Jimmy V
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@brooksmd your wife is a very special lady, not many people can do what she does!
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Thank you, Thank you very much. Thank you. Thatās the lowest Iāve ever seen Dick Vitale since the owner of the Detroit Pistons called him in and told him he should go into broadcasting.
The I canāt tell you what an honor it is, to even be mentioned in the same breath with Arthur Ashe. This is something I certainly will treasure forever. But, as it was said on the tape, and I also donāt have one of those things going with the cue cards, so Iām going to speak longer than anybody else has spoken tonight. Thatās the way it goes. Time is very precious to me. I donāt know how much I have left and I have some things that I would like to say. Hopefully, at the end, I will have said something that will be important to other people too.
But, I canāt help it. Now Iām fighting cancer, everybody knows that. People ask me all the time about how you go through your life and howās your day, and nothing is changed for me. As Dick said, Iām a very emotional and passionate man. I canāt help it. Thatās being the son of Rocco and Angelina Valvano. It comes with the territory. We hug, we kiss, we love. When people say to me how do you get through life or each day, itās the same thing. To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. Number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, thatās a full day. Thatās a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, youāre going to have something special.
I rode on the plane up today with Mike Krzyzewski, my good friend and wonderful coach. People donāt realize heās ten times a better person than he is a coach, and we know heās a great coach. Heās meant a lot to me in these last five or six months with my battle. But when I look at Mike, I think, we competed against each other as players. I coached against him for fifteen years, and I always have to think about whatās important in life to me are these three things. Where you started, where you are and where youāre going to be. Those are the three things that I try to do every day. When I think about getting up and giving a speech, I canāt help it. I have to remember the first speech I ever gave.
I was coaching at Rutgers University, that was my first job, oh thatās wonderful (reaction to applause), and I was the freshman coach. Thatās when freshmen played on freshman teams, and I was so fired up about my first job. I see Lou Holtz here. Coach Holtz, who doesnāt like the very first job you had? The very first time you stood in the locker room to give a pep talk. Thatās a special place, the locker room, for a coach to give a talk. So my idol as a coach was Vince Lombardi, and I read this book called āCommitment To Excellenceā by Vince Lombardi. And in the book, Lombardi talked about the fist time he spoke before his Green Bay Packers team in the locker room, and they were perennial losers. Iām reading this and Lombardi said he was thinking should it be a long talk, or a short talk? But he wanted it to be emotional, so it would be brief. So hereās what I did. Normally you get in the locker room, I donāt know, twenty-five minutes, a half hour before the team takes the field, you do your little x and oās, and then you give the great Knute Rockne talk. We all do. Speech number eight-four. You pull them right out, you get ready. You get your squad ready. Well, this is the first one I ever gave and I read this thing. Lombardi, what he said was he didnāt go in, he waited. His team wondering, where is he? Where is this great coach? Heās not there. Ten minutes heās still not there. Three minutes before they could take the field Lombardi comes in, bangs the door open, and I think you all remember what great presence he had, great presence. He walked in and he walked back and forth, like this, just walked, staring at the players. He said, āAll eyes on me.ā Iām reading this in this book. Iām getting this picture of Lombardi before his first game and he said āGentlemen, we will be successful this year, if you can focus on three things, and three things only. Your family, your religion and the Green Bay Packers.ā They knocked the walls down and the rest was history. I said, thatās beautiful. Iām going to do that. Your family, your religion and Rutgers basketball. Thatās it. I had it. Listen, Iām twenty-one years old. The kids Iām coaching are nineteen, and Iām going to be the greatest coach in the world, the next Lombardi. Iām practicing outside of the locker room and the managers tell me you got to go in. Not yet, not yet, family, religion, Rutgers Basketball. All eyes on me. I got it, I got it. Then finally he said, three minutes, I said fine. True story. I go to knock the doors open just like Lombardi. Boom! They donāt open. I almost broke my arm. Now I was down, the players were looking. Help the coach out, help him out. Now I did like Lombardi, I walked back and forth, and I was going like that with my arm getting the feeling back in it. Finally I said, āGentlemen, all eyes on me.ā These kids wanted to play, theyāre nineteen. āLetās go,ā I said. āGentlemen, weāll be successful this year if you can focus on three things, and three things only. Your family, your religion and the Green Bay Packers,ā I told them. I did that. I remember that. I remember where I came from.
Itās so important to know where you are. I know where I am right now. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. You have to be willing to work for it.
I talked about my family, my familyās so important. People think I have courage. The courage in my family are my wife Pam, my three daughters, here, Nicole, Jamie, LeeAnn, my mom, whoās right here too. That screen is flashing up there thirty seconds like I care about that screen right now, huh? I got tumors all over my body. Iām worried about some guy in the back going thirty seconds? You got a lot, hey va fa napoli, buddy. You got a lot.
