With the NFL Draft happening earlier this year and the NBA Draft concluding Thursday, I started to reminisce about a dream that I had when I was a kid. I was going to play in either the NBA or the NFL. I was going to hit a growth spurt and get as tall as Michael Jordan – 6’6. I was going to play in high school, then in college and get drafted.
Elementary-aged me just knew Stuart Scott would interview me on ESPN; Fred Hickman on CNN. Dick Vitale would rave about my talent and tell everyone how I’d be “Awesome, baby, with a capital A!”
I wasn’t going to be the number one pick. I’d have probably been picked around the low point of the first round. I would get interviewed and thank my family for always believing in me. I’d say that my team would get a hard worker that would give his all for the team and for the fans. And then I’d embark on a journeyman-like career. I had it all figured out.
I told myself that from the time I was in elementary school. During P.E., we would play two-hand touch football or play what was roughly 11-on-11 basketball. We would make trades in the middle of the games so everyone got to play on the same team as everyone else. My P.E. teacher had a nickname for me when we played football. He always called me Haywood – after Houston Oilers tight end Haywood Jefferies. I was automatic at the five-yard line.
Basketball was big around my house, too. My dad is a huge basketball fan and I love it as much as he does. When we put up the hoop at our house, my cousins would come over and we’d play until we couldn’t see anymore.
We’d end up battling sticker burrs and goat’s heads as much as we battled each other on our court, but we’d have a great run in HORSE.
I got to junior high school, played both sports and was convinced that I’d play in college in at least one. I didn’t need to go to a big school; in fact, I preferred a small school so I would get an opportunity to compete. I loved Florida State football but I knew I’d never get to play for them. If I went to a smaller school, like the University of Toledo? I’d at least be able to compete! Comedian Katt Williams had a bit where he – known for being slightly height challenged – said he would lie to himself every day to feel confident.
“You’re looking very tall today,” he’d say to himself in the mirror. “You’re, what, 5’6 now?”
This is the part where I admit that junior high aged, 5’10, (redacted) lb. me lied to myself a bit. “You were really fast on the field today! You could have run down Emmitt Smith!”
Or, “You were only a foot from dunking on that regulation sized goal!”
A few things happened – or didn’t happen – to deter my dream.
First: The growth spurt happened in the wrong area. I grew to six feet tall! The trouble was that I also grew out.
By the time I hit fourth grade, Happy Meals weren’t making me happy because they weren’t big enough. (I guarantee my parents laughed reading that sentence. I actually told them that.) Cheeseburgers are delicious and I may have had a few.
Second: In both sports, I had heart. I was tenacious. I was never going to give up on a play.
I also wasn’t very fast.
That one hurt me. My dad and several of his brothers ran track. My mom’s brother ran track and got a scholarship to the University of Central Arkansas. There was speed in my family!
And I got absolutely none of it!
I have what I call “fear speed.” If I’m running from something, I’m running fast. But when I stop, I’m pretty well finished with running for a bit. I’m in okay shape – or at least something resembling it – but speed was never my thing.
My cousin ended up starting at running back on the state championship team at Pewitt and let it be said that I never even remotely came close to catching him in a race. I can admit that.
Injuries happened and my sports dreams were mostly dashed. I played up until my freshman year of high school, but I was never far away from the game. I played intramural sports in college and had a lot of fun. But this isn’t me lamenting what could have been. I was a role player at best even when I did play. That was fine with me; we all have our jobs to do.
I admit that there are still days where I dream about my football or basketball career, but I love what I do. I try to learn more about offensive and defensive strategies in all of the sports I cover and watch. It helps me as a writer – it pays to dive deep into strategy to enhance a story. I’m big into sports statistics, and it helps.
I may never get to lift a trophy, but I have as much fun staying near the sports I love and writing about it for an audience.
Still, I wouldn’t mind a pro-style contract. Bills are expensive!
WITH THE (ACTUAL) 1ST PICK...
Unsurprisingly, the New Orleans Pelicans selected Duke’s Zion Williamson with the first pick of this year’s NBA Draft, held Thursday in Brooklyn. Zion got emotional when talking about the sacrifices made by his mother to get him where he wanted to be.
Then Murray State’s Ja Morant was selected second by the Memphis Grizzlies and he got emotional as he talked about his father’s work to get him to the league. After that, several players spoke glowingly about their families. Duke’s R.J. Barrett broke down when his father spoke about how proud he was. Washington’s Matisse Thybulle cried talking about his late mother, who died of cancer. USC’s Kevin Porter Jr. teared up talking about his father, who was shot and killed when Kevin Jr. was four.
It’s easy to watch these amazing athletes and root for them when they play for the teams we love or jeer them when they play for teams we don’t like. I’ve always been fans of the backstory behind athletes. We see them on the courts and on the fields, but I like knowing the obstacles they’ve overcome.
I know I rooted against Zion in college – I’ve never been a Duke fan. But I hope the best for him and all the other rookies in the league – except when they play the Spurs, Mavs or Rockets.
THE THRILL OF VICTORY
As you read this article, the Women’s World Cup has started its knockout rounds and all the favorites are still alive: the U.S., France, England, Sweden, Brazil, Canada and the Netherlands.
There are still a few underdogs in the mix such as Italy, Cameroon and Nigeria.
A video made the rounds on social media earlier this week of the Nigerian team, known as the Super Falcons, finding out they made the knockout rounds. Nigeria advanced after their goal differential was higher than that of Chile’s. They had to wait a day to ensure that Chile didn’t beat Thailand by more than three goals. When Chile won, 2-0, Nigeria’s place was secured.
The team celebrated, with many players and coaches bursting into tears because they were so excited to be moving on – to have a chance to shock the world.
Admittedly, they may not win the World Cup. It’s a tough field.
But that joy to have a chance? It was awesome to see. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming big.