The Importance Of Hobbies

Like so many others, I have developed a pretty extensive collection of hobbies in my short 27 years on earth. My most recent hobby -as readers of this blog are well aware – has been surfing and in the 2 short years that I have had it in my life it has become a pretty central passion, one that I hope proves to be more than a mere blip in the story of me. I was fortunate enough to get some time out in the water this weekend and as usual I found time to reflect on my own thoughts.

Each of my passions have either served as a teaching example for an important facet of life or provided me with a metaphor for life in general, allowing me the opportunity to pull out whatever lessons I was able to interpret. It dawned on me while surfing that this is likely the case for all of us and it is likely what encourages us to fixate on a small number of activities – sometimes so intensely that other areas of life are forgotten or ignored. I guess the reality is this: it is far easy to conquer a metaphor for life than life itself.

Likely born out of my passion to my hobbies, I have always felt like they presented a glimpse of life in general. With water polo it seemed pretty clear. Success was largely determined by the work that went in. Training was difficult but the rewards seemed to pay out. Like other team sports there was often that goal of achieving more as a team than the sum of the parts – that sneaking suspicion that a mystical energy can be created by the harnessing of individual talents into a team effort.

Of course, like so many things in life there were obvious problems. Some seemed to be blessed with far too much natural talent – and it frustrated me (and others) that what took us hours of hard work to achieve took others no more than minimal input. Later I learned that this is true of all things in life, although lately I have begun to question even that basic rule in the place of another: sometimes the people who seem to have it easiest face challenges and obstacles you could not begin to imagine.

Perhaps the most intruiging thing about water polo is that so much of the sport takes place out of the eyeline of others. Each player, just like each person in society, is faced with the dilemma of how far to push things in their favor against what the rules allow. Some take great liberties, others respect the game and the rules and stay within the boundaries of the game.  Just like in life, some of those that cheat get away with it and we learn that sometimes the “winners” often achieve that status through means that others would not even contemplate.

With any luck, in water polo or life in general you find your little niche and you determine your balance of hard work and payoff and of respect for the game and what falls in your favor. Happiness is relevant and some players are happy with one win – others only happy with 50 wins. I found similar feelings in surifng and perhaps that is what drew me to it.

I found water polo at a time in my life where I was attempting to learn what it took to be “successful” in life. How to get into a college, how to win a job, how to earn money etc. I suppose the lessons that water polo seemed to teach were particualiry apt for that time in my life and I imagine this was a large function of the pull I felt to the sport. Soon enough I realized that success and happiness were not necessarily the same thing and that among the lessons water polo provided there was no insight into the more meaningful areas of life. I am happy to say that surfing provides that.

There were many mornings – especially in the beginning – where it seemed exceptionally painful to pull myself out of a warm bed, jump into the freezing cold water, and get beat up by an endless barrage of waves. But every morning I got up and did it. I spent hours upon hours with my teeth chattering, my arms aching and tired, and my nose running – all for a few seconds of bliss. The more I practiced and the more work that went into my hobby then those seconds of bliss turned into minutes – but no matter how much improvement came the ratio of work to bliss stayed pretty top heavy. But that ratio is the same one we all face in life. We all spend our time paddling in the cold, putting ourselves through hardship just for chance of those few seconds of bliss: marriage, family vacations, holidays, grandkids and anything else that puts a smile on our face. Maybe we need the hardship to appreciate the bliss. Or maybe there is a spiritual presence in this world who just wants to see us earn it. Either way it seems to be a simple formula and ever since I began surfing I find myself far more accepting of all the paddling we have to do.

There was a time when I was starting out with surfing that I watched the professionals and the really good surfers catching waves and dreamed that one day that could be me. I was like the 18 year old kid who looked out and saw a whole world out there and decided that one day it would be his. But like so often in life, a couple of years in I have found my relative niche. I like my spot on the outside of the line-up. Enough waves to keep me happy, not so many that I have to sacrifice other areas of my life to keep up. I hope that’s a lesson I can always remember.

I don’t know what the future holds for me and my surfing passion. Perhaps other hobbies will present themselves or perhaps surfing will continue to provide the insight needed to make life seem easier. Either way, it has helped me recognize some very important lessons that I hope all eventually learn – through whatever means get them there. There is a whole ocean of experiences out there that we are all a part of. Sure, it may seem that some are catching more waves or perhaps lucky enough to find bigger waves but hopefully we can find peace in the waves we get. Surfing has helped me do that. Sometimes complicated things simply need to be broken down to a level where the answers are a little more obvious. Few things are as complicated as life; thankfully we have our hobbies there to make things seem just a little simpler.

