A Little about Life and Basketball
Posted by Aragoen Celtdra on February 23rd, 2009
The game of basketball is a funny thing. When you are on the court, you and a team of foul-mouthed, rough brutes try to best another team of equal ferocity. In the heat of the moment you sometimes get carried away and let all inhibitions loose. Funny thing about it is that after the game, all that display of machisimo and warrior mentality is quickly suppressed back to its dormant state. Everyone is back to their refined, “responsible-citizen” persona.
I had a basketball game last night, in a league I’ve been playing in for the last few years. I sorta got into a little elbowing match with another player. He was going after a loose ball and I “sorta” held him so that I can gain an advantage on getting the ball first. Rightfully so, the ref called a foul on me and I conceded knowing full well that I committed the infraction. The opposing player, however, did not appreciate me holding him and from then on, he made it a personal mission throughout the game to “express” his feelings towards me. Every chance he got, he tugged on my jersey (one time, so hard that it ripped a seam), elbowed me in the back whenever I posted him up, and talked trash to try to get into my head.
Of course, I returned the favor.
The point isn’t really about barbarism or heroism on the court (or the field, if you like football). It really is about knowing your place at the right time and the right moment. The opposing dude and I were going at it for the duration of the game. But we also realize that this is a game. Just a game. This has nothing to do with what life is about or what the outcome of the game has to do with you in the real world – they won by the way. We may try to get the better of each other through intimidation, aggressive play, or pure skill. But in the end, we are all the same and equal.
After the game I went into the restroom to wash up and change. The same person with whom I was scuffling with just earlier entered the rest room while I was… well doing what most do when in the restroom :) After a brief moment of silence, we just started talking like we were old friends. As if nothing ever transpired between us just moments earlier. There was no “I apologize I was a little rough out there” or “my bad for introducing my elbow to your face” or “you suck”. There was an unspoken code of conduct that we just instinctively understood.
What the hell am I talking about?
I’ve been getting a lot of opportunities to interact with different engineers (networking, Cisco, etc) in my profession with whom I hold certain admiration for – via twitter, blogs, etc. These are folks who have greater experience than I; some even CCIEs. These are people who I want to be like someday – like that 80s jingle, “I wanna be like Mike”. The more I get to interact with them the more I realize their humanness and that there is not much that separate us outside of our profession. They may be a whole lot better than I in maximizing efficient BGP routes and configuring prefix filtering. But in the real world, there is an understanding between us engineers that what you know in your profession doesn’t make you any better than the next. We all discuss things like cars, movies, the weather, etc like nothing separates us despite our paygrade or skill level. It could be intimidating to even talk to them or ask them question sometimes for fear of sounding stupid. But take away BGP, take away OSPF.. or IS-IS or anything networking… and we’re all the same scared and unsure people trying to figure out the next step.
It’s kinda like basketball.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:21 am
G, I will say it again and again. You need to write for somebody dude. You have it all going on with that writing stuff. You are a natural at it! Some day I predict you will write for some column. I am sure you will be a big writer some day. Serious.
But I agree with you on what you said. We all are the same. We all take a dump from time to time no matter who we are CCIE to CCENT.
You remind me of the time I worked for the U-2 Spy plane squadron in the USAF at Beale AFB, CA. I was stationed there and we had huge big 5 star generals arrive and party there and secretary of defense showed up there. I worked with generals and colonels and man these guys and gals were tight! But they laughed had family issues and well, were human just like me. They just worked very hard to get where they wanted to go. And I evelated them, they deserved their position of greatness. I talked with them and learned that they played the life game. They finished their college, finished their credentials, and worked hard to succeed.
In addition to what you said, I believe if you work at getting your credentials and love what you do, you willl find what you are looking for.
-Robert (itdaddy)
ps. keep you Aerogon name for your columns that you write some day. It is cool!
March 5th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I know about you mean about basketball being a reflection of life.
When I am on the court, my dribble is the rhythm of my heart. If you are going to do anything, you might s well do it passionately. And so my playing days in highschool and college became a logical outgrowth of this philosophy.
When I am playing, I feel invincible. The opposing team is nothing more than an obstacle. If I get into a pushing match with another player, I am not attacking the individual, but the obstacle. Sometimes I lose my head, an argument breaks out, someone throws an elbow, its all part of the game. Passion brings out our best and worst emotions. In a good game, our warrior selves come out. There is nothing the other team can do to provoke you. But when you are losing, or playing poorly, frustration becomes a factor. And if you are not the type of person who punishes yourself, you’ll resort to retaliation.
As the years accrue over my once youthful life, I’m realizing more and more everyday that game persona is an outward manifestation of my passionate self. When I really want to win, I’ll do anything, even if that involves trash talk. In life, when I really want a job, a certain girl, or respect at the office, I make it my mission to get it. Anyone who gets in my way is just an obstacle.
So at the end of the day, each game is its own battle. The wounds make me stronger warrior. And if I don’t win that particular game, the memory becomes a part of my repertoire and I’ll use it as a weapon to ensure that I never lose the same way again.
Nevertheless, as for real battles, I’ve always subscribed to the philosophy of: ‘whatever happens on the court, stays on the court.’ I play with my friends all the time. I know their weaknesses and I attack them. At the end of the game, they respect me for my warrior spirit.
It is this philosophy that has made me a strong, successful individual. I suspect you are the same kind.
-Jordan