An All Time Great Speech

Vince Lombardi is one of the all-time great football coaches. The following is one of the best speeches he ever gave.

“Winning is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You don’t win once in a while; you don’t do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.

“There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that’s first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don’t ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.

“Every time a football player goes to play his trade he’s got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That’s O.K. You’ve got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you’ve got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you’re lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he’s never going to come off the field second.

“Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don’t think it is.

“It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That’s why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.

“And in truth, I’ve never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn’t appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.

“I don’t say these things because I believe in the ‘brute’ nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he’s exhausted on the field of battle - victorious.”

–Vince Lombardi

Happy New Year - The Year in Review

Sports And Politics

Ben Shapiro has a great article today about the relationship between sports and politics.

Glorification of sports above all else -- sports as unifying factor, bringing men together to celebrate our common humanity -- is an egregious misreading of the value of sports. Sports, at the end of the day, are entertainment. Sports may display our common DNA structure, but they surely fail to demonstrate our common humanity -- some humans are inhuman. Sports solve no great moral dilemmas. Sports are not politics.

Read the entire Townhall article here.

The Intolerance Of Intolerance

Former NBA star Tim Hardaway announced during a radio show Wednesday that he doesn't like homosexuals when asked how he would respond to a teammate coming out of the closet. As can be expected the backlash to his comment has been incredible. The NBA has banned Hardaway from participating in this weekend's All-Star game festivities do to his so-called 'intolerance'. Hardaway has a First Amendment right just like the rest of us, so why is the NBA being so intolerant of him for voicing his personal opinion when asked it? What should he do, lie? Pretend that the practice of sodomizing another man is morally decent? Whenever a homosexual activist such as Rosie O'Donnell expresses her personal belief by bashing Christianity no one is saying that she is intolerant or bigoted. So why is there such a double standard for those who actually have a moral belief system and buck the politically correct crowd? The PC left is completely hypocritical in that by denouncing anyone who is considered "intolerant" they are being intolerant of intolerance!

Lose A Bet, Change Your Name

Chicago Bears fan Scott Wiese made a bet he's now regretting. The 26 year old die-hard Bears fan signed a pledge in front of a crowd at a local bar last Friday night to legally change his name to "Peyton Manning" if Chicago lost to the Indianapolis Colts in last Sunday's Super Bowl. When asked about the decision Wiese responded, "I made the bet, and now I've got to keep it." Sounds like a stand up guy who's true to his word. Too bad he's got no common sense when it comes to the Bears and alcohol!

Super Bowl Racial Politics

With all the media hype that leads up to the Super Bowl every year, you know there is going to be some type of politicization surrounding the big game, and of course, this year was no exception. Michelle Malkin has the goods on the Prudential Ad that the NY Times claims is directly linked to the war in Iraq. Of course it's just a ridiculous accusation to push their ongoing political agenda.

What I find to be the most polarizing and politically repugnant use of the game is the race card. Yes the race card. Of all the media hubbub surrounding the Super Bowl, the one aspect that gained more attention than any other was the fact that it was the first time in history that both teams are led by black head coaches. Is this a great accomplishment? Of course, it's always a tremendous accomplishment for anyone to make it to the Super Bowl. However, when we as a society say that it is of greater significance and importance for one race to accomplish something than it is for another, this does nothing but breed racial disparity and inequality. In this day and age there are not very many people who actually believe there is a fundamental difference between a human being based solely on his color. When the media constantly brings up differences between us and what we've accomplished it creates a resentment that makes us focus on what we don't have, instead of what we have been blessed with.

I read an article online last week where a 'racial studies professor' at a state university in New York commented about the Super Bowl coaches, "this is a great day for the 'black community'". What the hell is the black community? What if I made the comment that this is a great day for the 'white community' because both quarterbacks in the Super Bowl are white? Well, I would be called a bigot, a racist, every name in the book. Why? because I'm not a 'minority.' Double standards. That's what it comes down to.

So back to the commercials. A plethora of 'black history month' commercials abounded during the Super Bowl. What is 'black history', or for that matter, what is 'white history'? History is not separated based upon race, color, or creed, only upon the actual events that happened at a certain time, in a certain place, to a certain amount of people. To place all those with dark skin under one heading does a huge disservice to them, just as it would to place all those with light skin under a separate heading.

We've got to stop beating the dead horse of affirming those based upon their race, and not upon their accomplishments. If we want justice and equality for all then we must end the racism of giving favor to those people who were disparaged against generations ago and reward them only for their successes today. Only then will there be true freedom and justice for all.

Mary Katharine Ham has a great piece today about all this.

"Minorities are getting lower grades than other students. Lower the standards! Minorities aren't getting into colleges at the same rates as other students. Give them special race-based admissions programs! Minorities need help. Give them expensive social programs of questionable efficacy!

The liberal solution to these problems has never been one that grants minorities the dignity of achieving success. In fact, it assumes they are incapable of achieving it without extensive help from liberal government programs."

And there you have it. Exactly what I've been trying to say!

The Ultimate Thug League

Last night at the end of the Denver Nuggets vs. New York Knicks game the following brawl erupted. One more reason why the NBA is the worst league in sports. The players in the league today are a far cry from Magic, Bird, Jordan, Robinson, etc. of yesterday who showed nothing but class on the court. The NBA is now a league of thugs, over-paid crybabies, and wanna-be gang-bangers who need to learn some dignity, honor, and basic human respect.