A Passing of the Torch

There are a lot of interesting things going on in sports right now. Obviously the NBA Finals are in full swing and featuring a throw back series of the best rivalry that sport has to offer. We are gearing up for another Olympics, one in which a swimmer (Michael Phelps) will be making his second attempt at breaking Mark Spitz’ record of 7 gold medals at one Olympic games. We just watched the New England Patriots fail in their attempt to go 19-0 by losing to the Giants in the Super Bowl. And of course, my indoor soccer team was recently promoted to a higher league where we won our first game in stunning fashion.

As wonderful as all of these events have been, none will go down in history like the performance this weekend at the US Open at Torrey Pines. Tiger Woods, in dramatic fashion, won the championship in a sudden death playoff following an 18 hole playoff on Monday. This was his first tournament following a knee surgery and by all accounts he really had no business winning this tournament, not considering the rust on his game and the pain in his knee. But he did, and as I watched it I couldn’t fight the feeling that no other athlete in history could have ever accomplished anything close to this level of success. That is when I realized that, for my money, Tiger Woods has passed Michael Jordan as the greatest athlete of all time.

Sports is a big deal to me, and I think excellence in sports is a subject worth investigating. If you think about it, the modern professional athlete has one of – if not the hardest – jobs out there. In today’s celebrity world an athlete must be on the clock at all times. Public appearances, events, commercials, business meetings, awards shows, etc. are all part of the extracurricular duties of all athletes. On top of this they are expected to continue to train and grow as athletes and remain at the top of their chosen craft in the world. Then we ask them to be good family men, to marry and have children and be “normal” people. Imagine if on top of his daily duties, your company’s CEO was expected to keep himself in excellent shape, attend parties and events daily, and keep his life “normal”. So when an athlete achieves greatness, as only few truly have, it should be noted not just as a terrific athletic accomplishment but instead a terrific human accomplishment.

For years Michael Jordan has been the standard bearer for athletic achievement in sports. His legend has grown to such tremendous heights that he still casts a larger shadow over the sport than any current star in the NBA today. His feats have been named things like “the shot” and “the flu game” so they can be recalled by admirers with a quick few words. I think it is fair to say that at this point most basketball fans believe that Jordan could do anything he wanted on the basketball court. But after Monday I can think of one thing he can’t.

The equivalent to Tiger’s feat would have been for Jordan to miss two months of the season due to knee surgery, only to come back for the NBA finals where he averaged 45 points a game and sank the winning jumper in game 7 to win the championship. Obviously not even Jordan could do this. It takes all-star caliber players weeks and even months just to get their timing back, let alone play at the highest level they are capable of. But that is what Tiger did this weekend. He came back (probably too early based on the performance of his knee) and beat out an entire field of the best golfers in the world at one of the toughest venues in the world; and when the pressure was the highest he was his best.

We hear hyperbole a lot in sports. Things are exaggerated and we lose all scope of history, but in watching this remarkable achievement I felt pretty secure in knowing I was watching the greatest athlete of all time compete. I am sure others will come along, many who appear or even prove themselves to be greater, but I still cannot imagine ever seeing anything like this past Monday again.

P.S. In case anyone was wondering my list now looks like this:

1. Tiger Woods
2. Michael Jordan
3. Pele
4. Wayne Gretzky
5. Muhammad Ali

 

The Battle for the Soul of Basketball

Last night a good portion of our country caught the NCAA Men’s National Basketball Championship game between the University of Kansas and the University of Memphis. Those who caught the game were treated to a dramatic ending that included an overtime-inducing three pointer and an emotional come from behind victory by Kansas. Despite the eventual result I think most people would agree that from a pure athletic and skill standpoint, Memphis was the better team. But in the end Kansas wanted it more, and they played with a passion of a group of guys who knew they would never have a chance like this again.

That Memphis did not is really not a surprise. This was a team assembled by shoe companies, agents, hustlers, and boosters to put their program, coach, and players in the spotlight that is needed to make it to the NBA. In short, Memphis stands for everything that is wrong with basketball today and I suppose it is fitting that in the end it was Kansas, where basketball’s creator Dr. James Naismith once coached, that took them down.

Watching Memphis’ four starters address the media after the loss, I was amazed to see such little emotion. Annoyance? Sure. Frustration? Some. Despair? None that I could see. Each seemed to be gazing past the assemble sports writers, all wearing inappropriate smirks that suggested their elation that they are now eligible to cash in on NBA riches and fame. There was a coldness about them that made me interested in how they would have celebrated had they won. If you know the history of this team none of this should surprise you.

The problem here starts with the relationship between William Wesley and Memphis’ coach, John Calipari. Wesley (his wikipedia profile which links to articles about him) is one of those 21st century influence peddlers who has used his relationships with various NBA players, shoe companies, and agents to create a powerful hand in professional basketball today. Assuming he only involved himself in the NBA this would be tough to complain about, it is a business after all. But Wesley has extended his influence to high schools and AAU programs and has the ability to push kids towards certain programs, Memphis being his favorite. The formula is simple. Wesley pushes basketball prodigies to college coaches. Colleges push kids toward shoe companies. Kids become pros and their coaches (at Wesley’s urging) push their kids toward certain NBA agents and coaches win championships, make money, and maybe even get a shot at the NBA. I am not naive enought to think that this kind of thing would not always happen, or that it is not occuring in other sports, but few other sports have an image problem as bad as basketball so I think it is of note when this model fails, as it did last night.

