ALL-STAR DRAW VS. CROWD THINNING APPEAL

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Blake Griffin jumps over a car while the Crenshaw Elite mass choir sings R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly. Javelle McGee literally dunked two balls into two baskets nearly simultaneously. Kobe made sure he locked up Most Valuable Player honors for the fourth and record time, by dropping nearly 40 points. Los Angeles did what it does, put on a great show that draws the droves. Thousands roll out, fly out to experience the convergence of talent in one of the most iconic venues. What’s the attraction you ask? It’s as simple as envy I think. People are drawn to things that impress and overload the senses. Music, pretty people, super human ability and overpriced food. That’s the universal good time of the masses. And while in the midst of the All-Star experience, the appeal is practically of addictive proportion.

I figure that getting close to greatness is the next best thing to being it so people pay whatever to see whatever, I think. Certain types of people get to be envied in our society. Others get to envy them. But as I thought about some things yesterday, after running a basketball clinic attended by 7 kids, I thought, I’m not the envy of the neighborhood. It was amusing but not hilarious. I remember the old theme song from an early 1980s television show called FAME. A line in the theme song said, “People will see me and cry…” That one line expressed the desire for significance that we all have. And rather than have fame evade us, we experience a sliver of it through association with larger-than-life events like All-Star weekend.

But on the other side, the dark side away from the hype of dunks, 3-pointers and Cee-Lo Green is Monday morning. And for me yesterday, I told my wife after the basketball clinic, “I think I may be in the wrong business. I keep trying to do things that attract people. Maybe that isn’t my thing.” What if you’re a crowd thinner? What if when you talk, the truth tends to come out and people kind of wanna punch you in the mouth? You’re looking at the antithesis of All-Star weekend. And it’s like life is lived in the non-All-Star moments. Is there anything appealing about us, the others, the non All-Stars? Absolutely. You, and hopefully I, live in close proximity to the truth. That’s not to say you can’t have loads of money and be a crowd thinner. But it’s harder. The people who watch the stars from the cheap seats are grinding everyday. And some of us grinders are deluded, living for the weekend, but if we were honest we’d admit that we are not attractive because we are committed to things like work, family, sacrifice, etc. A name can sell something I can’t but if it’s one thing I’m learning about being a crowd thinner, it’s that the value of what you offer is not diminished because Josh Groban didn’t sing the national anthem before you did it.

CHAMPION: 2010-2011 FIGHTING LANCERS

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When the buzzer sounded last night ending the basketball season for the Western Christian Fighting Lancers varsity basketball team, I started mulling over the losses. We played the Mustangs of John Muir High School from Pasadena. It was the second round and we were coming off a first round victory against Kern Valley. We scouted Muir well and knew what they would bring. And my guys stepped up huge cutting off the Mustangs’ attempt to drive to the basket. We held them to just 15 points at the half. But this ain’t a recap of the game. You should’ve been there.

What I was thinking at game’s end was that all 12 of my guys are seniors and their season is officially done. For four years these guys have been brothers, playing together, experiencing man-like transformation together and developing the mettle champions display. I told those dudes in the locker room after the game that the hard part about what they’ve gained this year is that it’s almost completely intangible. How do you show the world that you are 100% better than you were a year earlier at submitting to the truth, identifying pure motives for competition, valuing the reputation you’ve created, etc.? They know that the world doesn’t value these progressions. All anyone will see on Maxpreps.com is that we ended 13-13. But that’s part of the champion. He knows what he’s gained and doesn’t diminish it. He knows that every one of the 13 losses was a winnable game that could have gone either way because only two of the 13 losses were by double digits. He also knows that every lesson from this season is transferable.

I prayed on several occasions this year for my guys to be able to stem the tide of losses. When we were under .500 and losing to teams like Garey High School in double overtime with only 8 seconds remaining I felt it unfair. I couldn’t understand why we couldn’t will ourselves to victory or execute just one more key possession. Even with our best player out for the season, I still believed that if you can lose by 2 you can win by 5. I’ve never seen a team play three double-overtime games in one season. We did against Aquinas High School, Chaffey and Garey I believe, not to mention the single overtime games we played. What team does that? Most teams never even play one? What in the world…? But I have to believe that ultimately, champions are the most honest people. When your team is stacked with superstars it’s easily to fall into delusion and false prowess. The overwhelming giftedness of your team dominates. But we weren’t the Miami Heat. We were smart dog-fighting men who were naive enough to think that we could beat anyone on any night and I’d do it all over again next year with the same group if they weren’t collecting diplomas at year’s end.

