Most of you know this hasn't been the best few weeks of my life and to top it off yesterday I had 5 plumbers trying to fix a slab leak in my apartment all day yesterday and they had to come back today because it was still leaking after they left last night. Naturally I am angry and upset with that along with other events that I have become aware of, and I am thinking, man I guess things could always be worse, but how? Then I took a drive to get some dinner last night, nothing fancy just a ton of calories from Carl Jr's. It was a cool night in Vegas so I had the windows down. I approached a stoplight and saw a mother and two of her kids get off the bus and began crossing the street. The kids were decked out in full football gear, still wearing their helmets. I began to laugh as they were jumping up and down in the street holding their mothers hand, and she began to smile as well. I could hear them laughing and talking to each other. They reminded me of growing up and playing CYO sports and baseball at Warren Little League. As a kid I didn't have a care in the world. I just loved playing sports. I met most of my friends that I still have today through those times, but back to the family I saw. The two kids noticed a McDonald's on the corner of the street, and asked if they could have some. Their mother replied, "You know we can't afford that right now." You could see the dissapointment in her face as she said that along with the boys. They put their heads down and in a matter of seconds it looked like their day had been ruined. I wanted to be able to tell the boys what I've learned over the past few weeks.
Happiness in life can't be judged by how much money you have or don't have. What should matter to them is that they have a mother who cares about them and probably works atleast 1 job to put a roof over their heads and play football. Just as I've learned that I've always had a family and friends who care about me, especially these days. I would like to thank my family and REAL friends for being there for me the last few weeks. I appreciate it very much and hope I can return the favor someday. God Bless.
Charles Rogers: The Michigan State receiver who turned out to do a lot more pitching than catching, if you catch my drift. Rogers has 5 kids by 4 women as well. He had 2 kids by 2 different women before leaving high school! The 6-foot-3 wide receiver entered the NFL as a can’t-miss prospect that Matt Millen claimed would become the face of the Detroit Lions franchise (which, oddly turned out to be sort of true). Rogers was a complete and utter failure. He logged just 14 NFL games before leaving the league in 2005, just in time to collect his fifth mouth to feed and an arrest for passing out drunk at a Mexican restaurant in Michigan at three in the afternoon.
Derrick Thomas: The former Kansas City Chiefs linebacker had 7 kids by multiple women. He realized that he had screwed up multiple times and just flat out died. Way to take the easy way out Thomas.
I wonder how that timeout went when Butler was down 1 with 13 seconds left. I can see it going something like this. Brad Stevens says, “Ok we are going to isolate Mack and let him go one on one with his man.” After hearing this all the Butler players put their heads down. Coach Stevens asks, “What’s the matter?” Gordon Hayward lifts his head with sweat dripping from his face and says, “I’ll make it.” All the Butler players have their spirits lifted and Coach Stevens agrees to go with it. Ok, so that is probably not how the timeout went, but I can dream right? Hayward almost made the winning shot on two different occasions. If Hayward makes that half court shot at the buzzer, this game goes from a great title game to the best shot in NCAA history and the best game in NCAA history. No questions asked, this game would’ve been talked about for decades to come. People would begin to ask who is Christian Laettner. This game may still be talked about for years to come.
With one season ending it brings up questions for what is next for Butler. Will coach Stevens stay or leave? I know other programs will offer a ton of money to him, including Oregon who has a ton of Nike money and great facilities. Some say Hayward could turn pro, and if Stevens leaves I think that will influence Hayward. If Stevens and Hayward both stay, then they return 4 starters and will compete once again for a national title. An avid college basketball fan outside the Midwest has heard of Butler, but now the casual fan knows where Butler is at. Will this change the type of recruits Butler pursues? Will McDonald’s All Americans now consider going to Butler? All of these questions will begin to unfold soon, and I hope Butler continues to have similar success.