I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get your emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and as Ralph Waldo Emerson said, āNothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm,ā to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality.
Now I look at where I am now and I know what I want to do. What I would like to be able to do is spend whatever time I have left and to give, and maybe, some hope to others. Arthur Ashe Foundation is a wonderful thing, and AIDS, the amount of money pouring in for AIDS is not enough, but is significant. But if I told you itās ten times the amount that goes in for cancer research. I also told you that five hundred thousand people will die this year of cancer. I also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease, and yet somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background. I want to bring it back on the front table. We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my childrenās lives. It may save someone you love. And ESPN has been so kind to support me in this endeavor and allow me to announce tonight, that with ESPNās support, which means what? Their money and their dollars and theyāre helping me-we are starting the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. And its motto is āDonāt give up, donāt ever give up.ā Thatās what Iām going to try to do every minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and the moment I have. If you see me, smile and give me a hug. Thatās important to me too. But try if you can to support, whether itās AIDS or the cancer foundation, so that someone else might survive, might prosper and might actually be cured of this dreaded disease. I canāt thank ESPN enough for allowing this to happen. Iām going to work as hard as I can for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, weāll have some cures and some breakthroughs. Iād like to think, Iām going to fight my brains out to be back here again next year for the Arthur Ashe recipient. I want to give it next year!
I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I want to say it again. Cancer can take away all my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever.
I thank you and God bless you all.
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I had to post the whole thing for everyone here. It is one of if not the most moving speech Iāve ever heard, and once youāve really listened to it, when you read it you feel the power of it all over again.
Iāve used this speech in my own life many times, I think any sports fan that has ever had any health issues probably has. There are great lines in it, great messages in it and it has so much soul in it that it will move you to tears.
If you ever get to watch the 30 for 30 on ESPN about the NCST national title team and when his players talk about him, and about the last time he was at NCST it will knock your your eye sockets for another loop.
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Iām very grateful to be on this site with all of you.
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I remember on the āotherā site it was taboo to talk about anything other than sports. KU sports.
I love the talk about sports on this site. There are many insightful and entertaining contributors.
I ***cherish *** the non-sports talk that takes place here.
You guys and gals are the best.
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Someone said this a while back on here, but this is my social media site. I donāt Facebook, or tweet.
I KUBucket
I will probably never meet anyone here face to face, and if our paths crossed we would never know it, well except say I was at bar and this guy went on 10 minute rants about shoes and other random things, I would have to ask if his nick name was @jaybate 1.0, or if there was someone that was over analyzing things but with a good cause I might tend to think it was @HighEliteMajor.
But this group of posters is a good group, we all agree and disagree and keep it civil and fun.
If some one is missing for awhile questions are asked, messages sent to find out whats up.
We can share our thoughts on this years team, our memories of games, places, players, each other, life, and well whats on our mind.
Thank you all for being Jayhawks
hear hear.
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@JRyman Whatās facebook? And I thought birds tweet.
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@nuleafjhawk Right back attcha.
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Speaking of non-sports related topics, does anyone have any ideas or opinions on who KUās next football coach will be ?
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No clue although I like Bowen and he wouldnāt leave KU.
It will be interesting to watch the musical chairs hitting the Power 5.
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@nuleafjhawk Geez Iām dense. I just figured out the joke in your post.
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@globaljaybird
Th Olathe School District is first rate at ll levels. Now we have Olathe West under construction.
Unfortunately Olathe North West was recently rocked by a tragedy when two student committed suicide with days of each other. No question it was tragedy for the school, the district and the community at large.
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@JRyman You know Coach K? Wow. thats cool. Iāve a lot of respect for him. Even more now.
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@nuleafjhawk There are girls posting on this site?
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@JayHawkFanToo Man, Olathe West? Youāve got to be kidding. I went to Olathe South. At that time there was only Olathe North, South and East had opened the year before I graduated.
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@nuleafjhawk said:
Speaking of non-sports related topics, does anyone have any ideas or opinions on who KUās next football coach will be ?
It wonāt be Mike Riley of Oregon State, he just got hired by Nebraska. Talk about laughable and underwhelming.
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Whenever I hear Jimmy Vās speech I get emotional. I was a fan of his ever since I got to meet him when they played the Final Four at the Kingdome in '84. During the Friday practice sessions, I sat down in a section that turned out to be where the coaches were sitting tooā¦UNLVās Tarkanian and DePaulās Ray Meyer among them. Got a couple of great candid photos of V.
