It's Just A Game

Picture from guycodeblog.mtv.com

My mother was the most competitive human I have ever been around. Well into her 60's I watched her and her brothers and sister argue about rules in a card game in which they were playing for dimes. Yet, after we would lose a particularly tough basketball game, she would say to me, "It was just a game."

Now the truth can be known. I have retired from coaching basketball after being involved as a player and coach for over forty years, I can tell you the real truth, "It is more than a game."

No brag just fact, I went for five summers in a row without having a weekend off. Yes, "It is more than a game." During the season I would get up at five and go to bed at midnight and feel guilty that I was cheating my players. "It is more than a game."

Ask Nick Sabon today after the Iron Bowl, "It is more than a game."

Ask the boys and girls that have wrecked their knees over the last 100 years playing basketball. "It is more than a game." Ask the coaches that have lost their wives or husbands to divorce, or their family to alcoholism. "It is more than a game."

Ask Brady Hoke after his game with Ohio State yesterday. "It is more than a game."

Ask the parents that have driven their children all over the country, so they can become better athletes, "It is more than a game." Ask the parents that invested thousands of dollars so their children can improve. "It is more than a game."

Ask the Soviet Hockey Team from the 1980 Olympics when the U.S. beat them 4-3, they will tell you "It is more than a game." Ask the 1972 U.S. Olympic men' basketball team that lost in the gold medal game to the Soviets, in a game where the Soviets had three chances at the end. They will tell you, "It is more than a game."

Mom knew, she had won and lost a lot in her life, but she wanted me to feel better. "It is more than a game."