Pure and simple, we have become a nation obsessed with winning. "Winning is everything, losing is for losers" or words to that effect. We adore winning while, too often, ignoring how it was achieved.
The words and wisdom of the great sports writer of the past century, Grantland Rice, are long forgotten: "It's not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game." Those words were part of my growing up and came to mind after the passing of Coach Knight.
Since his passing, I have watched interviews conducted over the years along with several old games, as courtesy of YouTube. Some interviews were slanted toward the negatives, but the majority got around to asking Coach Knight what he stood for. From the earliest interviews to the last, his answers never waivered: respect for the game, team first, playing to personal potential, classes, graduating, and using basketball as a learning step to achieving successful adulthood.
Sure, he made it clear that he liked to win, as preferable to losing, but winning outside the rules, or by sacrificing his priorities, was not in the equation.
After my excursion into history, I am convinced Coach Knight read, understood, believed in, and practiced the immortal words of Grantland Rice, and that says all that needs to be said.
The words and wisdom of the great sports writer of the past century, Grantland Rice, are long forgotten: "It's not whether you won or lost, but how you played the game." Those words were part of my growing up and came to mind after the passing of Coach Knight.
Since his passing, I have watched interviews conducted over the years along with several old games, as courtesy of YouTube. Some interviews were slanted toward the negatives, but the majority got around to asking Coach Knight what he stood for. From the earliest interviews to the last, his answers never waivered: respect for the game, team first, playing to personal potential, classes, graduating, and using basketball as a learning step to achieving successful adulthood.
Sure, he made it clear that he liked to win, as preferable to losing, but winning outside the rules, or by sacrificing his priorities, was not in the equation.
After my excursion into history, I am convinced Coach Knight read, understood, believed in, and practiced the immortal words of Grantland Rice, and that says all that needs to be said.
