| A fond farewell. |
[Nov. 4th, 2008|12:30 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | ooc | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  sad | ] |
It seems surreal to me that I've spent almost three years writing for this character, but it's with a heavy heart that Coach Haskins is saying goodbye. Since the passing of the real-life Coach Haskins, I just haven't felt comfortable writing for him anymore, and a lot of recent turmoil in my real life has meant that I need to cut back on a lot of my less active muses. Put those two things together and it seemed the right time for him to take his leave.
It's been a pleasure writing with all of you. This was my first RPF muse and although I was nervous as heck, I've really enjoyed the experience of helping to further the story of a great man. I hope that I inspired some of you to watch Glory Road, or to pick up the book of the same name, and learn more about a legend. Most importantly I hope that I did him proud. Thank you for having him, and I wish you all the best. |
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| TM: silence is golden (252) |
[Oct. 15th, 2008|11:28 pm] |
Innuendo.
Seems like everybody's got somethin' to say. Other players, refs, coaches, media, the fans. Everyone has an opinion or a rumor or a complaint. They all seem to forget that just 'cause God gave you a mouth and a brain don't mean everyone knows how to use them together. Now they can make all the innuendoes they want, that doesn't make any of 'em true or change the way we play the game.
Look at what happened to David Lattin. Some idiot at Sports Illustrated wrote that we'd recruited him from Tennessee State Prison when in fact he was a transfer from Tennessee State University. Nobody bothered to do any research. Nobody bothered to ask any questions. They just assumed and printed it and everyone thought it was true. Somebody else wrote a book couple of years later and just borrowed from that article. Now that book is considered some sort of standard for the history of sports in this country and it's full of lies when it comes to this team. But nobody will know any better 'cause they won't ask.
Some people ought to learn to just keep their mouths shut. The world would be much better off.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 200 |
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| TM: legacy pick (249) |
[Sep. 20th, 2008|01:14 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | theatrical muse | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | sad | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | sweet music - alicia keys | ] |
Talk about politics.
Coach Don Haskins died on September 7, 2008. He was seventy-eight years old. It was the kind of event that didn't seem real. To many people, myself included, Haskins was more than just a man. He was a legend. An institution. There was a certain belief that he would simply always be there.
Don Haskins didn't care about politics. When the school president complained to him about how many black players he had on the team, Haskins pointed out that it was his team to run. He didn't care about the importance of football in Texas either, instead arguing for more scholarships and appropriate facilities for his players. Even in the harsh glare of the NCAA tournament media lights he defended his team, pointing out that star guard Bobby Joe Hill had gotten them to a 23-1 regular season record, regardless of the color of his skin.
But politics never interested Coach Haskins. Nothing that might stand in his way did, from arguments among his players to threats against his own family. Things that you and I might be scared of or intimidated by, he dealt with. There were only two things important to that man: his family and winning basketball games. He took care of his wife and children, and he did what he could do to win the game. That meant the best players played, regardless of color. That meant everyone was treated the same. Everyone had to earn their place. Coach Haskins certainly earned his among the best men ever to coach college basketball, if not for his thirty-eight years of accomplishments, then for what he did for the sport as a man and for who he was as a human being.
They call it the most important college basketball game ever played. They call it the "Brown v. Board of Education" game. The March 1966 day that Coach Haskins decided to start an all-black starting lineup in the NCAA championship game was the first time it had ever been done. The 72-65 final vaulted the Texas Western Miners into history and changed the landscape of not just sports, but the entire culture of this country.
It's almost to my chagrin that it took a movie forty years later for me to discover this legendary story. Up until that day in January I had always found basketball to be boring and uninteresting. Now I am probably one of the biggest college basketball fans on the planet. I have experienced the joy of my University of Florida Gators winning back-to-back national championships in 2006 and 2007, and my Duke Blue Devils with their own legendary tradition. Yet I wouldn't have learned a thing from Billy Donovan or Mike Krzyzewski if I hadn't first learned of, and later learned deeply from, Coach Haskins. I never met the man, to my sadness. Nor did I ever get around to writing him that fan letter I planned to. But having read his book, having listened to him speak, having seen him coach, I learned not only what it was like to be an athlete but also a leader and a real person. I found this muse voice because of a movie; I stayed with it because of the man.
He touched thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives. He did immeasurable good for the game of basketball and for the country at large. Yet Don Haskins could have cared less about that. Sometimes he even regretted it. Politics and fame weren't for him. All he wanted to do was be in tiny little El Paso, Texas and coach basketball. That's where he stayed, and that's pretty much all he did, up until the day he passed on.
It seems strange and somehow less, a world without Don Haskins. It won't ever be the same.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 629 |
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| OOC |
[Sep. 7th, 2008|06:20 pm] |
In respect for the recent passing of Coach Haskins, this journal will be on hiatus for a short while until the management decides on an appropriate course of action. Thank you for your understanding. |
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| TM: fixture (245) |
[Aug. 27th, 2008|10:03 pm] |
What's the first thing you remember?
The first thing I really remember about El Paso was that darned gator.
