Vince Lombardi or John Wooden

Tulsa Celtics
Is Winning the ONLY Thing?

(I borrowed this from John Wooden's book)
Mr. Vince Lombardi is supposed to have said, "Winning isn't everything, it's the only thing." Well, if he said that, I disagree. I believe making the total effort is everything. And that's all I ever wanted and all I ever asked from myself or my players.

It's all you should ever ask for or expect. Understand that you won't actually ever become the best of which you are capable. That's perfection. We can't obtain perfection as I understand it. But we can work, and work hard, toward obtaining it. If you do that,,,, you will never lose, in sports or in life. - John Wooden
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As a young kid, my favorite team was the UCLA Bruins. There was no ESPN and only 1 or 2 college basketball TV games per week. I remember reading in the Tulsa World about a 6'8" eighth grader from Power Memorial in New York City named Lewis Alcindor. He ultimately signed with UCLA and Coach Wooden and helped win some of those 10 NCAA championships; He is known today as Kareem Abdul Jabbar. UCLA was the ULTIMATE TEAM. It didn't matter who the players were, they meshed and played as ONE. Coach Wooden was a God to me.

Interestingly enough, I was blessed with an opportunity to hear Coach Wooden talk several years ago at a luncheon conference at the University of Tulsa Reynolds Center. He is one of the most amazing speakers I've ever witnessed. The man didn't utter ONE, "Uh" or "you know"; each sentence flowed out of his mouth and you could understand exactly what he was saying; an incredible communicator; and the messages he delivered are cornerstones for success. The man was 92 years old!! Incredible.