Jimmy V Tribute

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Gilbertology
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Jimmy V Tribute

Post by Gilbertology »

A pochi giorni dal 15° anniversario della sua morte, volevo fare un omaggio a questo grande coach, del quale i miei studi mi hanno portato a conoscere la storia l'anno scorso scoprendo il suo emozionante discorso tenuto agli ESPY Awards del 1993.

Jim Valvano vinse il torneo NCAA del 1983 alla guida di North Carolina State, battendo in uno dei più grandi upset della storia NCAA la favoritissima Houston di un certo Hakeem Olajuwon e di un certo Clyde Drexler, ricordati ancora oggi con il nickname di Phi Slama Jama (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Slama_Jama).

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]

Qualche anno dopo venne colpito da un cancro, che lo consumò lentamente fino alla sua prematura morte, a soli 47 anni.

Il 4 Marzo 1993, ricevendo il Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award
, tenne un discorso toccante quanto memorabile:

[youtube=425,350][/youtube]


"Thank you very much. Thank you.

That's -- That's the lowest I've ever seen Dick Vitale since the owner of the Detroit Pistons called him in and told him he should go into broadcasting.

I can't tell you what an honor it is to even be mentioned in the same breath with Arthur Ashe. This is something I certainly will treasure forever. But, as it was said on the tape, and I also don't have one of those things going with the cue cards, so I'm going to speak longer than anybody else has spoken tonight. That's the way it goes. Time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left, and I have some things that I would like to say. Hopefully, at the end, I'll have something that will be important to other people too.

But, I can't help it. Now, I'm fighting cancer, everybody knows that. People ask me all the time about how you go through your life and how's your day, and nothing is changed for me. As Dick said, I'm a very emotional, passionate man. I can't help it. That's being the son of Rocco and Angelina Valvano. It comes with the territory. We hug, we kiss, we love. And when people say to me how do you get through life or each day, it's the same thing. 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.

And so, I can't help -- I rode on the plane up today with Mike Krzyzewski, my good friend and a wonderful coach. People don't realize he's ten times a better person than he is a coach, and we know he's a great coach. He's meant a lot to me in these last five or six months with my battle. But when I look at Mike, I think, we competed against each other as players. I coached against him for fifteen years, and I always have to think about what's important in life to me are these three things. Where you started; where you are; and where you're gonna be. Those are the three things that I try and do every day. And you know when I think about getting up and giving a speech, I can't help it -- I have to remember the first speech I ever gave.

I was coaching at Rutgers University, that was my first job -- oh, that's wonderful [reaction to applause] -- and I was the freshman coach. That's when freshmen played on freshman teams. And I was so fired up about my first job. I see Lou Holtz, Coach Holtz here. What was it like, the very first job you had, right? The very first time you stood in the locker room to give a pep talk. That's a special place, the locker room, for a coach to give a talk. So my idol as a coach was Vince Lombardi, and I read this book called Commitment To Excellence by Vince Lombardi. And in the book, Lombardi talked about the fist time he spoke before his Green Bay Packer team in the locker room --  they were perennial losers. And I'm reading this and Lombardi said he was thinking should it be a long talk? A short talk? But he wanted it to be emotional, so it would be brief.

And here's what he did. Normally you get in the locker room, I don't know, twenty-five minutes, a half hour before the team takes the field; you do your little X's and 0's, and then you give the great Knute Rockne talk. We all do. Speech number eight-four. You pull them right out, you get ready, get your squad ready. Well, this is the first one I ever gave. And I read this thing -- Lombardi, what he said was he didn't go in. He waited. His team was wondering: Where is he? Where is this great coach? He's not there. Ten minutes -- he's still not there. Three minutes before they could take the field Lombardi comes in, bangs the door open, and I think you all remember what great presence he had, alright, great presence. He walked in and he just walked back and forth, like this, just walked, staring at the players. And he said, "All eyes on me." And I'm reading this in this book. I'm getting this picture of Lombardi before his first game and he said "Gentlemen, we will be successful this year, if you can focus on three things, and three things only: Your family, your religion, and the Green Bay Packers." And he...like that...And they knocked the walls down and the rest was history. I said, that's beautiful. I'm going to do that. Your family, your religion, and Rutgers basketball.

That's it. I had it. Listen, I'm twenty-one years old. The kids I'm coaching are nineteen, alright? And I'm going to be the greatest coach in the world, the next Lombardi. And...I'm practicing outside of the locker room and the managers tell me "you got to go in." "Not yet, not yet"... family, religion, Rutgers Basketball. All eyes on me. I got it, I got it. Then finally he said, "three minutes," and I said "fine." True story. I go to knock the doors open just like Lombardi. Boom! They didn't open. I almost broke my arm. I was like...Now I was down, the players were looking. Help the coach out, help him out. And now I did like Lombardi, I walked back and forth, and I was going like that with my arm getting the feeling back in it. Finally I said, "Gentlemen, all eyes on me." These kids wanted to play, they're nineteen. "Let's go," I said. "Gentlemen, we'll be successful this year if you can focus on three things, and three things only: Your family, your religion, and the Green Bay Packers," I told them. I did that. I remember that. I remember...where I came from.