Round 1: Fighting Lancers @ Kern Valley

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The Varsity Basketball team at Western Christian plays Kern Valley on Wednesday in the first round of the C.I.F. playoffs. How excited is this dude right now? I can’t even explain. But consider the situation. We’re playing a team we’ve never even seen let alone played. There are no stats available online for them, not even to the extent of listing roster vitals. They are the home team on Friday so we hit the road in anticipated snow conditions to make the 3-hour trek to them. For illustrative purposes, they are the opposition unknown. And because the battle is eminent our recourse is pretty straight-forward – either show up to play or forfeit a playoff win. Obviously we’re not interested in the latter.

Now, enter the analogy. Everyday is a playoff game vs. Kern Valley is it not? You woke up this morning in a state, a condition, in a frame of mind. And in that condition you set out. You moved from a bed or a couch or a sofa or a rocking chair to another location, perhaps to the toilet for more comfort and privacy. You moved physically and time moved forward with you. Without realizing, you engaged various combatants – hostiles that threaten but aren’t well scouted. Certain skirmishes cannot be avoided as they are the path. Do you not have to go directly to disappointment to beat it? Or what say you of depression, loneliness, weight issues, insecurity, etc? It’s day 14 of your baby crying at 3 a.m. despite taking cat naps all day and you feel the walls closing in. But it’s quite the contrary. You’ve actually taken the fight to the forces of evil by choosing to parent at 3 a.m. instead of discard. See, you have to engage these elements straight away to see through to your life’s wholeness? And the truth is that many of us have traveled the 3 hour journey to lock horns with Kern Valley. You may not know much about your opponent, the terrain on the way to meet him, nor the primary weapons he employs. But what you do know is that you can’t afford not to engage. The cost of not making the 3-hour hike is far greater than the risk of losing the contest.

WHERE THE GOOD COME FROM

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Pictured to the left is a statue with a placard above that reads:

“The inquiry, knowledge and belief of truth is the sovereign good of human nature.”

My wife showed it to me after she noticed it on that TV show “Who Do You Think You Are” where famous people research their ancestry. Tim McGraw was the focus of this episode and was at the Library of Congress discovering that his family had a much more significant back story than he ever realized.

I transposed the words and worked up a paraphrase to make sure I understood the quote accurately. The sovereign good of our nature lies in the way we question truth, learn truth and believe truth once we find it. Posted in the world’s largest library is a statement that assumes that truth absolutely exists and not only that but the best in who we are rests in our orientation to it. That is to suggest that minus a life lived in pursuit of truth, we can only hope to be less than good. Is that a fair conclusive deduction?

So why is truth so disputed? Why do people quibble and say your truth is not my truth when no one has ever been sat down and told to “tell me A truth.” I believe the chastising refrain goes, “Tell me THE truth.” What is THE truth about your role in your workplace, your family, your marriage, your sports team, etc.? What is THE truth about promiscuity? What is THE truth about the anger you harbor? What is THE truth about how family comes second to everything in our society?

Speak in absolutes and someone deems you either naive or dogmatic. And yet there’s an antiquated quotation esteeming the very truth we’ve made so relative. Perhaps The Library of Congress was on to something invigorating. The notion of learning is rooted in a hunger for truth and it’s infinitessimal applications. How could the sovereign good of human nature stifle life? The sovereign good in human nature feeds the hungry, clothes the naked and keeps me from going crazy when life is unfair. How can the truth that brings these things be so bad?

FRESH OFF A LOSS

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It’s good to reflect while the events are fresh  don’t you think? Tonight was the last league game of my first complete season as a boys basketball head coach. We lost in overtime by 6 to Ontario Christian High School. I coach Western Christian’s Fighting Lancers. The ball was in the air with roughly 10 seconds on the clock as we defended and the ball clanged off the rim. We failed to rebound the ball after controlling the boards all night. We were up by 2 points by the way as all this was transpiring. Nevertheless they, Ontario Christian, managed to rebound the ball a second time, tipping it to themselves and getting the ball in the air with 1 second remaining. .8, .5, .2 and that shot rolled around and in. To overtime we went where we ending up losing by six.