His speech really hits home this year. About a month ago I lost a loved one to cancerā¦an immensely talented dancer and choreographer. Even in her hospice bed she was still working out the steps for an upcoming performance with her friend and assistantā¦one that, thank God, she was able to watch on video the day before she died. As I watched her go through the final stages, I thought about Jim Valvano. āDonāt give up, donāt ever give up.ā And she didnātā¦all the way to the end.
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@nwhawkfan Iām very sorry for your loss. I need to learn to read this stuff when Iām at home, and not at work. Or keep a box of Kleenex at my deskā¦
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Yeap. They broke ground and it is schedule to open in 2017. It is roughly on Hwy 7 and 135th.
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@brooksmd Seems like the only thing birds do out here is eat my plums & poop on the windshields, sidewalks, & deck.
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@JayHawkFanToo In 1984 when we built our first new house on the NE side of Olathe there was only Brougham Elementary on the East side of I 35. Within 10 years there were at least 4 new schools just in that quadrant. Memorial Day weekend 1984 I caught my boys watching the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas with their telescope on the Twin Drive In big screen. I had to laugh at that but not in front of them. The nut doesnāt fall far, thatās for sure.
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@globaljaybird ha I thought it was apple, you guys have your own word!
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@brooksmd Wade was in remission for a year & then one day just collapsed. First time I walked in his hospital room I had to turn around & step out-I lost it. His father was outside & we held each other & balled like babies. He had come out just weeks before & watched a PPV fight with us.
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@brooksmd Was different with Mike. We all were real strong around him. He was too. He was a horse. Iād known him since I can remember. We drank beer together in old Municipal Stadium the first year the Royals played there. We had a race car together, our parents both worked together, my mother rented a house from them after my dad passed. We went to kindergarten together, graduated HS together, & married sisters.
His cancer had spread to his spine, hip & lungs. He smirked a little when they were installing his feeding tube & said āPhil, how am going to get steak & lobster in there?ā The last ādinnerā we had before the tube was from Woodyās Wood Fired Pizza in Joplin. Thatās how the name āDadās Handsome Woodrowā came about. His wife & daughter were both RNās on the staff of Freeman West in Joplin where he was treated & passed. The experience with Jakeās friend taught me how the disease would progress, but no one anticipated it would be so swift. He had been seeing a DO who was adjusting his upper back & that Dr was the one who finally sent him to the ER. They found three vertebrae in his thoracic spine were completely destroyed & one hip badly deteriorating. The Sunday night before his last scheduled chemo his son in law, one of my sons, & I changed out a motor in a Dodge Caravan & had the replacement in & running about 5 am. the next morning. We slept about 2-3 hrs & took him for his 3rd chemo but was so ill they readmitted him. The following Sat he passed. Even though the relentless results were the same, this was not a long, enduring, drawn out deterioration. It was very aggressive & quick. In many ways it is fortunate to happen this way. You never want to let go, but was beyond our grasp before we knew it. I believe that was probably the point in my life when I actually gained a true & accurate perspective & wisdom of what lies ahead. for us all. Damn, was 50+ years old & finally growing up, albeit the difficult way.
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@globaljaybird
dang you guys!
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@Crimsonorblue22 Sorry, please accept my apologies.
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@globaljaybird no need!! Just feeln bad for you guys!!! On a good note, I plan on heading to Lawrence to see game tomorrow.
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My favorite Jimmy V line: To a ref, āCan you give me a technical for what Iām thinking?ā Ref, āNo Jimmyā Jimmy, āI think you suckā. The ref broke his word!! Thanks for this thread Brooks, nice to see some other topics on here on occasion, even in the midst of a basketball season.
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@globaljaybird Itās a tough disease. My mom suffered through 2-3 years battling colon cancer. Like I mentioned, my wife with her training certainly helped the family through the final months.
On another note, @JRyman mentioned watching ESPNās 30-30 about NCSt National Championship. Got to watch it and dvr it last night. Jimmy V managed to get me to do in one hour, all three things he said you should do every day. The extra insight into his interaction with his players and his life has changed my opinion of him as a coach. But I still liked him better when he started tv commentary.
And finally to everyone who has lost family or friends to cancer my condolences and ask that we all give what we can to beat this disease. And I appreciate also that we can discuss and bare our souls on this site without any negative posts. See yaāll on chat tonight for the game.
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@brooksmd When someone close is on your side, it makes all the difference in the world. God Bless.
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I echo your remarks, Brooks. My condolences to all affected by cancer as well.
As you make your year-end charitable donations, please consider giving to any one of the many worthy organizations fighting cancer, whether itās the V Foundation or one in your town. Here in the Northwest, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (named after the late MLB player and manager) has done a great job, and Iāve been supporting them for many years since I watched my brotherās next door neighbor, an otherwise healthy guy, die way too early from the disease. Weāve all been touched by it either directly or indirectly, and any support you give to help beat cancer is greatly appreciated.