It's so important to know where you are. And I know where I am right now. How do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it.

I talked about my family, my family's so important. People think I have courage. The courage in my family are my wife Pam, my three daughters, here, Nicole, Jamie, LeeAnn, my mom, who's right here too. And...that screen is flashing up there thirty seconds like I care about that screen right now, huh? I got tumors all over my body. I'm worried about some guy in the back going thirty seconds, huh?



You got a lot, hey va fa napoli, buddy. You got a lot.

I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going. To be enthusiastic every day and [as] Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Nothing great could be accomplished without enthusiasm" -- to keep your dreams alive in spite of problems whatever you have. The ability to be able to work hard for your dreams to come true, to become a reality.

Now, I look at where I am now and I know what I wanna to do. What I would like to be able to do is to spend whatever time I have left and to give, and maybe some hope to others. Alright, Arthur Ashe Foundation is a wonderful thing, and AIDS, the amount of money pouring in for AIDS is not enough, but it is significant. But if I told you it's ten times the amount that goes in for cancer research. I'll also tell you that five hundred thousand people will die this year of cancer. And I'll also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease, and yet, somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background. I want to bring it back on the front table. We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children's life. It may save someone you love. And it's very important.

  And ESPN has been so kind to support me in this endeavor and allow me to announce tonight, that with ESPN's support, which means what? Their money and their dollars and they're helping me -- we are starting the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research. And its motto is "Don't give up, don't ever give up." And that's what I'm going to try to do every minute that I have left. I will thank God for the day and the moment I have. And if you see me, smile and maybe give me a hug. That's important to me too. But try if you can to support, whether it's AIDS or the cancer foundation, so that someone else might survive, might prosper, and might actually be cured of this dreaded disease. I can't thank ESPN enough for allowing this to happen. And I'm going to work as hard as I can...for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, we'll have some cures and some breakthroughs. I'd like to think I'm going to fight my brains out to be back here again next year for the Arthur Ashe recipient. I want to give it next year!

I know, I gotta go, I gotta go, and I got one last thing and I said it before, and I'm gonna say it again: Cancer can take away all my physical ability. 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."



Il 28 Aprile 1993 Jim Valvano si spense, lasciando come eredità, oltre a quanto illustrato sin'ora, un motto che è poi diventato anche il motto della fondazione umanitaria che porta il suo nome:

“Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up.”

R.I.P.
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Re: Jimmy V Tribute

Post by Gian Marco »

Ho imparato a conoscero in questi mesi in North Carolina. Da quello che mi hanno raccontato e da quello che ho letto era una persona straordinaria prima che un grande coach.
Era anche un comico nato. Alcune sue frasi sono esileranti: una volta durante uno show radiofonico rispose ad un ascoltatore che gli chiese chi sarebbe andato al SuperBowl dicendo: "Bah, sicuramente mio zio Bruno: ha i biglietti" La cosa migliore era che assolutamente spontaneo. Mica le preparava ste battute... :lol2:

L'artefice di uno dei piu' bei upsets della storia della Ncaa, quando la sua Nc State sconfisse la corazzata di Houston da assoluta underdog. Dopo quel titolo disse: "oggi ho realizzato il sogno della mia vita; e nessuno o nulla potra' mai togliermelo".
"Jason, do you think God likes football?"
"Son, I think everybody loves football."
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Re: Jimmy V Tribute

Post by chinasky »

Parlavano giusto ieri (su nasn  :D) di questa partita come uno dei momenti più emozionanti nella storia delle finali per il titolo. Che roba... che personaggio.
Ho capelli da frocio!
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Re: Jimmy V Tribute

Post by mr.kerouac »

grande, grande, grandissimo
Ci sono squadre che a certe temperature si squagliano, altre che lievitano. Classe, storia: Milan.
"mr.kerouac [...] sa essere cattivo con pochissime parole". (Angyair)

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Post by AEM »

Jimmy V ha fatto una cosa (con la foundation) che non si immaginava possibile. Ogni anno (il gg dopo All Star MLB la ESPN fanno la Jimmy V auction). In questa asta vendono tutte cose ESPN, da un gg a Bristol, a stare in un set di SportsCenter, a una quartetto con Dickie V a golf, a stare sul set di gli show di ESPN o ESPN Radio. Io sono 10 anni che dono tutto il "change" che io e mia moglie teniamo tutto l anno (si, vi assicuro che man mano arriva piu vicino il gg dell asta qualcosa che costa xx.05 chiedo per 95 centesimi indietro).

Il suo speech lo ascolto ogni gg che non mi sente al massimo, che penso "perche me?" Jimmy V per me sara` sempre una persona che ha fatto del bene con la sua Jimmy V Foundation!

