the real hondo
When I first started this blog I had three goals. First, to discuss relevant and sometimes controversial issues in a provocative, aggressive, and entertaining way. Second, to clearly illustrate the stark differences between Christian conservatism and modern liberalism, and to illustrate the absolute absurdity of the liberal mindset. Third, to accomplish all of this without putting me or my family in any danger. If you have read some of the comments posted by certain "fans" on this site, you can understand my concern! I made the decision right from the outset to use an obviously fake name so that nobody could track me down. (Note: Isn't it interesting that liberals talk all the time about tolerance, but they would kill you in a heartbeat for having a different opinion if they had the chance.) The name I chose was "Hondo". Let me tell you why.
John "Hondo" Havlicek starred for the Boston Celtics from 1962-1978. The 6-5, 205 lbs. guard/forward was the first player in NBA history to score 1000 points in 16 consecutive seasons. In 1270 regular season games, Hondo scored 26,395 points and averaged 20.8 points to rank as the Celtics all-time leading scorer and as the sixth-highest scorer in NBA history. He also grabbed 8007 rebounds, recorded 6114 assists, and played on eight Boston world-championship teams. He appeared in 13 consecutive NBA All-Star Games, earned 11 selections to the All-NBA First or Second Team, was named to the NBA All-Defensive First or Second teams eight times, and was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1974. In 1996, Havlicek was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. As a kid growing up, Hondo was one of my sports heroes. The numbers I just listed show that Havlicek was a great player, but the numbers weren't the reason why I idolized #17. It was his determination, his work ethic, his leadership, his integrity, and his inhuman endurance that drew my admiration.
Havlicek, the child of Czechoslovakian immigrants, was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio. It wasn't the "suburbs" by any means; most of the people in that town worked either in the coal mines or the steel mill. They didn't have much money, but they loved each other and they knew the value of hard work. Hondo learned about hard work very early. He once said that he developed his almost freakish endurance and running ability because his parents couldn't afford to buy him a bicycle. He had to keep up with his bike-riding buddies on foot.
Hondo was a high school All-State athlete in football, basketball, and baseball, and he was a collegiate All-American in basketball at Ohio State. Despite his athletic success, the Celtics didn't have real high expectations for him as a pro. Celtics Coach Red Auerbach viewed Havlicek as a guy who could expect to be a moderately successful sub. Celtics guard Bob Cousy saw Hondo as a "non-shooter who would probably burn himself out." Those predictions would have been accurate if Havlicek hadn't had such a burning desire to succeed. After his rookie season, Havlicek spent the entire off-season working from dawn to dusk on his shooting and dribbling. He came back to lead the Celtics in scoring during his second season as the first sub off the bench.
Hondo's trademark was his non-stop running, his perpetual motion, during games. It was once estimated that he ran 3-5 miles during an average game. New York Knicks Coach Red Holtzman once said, "On stamina alone he'd be among the top players who ever played the game. It would've been fair to those who had to play him or those who had to coach against him if he had been blessed only with his inhuman endurance. God had to compound it by making him a good scorer, smart ballhandler, and intelligent defensive player with quickness of mind, hands and feet." I would add to that "tremendous work ethic."
Hondo Havlicek was proof to me as a child that hard work is rewarded. Yes, he had talent. You don't play in the NBA unless you have talent. The thing with Havlicek, though, was that he was never the biggest, or the fastest, or the strongest, or the most athletic player in the NBA. Every year, there were guys in the league with more talent. There was never anyone in the NBA with a bigger heart, more determination, or more passion for the game. John Havlicek was a poor kid in an immigrant family who succeeded, not because of government handouts, but because he out-worked everybody else, and because he was a man of integrity. Red Auerbach paid him the ultimate compliment at the end of Hondo's career--"He epitomizes everything good. If I had a son like John I'd be the happiest man in the world."
John "Hondo" Havlicek starred for the Boston Celtics from 1962-1978. The 6-5, 205 lbs. guard/forward was the first player in NBA history to score 1000 points in 16 consecutive seasons. In 1270 regular season games, Hondo scored 26,395 points and averaged 20.8 points to rank as the Celtics all-time leading scorer and as the sixth-highest scorer in NBA history. He also grabbed 8007 rebounds, recorded 6114 assists, and played on eight Boston world-championship teams. He appeared in 13 consecutive NBA All-Star Games, earned 11 selections to the All-NBA First or Second Team, was named to the NBA All-Defensive First or Second teams eight times, and was named the NBA Finals MVP in 1974. In 1996, Havlicek was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History. As a kid growing up, Hondo was one of my sports heroes. The numbers I just listed show that Havlicek was a great player, but the numbers weren't the reason why I idolized #17. It was his determination, his work ethic, his leadership, his integrity, and his inhuman endurance that drew my admiration.
Havlicek, the child of Czechoslovakian immigrants, was born in Martins Ferry, Ohio. It wasn't the "suburbs" by any means; most of the people in that town worked either in the coal mines or the steel mill. They didn't have much money, but they loved each other and they knew the value of hard work. Hondo learned about hard work very early. He once said that he developed his almost freakish endurance and running ability because his parents couldn't afford to buy him a bicycle. He had to keep up with his bike-riding buddies on foot.
