Thursday, April 10, 2008

Sleeping Habits Gone Wrong

If you've read my last post, you will know that I stayed up all night working on stuff. While I'm glad i got stuff done, it has really messed up my sleep schedule, although it wasn't great to start with, this isn't helping. I went to bed at 9 o'clock, then woke up at about 2:30 and have been up since. By the time i finish typing this, it will be time to crash...hopefully.

Anyway, after I woke up, I got my computer out and was randomly surfing the internet. It was the normal...check messages at various sites, play some moola games, hang out in a forum or 2, and ofcourse stalking people on facebook. It was that last one that sent me over to youtube, to see a video of Bob Knight. It was an ESPN top-10 countdown of Knight's best quotes. Personally, I am a Bob Knight fan. He does have a good and a bad side, but you have to respect the man. He knows the game of basketball, and knows it the way it should be. His game of basketball is all about discipline, teamwork, effort, and heart. If you are missing one of those things then you won't be playing for Knight. Knight doesn't want a showy player who just wants to look good. He wants a player that will work hard (that is on and off the court) and will follow directions. In the history of Bob Knight's coaching ( a long time) I think there have been a small handful of students not graduate. He stressed the education they were receiving jsut as much as he stressed the game of basketball. You will not find Bob Knight cheating or breaking any rules. Contrary to another former Hoosier coach, Bob Knight will follow regulations by the book. Don't get me wrong, he has a temper and a language that are indescribable, but his motives are in the right place. Reading Steve Alford's book, "My Six Seasons With Coach Knight" and Feinsten's "Season on a Brink" told alot about Bob Knight and his coaching style. Needless to say, I enjoyed those books.

But what does this have to do with anything? It goes back to that youtube video of the top-10 quotes of Bob Knight. I had seen this before, bit i still get a kick out of watching it. (By the way, props to the guy that had to take the time to bleep out the soundbite) The top-2 quotes in the video are defiently my favorite. Number 2 was his opinion on the term "gameface." I cannot even begin to describe this, but it makes me laugh everytime. then the number 1 quote was a statement Knight made in his yearly speech to the students at Indiana University. This speech usually caused Assembly Hall to fill up almost to the same amount as it did for the actual games, and this one in particular was no exception. During his speech, Knight says this, "When my time on earth is gone, and my activities here are past, I want they bury my upside down. So my critics can kiss my..." Well i think you can finish that sentence.

After reading this far, I'm sure you're wondering where I'm going and why on earth this is my favorite Bob Knight quote. The idea, or attitude, that Knight expresses here is something that I tend o agree with. I even try and live my life like this (does this mean i treat Bob Knight as a great philosopher or something?? *shudders*) But in all seriousness, why do we judge what we do by our critics? Do we take what our critics are saying as truth? And if so, how does this make any sense? They are our critics, not our concious. We don't need to be looking at out critics for guidance. If i have a goal in life, I don't care what every other person thinks about it. It's not their goal, it's mine. There are of course other people that influence my decisions, but I don't think that we should 100% use that as a decision maker. I think this is a constant struggle for many Christians. We often let the opinion of others overpower what God wants us to do, when he is the one that knows what is best for us. Bob Knight ignored the critics and coached the game of basketball his own way. As the most winningest coach in NCAA division 1 basketball history, it shows the this method worked out well. So as christians in our daily walks we should not be influenced by the people surrounding the path, but instead by the light leading the way

Psalm 119:105 " Thy word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path."


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