To this day I don't have a clue why Ross felt the need to hang a gator from the ceiling of the dorm room. Where I come from I don't even see alligators. But Mary and I come walkin' into where we're supposed to be livin', with the kids running around, and my first introduction to El Paso hospitality is seeing that big 'ol thing hanging in the middle of the room, huge jaws and all. Confused don't even begin to describe it, though Mark's eyes did get real big, real fast.
Ross decided he'd leave that thing on up there for the kids. Mary, of course, would have none of this and we took it down a coupla days later. I don't know whatever happened to it, but I'm glad we got rid of it because that was getting ridiculous. And a little disturbing. Still when I think of it, I can't help but laugh a little. That was how I knew we'd moved somewhere completely different. Somewhere that was gonna be exciting, and interesting, and a challenge. I moved from a tiny little town in the middle of nowhere, to another tiny little town on the border, and my welcoming committee was a fiesty old man and an alligator. And you know what, they both turned out all right.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 234 |
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| TM : hard knocks (242) |
[Aug. 13th, 2008|12:07 pm] |
Write about a time that you were the bearer of bad news.
Nothin' hurts more than losing out on your dream. When the doctors told me I'd never be able to play professional basketball again, there was a long time I didn't know what to do with myself. I don't know how Mary and the boys lived with me; I was being a real putz back then. But it's a hard thing to be told you can't do what you love.
That was what I had to tell Willie Cager at mid-season. He'd collapsed during practice, and the doctor informed me it was due to his enlarged heart. It wasn't safe for him to continue to exert himself playin' ball. I went to his last class the next day and sat him down. I told him he'd still be on the team but I couldn't let him play.
I watched that young man disintegrate. He was stunned and he was scared. He begged me to let him play. He told me he could do it. But I wasn't willing to risk his life. I couldn't in good conscience do it. But here's the funny thing: I was wrong. Mrs. Cager pleaded with me to let her son play, and Willie worked hard waiting for his opportunity. And you know what? After Flournoy got hurt, Cager came back and saved that championship game for us.
Cager did what I couldn't do. He came and snatched that dream of his right back.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 238 |
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| TM: difficulties (240) |
[Jul. 14th, 2008|03:12 pm] |
Hairy.
Now, I don't know who thought this up, but you need some better ideas, son. This one's a real reach.
I sure as heck ain't takin it literally; that wouldn't be worth talkin' about. But I've been in more than a few hairy situations in my time. Even before I came to El Paso. It's somethin' in me, that likes a challenge and don't mind risin' to it. My mama always used to say I was the fiesty one in the family. Truth is I don't let fear or perceptions hold me back when I want to do something. At the end of the day I know I answer to myself, my family and the Lord, but not to anybody else. And bein' able to remember that ain't as easy as you might think.
So when I've got a referee in my face, or when my players are gettin' into fights with each other or somebody else, or when the sky is falling, I don't sit around and wait 'cause I'm scared or I don't know what to do. I get out there and I deal with the situation. Maybe I don't do it real well all the time but I try my hardest. And that's what's important. You can't ask for perfection, but you sure as heck can ask for the best effort.
Anything less, well -- that's just foolish too.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 231 |
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| TM: celebrate (237) |
[Jun. 29th, 2008|01:05 pm] |
It's your birthday! If anything were possible, what would be your perfect way to celebrate?
Winning the national championship.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 4 |
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| TM: standards and practices (236) |
[Jun. 29th, 2008|12:56 pm] |
What does respect mean to you?
Respect is something we don't get enough of. It's about caring about what happens to the person next to you. It's about looking somebody in the eye. And it has to be earned, though, sometimes even that ain't enough.
When I got my players together, none of them respected each other. They didn't even know each other, and all they saw was competition. People they shouldn't trust. But not only did they bring their game, they brought their brains. After some fightin' and some arguing, they learned to get along. They found out that the whole team could play. Not only could they play, but they stood for the same things. All the kids wanted to do was play their game and every single one of them could understand that.
There are still some people who won't give us any respect. I still remember getting blown off by Adolph Rupp in the airport. To him it doesn't matter what we did; it just matters what color my players are. One of these days, I'm going to see him again. And one of these days, we're gonna make him respect us.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 190 |
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| TM: stand your ground (235) |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|12:40 pm] |
Show us where you live.
This is where I'm probably expected to talk about the apartment, and the kids, and probably the furniture, 'cause that's where I actually live. And that'd be what most of you would think. Now I don't want to risk offending my wife, but I think Mary knows if we're talkin' about a place that makes me feel real alive, then we're talking about Memorial Gym more than anything else.
I love my family and they're the best thing that ever happened to me. Nothing is ever gonna change that. Truth is, though, I was put here to be a basketball coach. Don't really know anything else I could ever do with my life.
It's hard to explain to anyone who isn't involved in this, how it works and how it feels. It's a whole different world. It's just a game, but people invest a lot of time, money, effort and heart into it. They care when you win or lose. And off the court, it's a whole different thing. I've got to teach these boys how to be real men. How to care about the guy standing next to 'em. How to be who they want to be. I'm raisin' boys into men on that court. That's what makes me feel like I'm really doin' something.
When I come home at the end of the day, to my wife and my sons, to the place where I live, that's what helps me know that I'm not just takin' up space. That's what makes me feel like I have a purpose. I just gotta do it right.
Muse: Coach Don Haskins
Fandom: Glory Road/RPF
Word Count: 266 |
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