Wednesday, June 18, 2014

The Beautiful Game

    I normally try to keep my personal life out of this blog unless it is related to Zenerdgy or the current project.  When Rebecca and I started this blog, we decided that I would concentrate more on the company progress and she would fill in the more human elements of running a company and family.  I truly believe she got the better end of the deal.  The family life is way more interesting.  
    With all of this said (or typed), I have to confess a more personal and non-work related event that has been diverting my attention for the past month.  Whats my confession? I am am and have been a San Antonio Spurs NBA fan for as long as I can remember.  Born and raised in Texas it was pretty natural that I would latch onto the Spurs as my basketball team.   Over the years, this passion has only grown.  There are many things that have kept this passion alive in my life.  David Robinson was drafted from the U.S. Navy while I was first starting out in the U. S. Air Force, which coincidently trains recruits in San Antonio, TX.  Today, he remains one of my all time favorite players and human beings.  Great guy on a great team.  Then they drafted Tim Duncan, and the rest is history.  
    Over the years the Spurs have managed to play some excellent basketball.   Also during this time they have evolved into a team that seems to really value the players and the fans as well as the concept of good team basketball.  Sharing the ball and insisting that the players put the team before themselves has really been one of the Spurs benchmarks for as long as I can remember.  As their couch, Greg Popovich, would often say, “We look for players who have gotten over themselves.”  This dedication to the game and the team concept is probably the main reason I have remained an ardent Spurs fan over the years.  Yes, I have the jerseys and various Spurs keepsakes from over the years of admiring this team. 
    This last Sunday, they Spurs won their 5th NBA championship.  Needless to say, I have been distracted and elated this past few weeks.  Work was taking a hit because I found myself drawn to the various forums and news articles about how the team was doing and what to expect in the next game.  I have spent an awful lot of time reading and commenting about the Spurs in my life, but this past week during the NBA finals was probably the worst.  Well, the worst except for last year.  Last year the Spurs lost in the NBA championship in a thrilling game 7 against the Miami Heat.  It was soul crushing to experience to this fan.  I got over it mostly thanks to having a great family to distract me from silly things like a game of basketball.  This year, they redeemed themselves by getting back to the Finals and crushing the Heat in 5 games.  Yay!

   As a basketball fan, I truly do appreciate the art of passing the ball and using ball movement to create the perfect shot.  It also helps when you have some of the best players on the planet to implement this movement.  Great individual talent is always exciting to experience, but when you have the whole team playing for each other, this is when the real Mojo kicks in.  Last year, the Spurs showed the world that playing team basketball can challenge even the best of superstar athletes.  Unfortunately, last year it was not enough and they lost that series.  This year, the Spurs kept the team together and doubled-down on playing great team basketball.  Good ball movement and crisp passing on offense.  Tenacious and intelligent teamwork on defense.  It was a joy to behold for this fan.  This year, the Spurs put together their masterpiece of basketball and put it on display during the 2014 Finals.  

    Even if you are not a big NBA fan, you have to appreciate the concept of good teamwork.  We all need it in our lives at different times.  Some of the best times I can remember in my life are when I worked with a great team to accomplish something together.  This team concept probably started with basketball and then solidified while I was serving in the Air Force.   Since then, I have strived to improve the team I work with as well as myself.  It makes the end result that much sweeter.
   If you do like basketball, then I will leave you with a homage to great team basketball.  I love this video that some fan put together on the Spurs playing The Beautiful Game.  It really moves me every time I see it.
    Damn onions...

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