In belated honor of Father's Day I thought I'd take up a sports theme. What could be more natural?!
I have to confess that I am sports fan. I don't watch a whole lot of sports on TV but I do read the sports page first (almost) every day. So sue me. What has caught my interest lately relates to the NBA finals. This was the finals where the latest "Dream Team" of super stars Lebron James, Dwane Wade and Chris Bosh was going to show everyone how it's done. Except they didn't.
One piece that stood out in a big way was how Lebron pretty much choked down the stretch. As he choked at exactly the moment he needed to step up, many of us sports fans were likely thinking about the discussion from the previous week. A sports news items had Scotty Pippen saying that Lebron might be better than Michael Jordan. Anyone who follows the NBA knows that Pippen was Jordan's right hand man. The phrase "Jordan and Pippen" was often heard during the time their team, the Chicago Bulls, were winning six NBA titles.
Lebron better than MJ? Really, Scotty? Now that the finals are over and Dallas triumphed in six games, Pippen's comment looks, shall we say, premature. The difference between Jordan and Lebron, at least so far, is that Jordan did whatever it took to win. To use the shoe mantra, he just did it.
To my eye, the major difference between MJ and Lebron has to do with the relationship they each had with their father.
I don't know exactly what kind of childhood Jordan had but as an adult he was very close to his father. In fact, it was after MJ's dad died (he was murdered) that Michael quit basketball (while at the height of his ability) and went to play semi-pro baseball for a few seasons. Basketball fans were incredulous. Apparently, Jordan had a close and loving relationship with his dad. It seems to me that one only comes to be close to one's dad as an adult if the whole childhood bit went pretty well. I am guessing that Michael's dad was a caring person who gave his son attention and love and supported him throughout his youth and into adulthood.
My understanding is that Lebron never really knew his dad. He was raised by his mother who was facing both poverty and, at times, drug addiction. A documentary called "More than a Game" depicts Lebron and several of his friends who played on highly successful basketball teams together from age 10 through high school. The coach of the team appears to be one of the few positive male role models Lebron ever had growing up.
Personally, I can relate to Lebron a lot more than I can to Michael. I had a close relationship to my dad in the first 3-4 years of my life. When I was five my parents divorced and I rarely saw my dad. At six he moved out of state and I never saw him again. He started out being a support to me; then he disappeared. There is a strong signature of that fact in relation to my consciousness, how I see myself, my basic self esteem. The path I take to achievement will be more like Lebron's than Michael's.
See, at those amazing moments when MJ sticks the jumper and leads his team to an NBA title, he has his dad behind him, holding him up. All the care and encouragement his dad gave him, all of the confidence his dad expressed towards him over the years, all that is there for Michael. It is what gives him that follow-through, that supreme confidence when everything is on the line. He is supported.
What I see with Lebron is that when he gets to those moments when everything is on the line, a gnawing, malicious voice comes up from his sub-conscious and asks, "Why did your daddy leave you?" Then he has to go out and make that shot that will win it all for his team, only he does it with a creature hanging on his back, trying to bring him down. He freezes. He asks himself, "Who am I to shine?" "Who am I to be the best at this game?" He chokes.
I can identify with his struggle. It is also my struggle. I hope Lebron can keep after it, that he can learn how to overcome the handicap of the cards he was dealt as a kid. I hope that the power of his spirit can be so bright that it outshines the creature on his back. I hope that he can come to a place where he knows he's a perfect child of God; that he knows his gifts on the court are among the limitless expressions of divine love; that even though his earthly father was not there for him, his father in heaven is, always.
I hope that for me too.
Maybe Lebron and I both can become the best in whatever it is we each are meant do. It sure looks like basketball is what Lebron's meant to do. I am still trying to figure it out for myself.
Sorry Michael, I think you are amazing, but I am rooting for Lebron from here on out.
Your comments are welcome.
Warmly, Ben
No comments:
Post a Comment