Thank you, John Wooden

I don’t write about sports. In fact, I’m not much of a sports fan unless there’s a good baseball game on the radio while I’m driving. There’s a long story that goes along with my love of baseball, but it’s not because it’s a sport. It’s because it means something to me. A story for another day.

Tonight I was scanning news sites, something I do four, five, six, eleven thousand times a day. Or so it seems. I like to be informed. It’s part of my job but it’s also part of who I am. I like the aspect of daily learning even if it’s about someone or something I never thought I’d have an interest in.

Tonight I read that John Wooden died at the extraordinary age of 99. I had no idea who he was or the history behind the man who seemed to be making news on every site I scanned. I am so glad that I read more about him.

My first instinct, because I write for a living, was to write a news piece about John Wooden, heralded as one of the greatest coaches in sports history. After all, it was a hot topic and that big topics mean a great payday for me.

After reading a bit more about this seemingly well-loved basketball coach, I decided that I didn’t want to get paid to write about Wooden’s passing. What I read about him made such an impression on me that I wanted to share it in my own space, not on a news site where hundreds of other people were writing about him.

Yes, John Wooden won accolades for being an amazing basketball coach. I don’t know much about college sports vs. professional sports vs. who’s great and who’s not.  Wooden had ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period while at UCLA. That sounds amazing to someone who can’t even shoot a basket or dribble a ball.

It’s the non-sports stuff that made me wish I had five minutes in my life to meet someone as special as John Wooden. From his devotion to his wife to his “Seven Point Creed” (something given to him by his father when he graduated from grammar school), Wooden is now one of very few people I would want to meet if someone said, “If you could go back in time, who would you love to talk to?”

What impresses me? Not much these days. How about this, though?

“John Wooden met his future wife, Nellie Riley, at a carnival in July 1926. They married in a small ceremony in Indianapolis in August 1932. Afterwards, they attended a Mills Brothers concert at the Circle Theatre to celebrate. Nellie died on March 21, 1985 from cancer. Wooden has remained devoted to Nellie, even decades after her death. Since her death, he has kept to a monthly ritual (health permitting)—on the 21st, he visits her grave, and then writes a love letter to her. After completing the letter, he places it in an envelope and adds it to a stack of similar letters that has accumulated over the years on the pillow she slept on during their life together.”

I read that passage at least five times. I then glanced at a picture of him and thought, “Did you leave behind a mold of yourself? That’s really, really amazing stuff.”

Then there was his Seven Point Creed. I’m not an overly religious person but my faith has been tested. I’ve likened it to a constant final exam that I squeak through. Wooden’s “creed” is something I think has take-aways for every person, religious or not. There’s something so powerful about these 7 statements, don’t you think?

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Make each day your masterpiece.
3. Help others.
4. Drink deeply from good books, especially the Bible.
5. Make friendship a fine art.
6. Build a shelter against a rainy day.
7. Pray for guidance and give thanks for your blessings every day.

I do know, that over time,  I have used each of these points to push me forward and make me a better person. Not perfect, but better.  Seeing these statements in a list seems as if many of them were written for me. Or you. Or the person down the street. They are so universally wonderful.

As far as The Bible, no, I’ve never read it. Religion means different things to different people, and this is not about my preferences or yours….having the ability to make choices and being individual is more important. Maybe I will read it, though….but that’s for me to decide. I am not the type that can be told what to do.

Aside from Wooden’s marvelous devotion to his wife and the  ”these make me really think” Seven Point Creed, I came across a few of Wooden’s more notable sayings. They are, by far, words to live by:

• Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.
• Flexibility is the key to stability.
• Be quick, but don’t hurry.

Rest in peace, John Wooden. Yesterday, I had no idea who you were but today I understand why you were on earth for an amazing 99 years. Thank you.