across the country. If his players didn’t do their homework, they didn’t play! These are some of the reasons why John Wooden was and is so special, etc.