In the realm of sports, as soon as you lace up you're sneakers, cleats, or skates you are subjecting yourself to judgment. "You suck", is probably the first thing you hear in the fields of action. What separates the strong from the weak is the determination to get better. What separates that from all else is the heart of the individual. Success is not judged by the pay check. It's judged by your peers, fans and spectators. Your hardest critics should be your family. My son for instance, is trying to destroy me at anything he can. He's only 8 and we have a great relationship but he understands the unwritten rule of sports. Kill or be killed.
Where is the killer instinct with todays basketball players? Im not only talking about the highest paid guys. Just players in general. The greater majority have to be in almost perfect situations to succeed. Alot of times it's opportunity and fit. Alot of times it's lack experience. There comes a time when you have to question a persons heart and how they stand for this thing called pride. It doesn't have anything to do with how many shots a guy puts up in practice or how many rounds of p90x they did in the off season. What matters is, when the sneakers are laced and the ball is tipped, who is going to walk off the court victorious? If the team sucks, each individual has to take that with them. All championship squads had hall of fame talent. That hall if game talent would be nothing without cold blooded role players. Robert Horry, Mario Elie, Derek Fisher, Steve Kerr, John Paxson....Even the clubs that came close had guys that had the heart of a champion just the short end if the stick.
Knick fans out there are out there crying. At the short end of our stick the Knicks have names like X-Man, Oakley, Mason, Starks, Harper, Lj, Sprewell....you know the names. Guys never won a thing but earned the respect of a fan base and their peers that will never be taken away.
Check the knicks roster after their playoff loss to Miami. Where are your champions? Can you name 3 with a straight face? No matter your opinion of this team....i challenge you to pick out 3 warriors. Not guys that you hope to one day become warriors. Be realistic and you will see what we have to do to improve this team. We are not as close as we thought we were.
Still...the motto is always "go knicks". Show us the pride on the court and the fans will show respect on and off the court.
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