Hondo was a high school All-State athlete in football, basketball, and baseball, and he was a collegiate All-American in basketball at Ohio State. Despite his athletic success, the Celtics didn't have real high expectations for him as a pro. Celtics Coach Red Auerbach viewed Havlicek as a guy who could expect to be a moderately successful sub. Celtics guard Bob Cousy saw Hondo as a "non-shooter who would probably burn himself out." Those predictions would have been accurate if Havlicek hadn't had such a burning desire to succeed. After his rookie season, Havlicek spent the entire off-season working from dawn to dusk on his shooting and dribbling. He came back to lead the Celtics in scoring during his second season as the first sub off the bench.
Hondo's trademark was his non-stop running, his perpetual motion, during games. It was once estimated that he ran 3-5 miles during an average game. New York Knicks Coach Red Holtzman once said, "On stamina alone he'd be among the top players who ever played the game. It would've been fair to those who had to play him or those who had to coach against him if he had been blessed only with his inhuman endurance. God had to compound it by making him a good scorer, smart ballhandler, and intelligent defensive player with quickness of mind, hands and feet." I would add to that "tremendous work ethic."
Hondo Havlicek was proof to me as a child that hard work is rewarded. Yes, he had talent. You don't play in the NBA unless you have talent. The thing with Havlicek, though, was that he was never the biggest, or the fastest, or the strongest, or the most athletic player in the NBA. Every year, there were guys in the league with more talent. There was never anyone in the NBA with a bigger heart, more determination, or more passion for the game. John Havlicek was a poor kid in an immigrant family who succeeded, not because of government handouts, but because he out-worked everybody else, and because he was a man of integrity. Red Auerbach paid him the ultimate compliment at the end of Hondo's career--"He epitomizes everything good. If I had a son like John I'd be the happiest man in the world."
posted by hondo at 8:36 PM
4 Comments:
You know what I remember about Havlicek? He was so SQUARE and WHITE! He wore his hair in a crewcut in the late 60s-early 70s when everyone else was starting to go shaggy and the black players had the wild Afros like Dr. J, right? And his skin was SO white that he looked nearly phosphorescent? I seem to recall that from his basketball card. (I collected baseball, football and basketball cards fanatically from 1967-70 when I was a kid. Baltimore Bullets fan myself.) Is my memory playing tricks on me? If I've got it right, "Hondo" would be you, mate.
I've been on holiday to Europe for three weeks. It's nice to be a liberal with money, living in a country where we get 7 weeks' vacation a year. Your blog is as boring as usual, Hondo. I don't see many comments in the parts I've been able to view. Now that I'm back to Australia, I thought I'd give your hit count a boostm by slagging you a bit...
Bukko has provided us with a teachable moment with his comments. The point of my post about Havlicek was that, contrary to the liberal paradigm, a person doesn't need government programs or taxpayer-funded handouts to succeed. Success is attainable to anyone who is willing to work hard. Of course, that point went right over the head of the Austrailian Liberal. All Bukko contributed to the discussion were wisecracks about Havlicek's skin color. (Question: Why are liberals so obsessed with the color of a person's skin? I, along with my conservative friends, prefer to focus on the content of one's character.) The lesson here is that, when a conservative states a clearly verifiable fact that contradicts a liberal lie, the liberal will always ignore the truth and focus instead on rhetoric and personal attacks. Here endeth the lesson.
I must admit that I was wrong about Havlicek's appearance. He wasn't that square with bad hair. I Googled him -- thank Gore for the Internet! The answers to anything, right at out fingertips! -- and his 'do looked kinda hip. When I run over the mental picture I had, I think I was getting mixed up with a shot on one of my AFL cards. (Remember the American Football league? My Mom never threw away my card collections when I left home, and I got to go through all the old cards when I was getting rid of stuff before moving down here. And I only got $50 for the whole lot: baseball, football, basketball, rarities. Even Jack Kemp's AFL QB card. Card collecting ain't worth squat financially...)
Anyway, that should teach me never to offer an opinion where I'm not certain without Googling first. And liberals, unlike right-wing Kool-aide drinkers, aren't afraid to admit they were wrong.
Hey, where's your blog post about the NIE saying the invasion of Iraq INCREASED the terror threat? I don't get Fox "News" here, so I don't know what the right-wing spin on that is. I'm depending on you to defend the indefensible.
There's nothing to defend with the NIE report--everything in it, as far as I can tell, is true. The report says the following:
1. Our invasion of Iraq has drawn more terrorists to that country, and they are fighting fiercely to defeat us. My initial response to that was---Duh! Wasn't that part of the plan when we went into Iraq? Fight Islamofascism there instead of here? So far, so good, I say.
2. The second thing that the report said was that if we "cut and run", the Islamofascist terrorists will perceive that as weakness and will become stronger. I agree. We can't let the gutless liberals talk us in to surrender.
3. The third thing the report said was that, if we continue to fight, if we continue to increase the pressure on the terrorists, it will make recruiting harder for them and they will eventually weaken. I agree with that as well.
As far as i can tell, Bukko, there is nothing in the report I disagree with, and nothing in it that supports the cut and run Democrats. thanks for asking, though.
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