I saw the Twitter post, “Who you support is who you are,” and even though it was referring to a political pundit with a clear agenda to insult and create division, I saw it as an opportunity that since it was not given context, to take it to a place in which it was not intended. When we drop statements without full context and our desire is to hurt, we open doors for people to find empowerment instead of insults. It is how I am deciding to do 2021.
If who I support is who I am, then I am a 2020 World Series Champion, a five-time college basketball champion, a college basketball coach with over a thousand wins, and I am an All-Valley karate champion with a dojo with the best name. I have never played on a sports team or taken any sports lessons, but if someone on Twitter is going to drop the claim that I am who I support, then I am claiming the greatness of those I support without doing anything, which is the exact opposite of who I support.
Being a sports fan or a fan of a movie series or television series is much different than being an elite athlete or a talented actor, writer, director, or producer. Many people today claim greatness without actually getting off their couches and doing something. They hide behind their computer screens and post on social media as if they are changing the world one post at a time. These same people also are great at pointing out the flaws of those who achieve greatness. What they do not know or understand, is that in order to be great, you have to fail. For those of us who support greatness, we have supported those who are great in their failures.
In order to be great, you have to get off of the couch and act. In order to fail, we have to attempt something great and recognize what we need to do to make that feat great. In other words, in order to be great, we have to fail. Greatness does not come to us overnight. It is a lifelong thread of failures. Many great people have failed and today, social media loves to post their failures, but at least they did something. It’s easy to sit back and criticize. It’s difficult to get up and do something brave and great, but it must be done and it will be done. If we do not get up and do the great deed, someone else will, and we will flounder in our apathy.
Today is Super Bowl Sunday. Some people will support a certain team or player. Others will support a commercial. Whether we support a team or not, the outcome will not be because of our support. Whether we support a product or not, the product will be advertised for millions to see during this event. So, whether we support people or not, we are not who we support because our support cannot change what someone does or does not do.
As I trod through this life I want to attempt feats of greatness. I will fail. You know what? It’s fine that people will throw their insults at me with my failures because at least I got up off the couch and did something. I refuse to remain apathetic. I want to do great feats that make a difference in this world. If it is through my writing, or speaking, or teaching, I hope I make great strides as I take on the disciplines that my great sports teams and television show has.
Let us all rise and take risks and do great feats to make a difference in this world. No political person is going to change and save us. Great feats come from ordinary people doing extraordinary deeds that make a difference. Will we fail? Absolutely. As we fail, we will learn from our failures as it is the only way we will be great.
So, my support for the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Duke Blue Devils basketball team, and the television show Cobra Kai are here to stay. Yes, even with Duke’s abysmal season this year, I’m still faithful. Faithfulness leads to greatness. I will learn from these great organizations and apply their great habits to my life. Go ahead Social Media people and judge. I choose to live, act, and strive for greatness. I hope others will join me because it’s more fun than sitting on my computer and bashing those of us who are making the attempts to be great and learn from every failure we make along the way.
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