LeBron... the student.
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Bird… the teacher!
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@drgnslayr AWESOME Video / Documentary !!! Thank You !!
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Bird and Magic, Magic and Bird: You have to have lived in Michigan, or Indiana, to fully get these guys. I lived in Michigan awhile, and my family migrated from Indiana to Kansas. Outside of KU players, I love these two as much as any. Before Bird’s back injury, he and Magic were the best of their time. After, Magic was better. America is several regional cultures bound together. I get the Midwest, so I get these guys better than MJ and Barkley, say. Outside KU guys, Bird and Magic were the MEN of their time. GIANTS.
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I like the personal story here and how he developed his own chip.
How can a guy NOT develop a chip coming from a town with the name “French Lick?”
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It’s gonna be over 100 today with our everpresent humidity. Maybe I’ll take the time to watch this today because I’m sure not going outside!
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Bird’s dad committing suicide and Bird deciding they were probably better off without him, pretty much sums up how hard he was from an early Age. A lot of people don’t understand hard. Like high IQ, until you have been around it, you don’t get it. Self is a hard man. Bird was diamond hard. Hard men make hard choices with grave consequences knowing they can cut both ways and don’t look back. They play for money and whatever else there is of value. Bird leaving Knight was two hard men parting ways. Bird says he was afraid and he was. But most scared kids would have stayed. Only the hard ones playing for all the marbles from the beginning ever would have left and walked into potential oblivion. All the NBA guys that appeared in that documentary knew and respected that hardness. Earvin and Julius and Ainge and Parrish and Maxwell and Carr and Isaiah were most definitely hard. Those that refused to appear had their pride hurt by it. I bet Bird loved knowing he was too hard for the ones that refused to appear. The truly hard can always respect another hard man, even when they don’t like them. It’s only the princes and the princes that become kings that struggle with it.
Hard men can be sunnsabitches. But they have a code. Ask no quarter. Give none. It seems archaic till you get to know one. Then you realize they are the gold standard, whether the pencil necks outlawed the gold standard or not.
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@drgnslayr That video was really really cool.
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I thought so, too. I think it addresses the usually-overlooked “intangibles” of what makes a player great. It is easy to look at stats and some highlight tape and judge a player’s greatness by those tangible items. But what drives a player to win? How can slow guys that can’t jump (Bird) dominate a game of high flyers possessing the very best athleticism available on our planet?
I would love to see just one little “bird” come to Lawrence… just one… just once. A guy who will make everyone else much better and also has a burning desire to win. Someone to leave his legacy, a legacy that future players look up to and try to mimic.
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@drgnslayr I thought it was interesting also that Bird chose to stay in college all four years. He could have bailed early so he could take care of his family but he didnt.
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@Lulufulu It was a different time then though. Yea he would make a lot of money going pro, but nothing like today. Players today make more than the salary cap itself when Bird was playing. So, staying in college to get a degree made a lot more sense back then.
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The money is relative to the time period, not bringing forward to today for comparison. How much was a gallon of gas when Bird played at ISU? Maybe 40-cents?
I’m not arguing with you… but to compare the times involves a lengthy consideration. There are many factors involved. I’m thinking it may have been riskier back in Bird’s day concerning injuries. I know there is a big difference in what doctors can do today versus back then. Sports medicine (and medicine in general) has come along ways in the last few decades. And what about the advancement of training methods? Athletes are not only stronger today, but they bounce back quicker through advancements in rehab.
A big factor was the trends at that time where few players left college early for the pros. Many kids today have a disease… “can’t wait -itis.” Instant gratification rules the day. How many people today would trade receiving $10 mil in 3 years for an instant $ mil now? I bet MOST people would.
I’m not sure of this, and maybe someone here can help me… but back in Bird’s day, was the entire 1st round picks guaranteed a guaranteed contract (with salary minimums)? I’m thinking the answer is no.
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Yes and no. Bird signed a 5 year contract that paid him $650k per year starting in 1979 (he was selected in 1978 ) and he was the highest paid rookie ever. Now the top rookie makes close to $5M. So yes there were different times but inflation has not increased that much. According to the inflation calculator, $650k in 1979 would be the equivalent of $2.1M now…a long ways from $5M
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No question, the players are getting more. But without mentioning the difference from inflated times is like saying it is the same. A lot has gone into player agency and union representation since Bird’s day… and it shows!
