William Rowell William Rowell
William Rowell William Rowell
William Rowell William Rowell
William Rowell William Rowell
Can you believe we’re into March already? A quarter of the year will be gone at the end of the month, but we have a lot to look forward to before that happens.
We are now in the Lenten season, we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day and baseball teams are preparing for the coming season to name a few attractions.
Last, but not least, is “March Madness.” In case you have been in a coma for the past 50 years, it is the tournament season for college basketball. It was once something followed only by a player’s parents and girlfriend. It has since grown to a major gambling event.
Betting pools are springing up like daffodils and pollen. Little old ladies that don’t know a double dribble from a free throw are sitting in front of the TV with their picks in one hand and a Rosary in the other for luck.
I am not much of a gambler, so I only get interested when they get down to the final four. This brings back memories of watching the N.C. State underdogs beating the heavily favored Houston team in 1983. Jim Valvano was the coach at N.C. State and he became my hero that season.
I thought he was a good basketball coach, but what happened after that made me realize he was a great human being. That March night he was at the top of the world. It was the same world that crashed down on him later.
In 1992, Jim was diagnosed with a type of cancer that quickly spread to his bones.
Like everything in his life, he fought it to the end. He gave it his all and created the “V” Foundation for Cancer Research. Its motto is “Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.” He said that it may not help him, but hoped it would help others.
Knowing the end was near, he appeared on the first ESPY Awards show on TV to receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage and Humanitarian. In true Valvano fashion he mustered the strength to give the best speech I have ever heard. It can be found on the internet and is worth the watching. Just bring along plenty of tissues.
He made several statements that are worth remembering. As a matter of fact, I have the following quote on my desk:
“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. And 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, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.”
He closed his speech to a standing ovation by saying that "Cancer can take away all of 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."
James Thomas Anthony Valvano passed away less than two months later at the age of 47. There are thousands of basketball coaches out there at all levels from Pee-Wee to the pros; there was only one Jimmy Valvano.
God bless and have a great day.
William Rowell is a Perquimans County resident and can be reached at wdrowell1173@gmail.com.
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account.
Thank you.
Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Begins: | |
| Ends: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
