FUNNY STUFF: STARS IN HIS EYES, INCLUDING JIM BROWN AND ALLEN IVERSON

I guess it’s a bit presumptuous to suggest in the title that this stuff is funny, but check it out and let me know by posting a quick comment.

*****************

When my 13 year-old son Mike was eight and having some success as a running back in Pop Warner football, he asked me who were the best running backs in NFL history. So, we went to the laptop, signed on to NFL.com and clicked on the page of all-time leading rushers. Can’t remember exactly who was there, but we all know the names -- Jim Brown, Emmitt Smith, O.J. Simpson, Eric Dickerson and others. Some of the players Mike had heard of; some he had not.

As I was rhapsodizing about how fast and strong they all were, Mike interjected, “I’m gonna be on that list some day, Dad.”

I was a bit thrown, because it was clearly a declaration as opposed to an aspiration. It was the simple articulation of an innocent dream by an eight year-old but I had to respond and -- we all remember our own such episodes -- I had to respond carefully.

I paused and said, “Mike, these guys are the best of all-time. That’s a tall order. But I wish you luck and I’ll be here to help you.”

Next day, we were headed out to the yard to run some patterns because Mike wanted to show the coaches that he could catch, too. I remember exactly where I was walking on the driveway when Mike offered, out of the blue:

“Dad, you know that list of running backs we were looking at yesterday.”

I answered, “Yeah, Mike.”

He continued, “Any of those guys white?”

I chuckled inwardly and then audibly, realizing that the simple fact that Mike asked the question indicated that he had a certain awareness of the reality that the best African-American athletes are flat-out superior to the best Caucasians.

I responded. “No, Mike.” We exchanged a knowing, smiling glance and got to work running those patterns. I decided not to say anything to Mike about who are the greatest wide receivers of all time.

**************************

Most people remember the famous Allen Iverson “Practice” rant, when he actually disparaged the single most important fundamental element of team sports competition. Iverson suggested that practice was meaningless, at least for him, characterizing it as a distraction.

Mr. Iverson, who doesn’t need me to suggest that he may be the most talented six foot-tall player in the history of the sport, has since matured, apologized for the comments, and regained the respect of many of us who don’t want professional sports stars to influence our children negatively.

Because we’re here in Philly and Mike has been an avid SportsCenter watcher since just before that season, he saw and digested the many “Practice Rant” replays both on ESPN and on the local news. It made an impression on him, I later learned.

A month or so had passed and Mike, now nine, was having some success in basketball, playing every afternoon in the driveway and winning the starting point guard job on his CYO team.

While shooting around that day, we were talking about the importance of dribbling with the left (off) hand and the fact that practice would help him improve. In another wonderfully innocent gem, he offered,

“If I keep practicing every day, I think I could be as good as Allen Iverson, because Allen Iverson doesn’t like to practice.”

This time, I didn’t respond, except to say that, yes, Mike, you’re right, practice is important.

***********************

Thanks for listening. Please post. Would love to hear similar stories.