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Post by Ciombe »

AEM wrote:Jimmy V ha fatto una cosa (con la foundation) che non si immaginava possibile. Ogni anno (il gg dopo All Star MLB la ESPN fanno la Jimmy V auction). In questa asta vendono tutte cose ESPN, da un gg a Bristol, a stare in un set di SportsCenter, a una quartetto con Dickie V a golf, a stare sul set di gli show di ESPN o ESPN Radio. Io sono 10 anni che dono tutto il "change" che io e mia moglie teniamo tutto l anno (si, vi assicuro che man mano arriva piu vicino il gg dell asta qualcosa che costa xx.05 chiedo per 95 centesimi indietro).

Il suo speech lo ascolto ogni gg che non mi sente al massimo, che penso "perche me?" Jimmy V per me sara` sempre una persona che ha fatto del bene con la sua Jimmy V Foundation!

AEM


non ho capito un cazzo di quello che hai detto... ma un  :notworthy: e un RIP a Valvano...
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Post by AEM »

Spiegami e tento di chiarirlo per te.

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Post by Gian Marco »

L'ultima partita al Carmicheal, l'arena dove unc usava giocare le sue partite interne, fu Nc State-Unc. Gli ultimi minuti neppure ci si preoccupava piu' di chi avrebbe vinto la partita quanto piu' di chi avrebbe segnato l'ultimo canestro della storia di questa gloriosa arena.
Finisce la partita. Vlavano entra in campo, prende la palla, tira e segna. e poi dicee: "Ecco chi ha segnato per ultimo"  :lol2: :lol2:

Altre sue famose frasi:

And I'm going to work as hard as I can... for cancer research and hopefully, maybe, we'll have some cures and some breakthroughs. I'd like to think I'm going to fight my brains out to be back here again next year for the Arthur Ashe recipient. I want to give it next year!
Jim Valvano

And if you see me, smile and maybe give me a hug. That's important to me too.
Jim Valvano

Be a dreamer. If you don't know how to dream, you're dead.
Jim Valvano

But try if you can to support, whether it's AIDS or the cancer foundation, so that someone else might survive, might prosper, and might actually be cured of this dreaded disease.
Jim Valvano

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.
Jim Valvano

Don't give up. Don't ever give up.
Jim Valvano

How do you go from where you are to where you wanna be? And I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal. And you have to be willing to work for it.
Jim Valvano

I asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust em.
Jim Valvano

I can't tell you what an honor it is, to even be mentioned in the same breath with Arthur Ashe. This is something I certainly will treasure forever.
Jim Valvano

I just got one last thing, I urge all of you, all of you, to enjoy your life, the precious moments you have. To spend each day with some laughter and some thought, to get you're emotions going.
Jim Valvano

I talked about my family, my family's so important.
Jim Valvano

I will thank God for the day and the moment I have.
Jim Valvano

I'll also tell you that five hundred thousand people will die this year of cancer. And I'll also tell you that one in every four will be afflicted with this disease, and yet, somehow, we seem to have put it in a little bit of the background.
Jim Valvano

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.
Jim Valvano

It's so important to know where you are.
Jim Valvano

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.
Jim Valvano

No matter what business you're in, you can't run in place or someone will pass you by. It doesn't matter how many games you've won.
Jim Valvano

Now I'm fighting cancer, everybody knows that. People ask me all the time about how you go through your life and how's your day, and nothing is changed for me.
Jim Valvano

Now, I look at where I am now and I know what I wanna to do. What I would like to be able to do is to spend whatever time I have left and to give, and maybe some hope to others.
Jim Valvano

People think I have courage. The courage in my family are my wife Pam, my three daughters, here, Nicole, Jamie, LeeAnn, my mom, who's right here too.
Jim Valvano

The very first time you stood in the locker room to give a pep talk. That's a special place, the locker room, for a coach to give a talk.
Jim Valvano

Time is very precious to me. I don't know how much I have left and I have some things that I would like to say. Hopefully, at the end, I will have said something that will be important to other people too.
Jim Valvano

We need your help. I need your help. We need money for research. It may not save my life. It may save my children's life. It may save someone you love. And it's very important.
Jim Valvano
"Jason, do you think God likes football?"
"Son, I think everybody loves football."
joesox

Re: Jimmy V Tribute

Post by joesox »

http://www.amazon.com/Valvano-They-Life ... 023&sr=8-3

Jimmy V - Lo conoscevo fin dai tempi di NC State, ma qualche anno fa mi capitò per caso tra le mani questo libro. E' in inglese, Jimmy V racconta la sua storia, a modo suo, e secondo me è assolutamente da leggere - per capire lui ed il basket universitario.
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Re: Jimmy V Tribute

Post by Gerry Donato »

Mi limito all'unica faccina possibile:  :notworthy:

Perchè qualsiasi altra parola sarebbe limitativa per spiegare la magia che aveva ed ha questo personaggio. Ma almeno mi prendo l'onore di fare un post nel topic che lo celebra.
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Re: Jimmy V Tribute

Post by The Patient »

Articolo emozionante di Adam Filippi sulla North Carolina State del 1983...sì, quell'Adam Filippi :applauso:
http://www.eatsport.net/2012/un-po-di-m ... -del-1983/
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