But I told my guys that if we were at war, there would be no officials. At least that’s what I should of said. Actually that quip didn’t materialize until the van ride and by then most of the guys had gone home with their parents. But I told a few of the guys and assistant coaches that when God wants you to learn something, it likely has to do with what the real reason for our existence is. So, fresh of a loss to a league rival who led us to two overtime losses this season, I feel fresh and a little clean. Dig this: I have seen character displayed all year. From resolve to resilience, we’ve not faltered. We’re a perfect 12 up and 12 down. We’re the best .500 team you’ve ever seen. And here we are ready for the playoffs feeling like a 1 seed. Coaches and parents from opposing schools comment on the poise, on the sets we run and on the attention to detail they detect. Whatever…All I know, and this is the point, is that you pick up equipment through adversity that is needed far longer than the 32 minutes of a high school game. I hate losing, especially in overtime and by 2 points but my young men are the most courageous guys I’ve ever been around collectively. There is absolutely no quit in them and no excuse making when the referees blow calls. I’m calling a spade a spade. But There is no wavering and very little deviation from the game plan. This is the stuff of man formation, character development and spiritual truth courtesy of Christ centered athletics. Fresh off a loss I feel laundered homey. Playoffs start on Wednesday for C.I.F. I wonder what our journey will afford us there.

TRUTH HURTS. WHAT’S WORSE: PART 2

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The sequel to my last entry is simple. My athletic director received an email from the California Interscholastic Federation (C.I.F.) liaison the morning after I encouraged parents to express their disdain with the quality of officiating in our section of high school basketball. I can hear the collective sighs of people who would say I was wrong for that. But remember part I of this post. I emphasized that I went this route because accountability is a piece that even the lower levels of high school basketball needs. Wait, accountability is a fundamental in every sphere, for every person at any moment in time. With that digression behind me, it was merely for contextual reference, my athletic director was able to have a quality conversation with the assignor who appointed the referees about whom I complained. And here is the resolution of the plot progression: The assignor plans to have a conversation with those referees and he admitted that the situation, referring to the game in question, could have been handled more effectively.

If there was a mission from my end, it was fulfilled. I just wanted to get somebody’s attention. It’s a justice issue man. Is that pseudo piety? Because to tell you the truth, I don’t care that much about basketball anymore. Sports is a variable in and of itself with the countless human dynamics in play. So I’ve learned to stomach the bad and appreciate the good. In the case of working behind the scenes to poke C.I.F., it wasn’t personal. And I’m pleased by the gracious response and attention to detail by the organization that governs the sports your sons and daughters find so enjoyable. 6ixth Man is not so hard to explain to people when they ask and it’s actually even plainer when I have a visual like this. If it’s one thing I’ve learned from not playing basketball, one thing I’ve committed to as a proverbial rule of thumb it’s that you have to live some parts of life like a prophet. That is, you have to be willing to engage the juggernaut and foster healthy confrontation while maintaining a sense of respect. Be forthright and intentional in your attempts to let truth reign in our world. Nothing is too small and no situation so inconsequential that it doesn’t require this rubric. Raise ya glasses to truth, accountability and the best you have when others are impacted by what you do. Thanks C.I.F. for being real prime time on this one. What you guys do matters.

TRUTH HURTS. WHAT’S WORSE?

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On February 1, 2011, I felt what all coaches have felt at one time or another, like I was getting done in by the referees. No one wants to admit feeling this way but it is what it is. And it’s noble to say, “Referees don’t lose games.” I agree with such nobility. I won’t preach that and I didn’t play basketball with referees in my crosshairs. But for all the noblemen at sporting events worldwide, there are very few humanitarians championing the plight of misunderstood official. I say that to say this, “Referees don’t lose games but they must be accountable as any of us.”

So after a 1-point loss the other night, I incited about 40 families to email the liaison for our local section of the California Interscholastic Federation, the organization which governs high school athletics here. And the action seemed petty even as I was emailing the parents giving them the information they needed to point their grievances. Nevertheless, I proceeded and I did it because I believe in simple things like getting in shape if you plan on being an official at a basketball game. It sounds mean doesn’t it. Submission to truth is the issue though. Here’s a list of taboo subjects that make accountability a must: Biases of all sorts, laziness and Gender/Age discrimination to name a few. When you’re a head coach, the whole school watches your mannerisms, your decision making in the clutch, your responses to threat, etc. But on the real, I’m happy to say that pleasing spectators isn’t so much a priority for me. I was pleased to find that less than 24 hours after I requested parents email the liaison, a response was rendered.

The liaison seemed a bit unhappy about the breach of protocol as parents are supposed to work through their athletic directors. But I figured hey, since the website listed your contact information, that makes you a publicly accessible figure. And at day’s end I didn’t really expect an about-face when it comes to referees who work Divison 5AA basketball games. I just wanted them to know that how they execute their task matters just like how I execute mine. No one is exempt from accountability. No one can change the 86,400 seconds they have in one day. No one is above justice no matter how much the hierarchy deems an injustice moot. I don’t expect referees to win games for me. I’m not sure how much winning basketball games even matters to me as a coach. But where there is disrespect, condescension, avoidance, neglect, ineptitude, there should be an intervention. When I’m guilty of the items on this list, and I am often, I’d like to invite you to check me straight away.