The truth is I understand to a certain extent why America does not embrace the NBA. As much as I loved Michael Jordan, his success created the formula of the “star” athlete that overshadowed the team. This has created a new NBA, one rife with stories of contract disputes, forced trades, entourages, and other assorted ugliness. What got lost in Madison Avenue’s crowning of Michael Jordan was that his true success only came when he accepted Phil Jackson’s triangle offense and became part of a team. That this point was lost is one of the great tragedies of basketball because in its’ core no other sport is as conducive to team effort as basketball.

But in the face of this ugliness there has long been signs of a fight against this new way of thinking. The San Antonio Spurs and their professional, team oriented approach has flown far too low on the radar the past seven years. The rise of international stars who bring a passion that cannot be matched by many of our own players. The emergence of Steve Nash, the epitome of a team player, as one of the faces of the NBA. But it has been the past season that has really been the most promising development of basketball in a while. It started off with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce each giving up a portion of their spotlight for a chance at glory. The rise of three quality and professional players who each make their teammates better in Chris Paul, Deron Williams, and Brandon Roy. It is culminating right now in one of the finest basketball seasons in NBA history where teams who emphasize the individual (Denver Nuggets) are being replaced by teams who emphasize the team. This was the context with which I watched the game last night and it is why I couldn’t help but root for Kansas, and why in my mind the stakes were even higher than usual.

UPDATE: Check out these two articles (especially the second) for further evidence of ugliness in the NBA.

 

Mr. Destiny

Most of the people in my life have always had some form of experience or passion for a sport of some kind. Many have maintained it as a hobby while a select few have gone on to the higher levels of inter-collegiate and professional athletics. Within this group we have all had those moments where we feel good about our place in the world of sports. I have played in pick-up basketball games where for whatever reason I was just feeling good, had a great game, and started thinking that if I had just put the time in maybe I could have made it in the NBA. I am sure that a lot of people out there have had similar experiences. But then I come across things like this video and I am reminded that when the framers of our Constitution proclaimed we are all made equal, that was strictly in terms of governance and not the world of sports.

In case it is not clear,  the video is a young Allen Iverson playing football in high school. Most people know Allen Iverson as a former MVP and probably one of the fifty greatest basketball players in the history of the world. I watch video like this and it just amazes me the difference between today’s athletes and average people like me. The truth of the matter is that I could have been pulled out of kindegarten (in the form of the old USSR) and placed in an elite training center where I focused only on basketball, and I still could never have made the NBA. But here is a guy who if he had been so inclined could probably have been the MVP of the NFL as well. It is not just Iverson either. Deion Sanders, Bo Jackson, Dave Winfield, Randy Moss, Tony Gonzalez are just a few more prominent examples of multi-sport stars, and when I say multi-sport, I mean people athletic enough to literally play at the highest level imaginable in more than one sport. And for those Ferraro supporters out there, it is not just people of African heritage. Danny Ainge, the old Boston Celtic, was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays. Kelly Slater, the winningest surfer of all time (yes it is a sport) is a scratch golfer who thought about pursuing a career on the PGA. Jason Williams, he of White Chocolate fame, spent his fall high school sports season quarterbacking passes to Randy Moss as the two of them won the state championship.

My sophomore year of high school, Sac-town was pretty excited abou the prospects of Matt Barnes, who was starring in both football and basketball at a local school. I remember being pretty excited to go watch him play and being amazed at his athleticism. He was destined for stardom I thought. Well today, as some of you know, he plays limited minutes in the NBA and minus a few instances of success, has led a fairly non-descript career. Which puts the athletic abilities of people like Allen Iverson into more perspective. What would it have been like to see him play in high school? Or to see a young Ken Griffey Jr.? I thought I had seen the real deal with Matt Barnes, and he has had no where near the success that he hoped he would (and is pretty much thought to be a sub-par athlete in the NBA).

So you see videos and hear some stories and you get reminded that not all of us are meant to be professional athletes. For me it brings out deeper thoughts regarding destiny and fate. I mean, Shaquille O’Neal, the 7′0″ 350 pound basketball player who is likely far quicker and agile than myself sure seems like he was clearly built to play basketball. But can we really say this was his destiny? Are we really going to believe that our Creator (whomever it is) really takes sports into consideration when ascribing our life paths? I really don’t know if I believe in destiny or the concept that all of us have a calling that we were put on this earth to do. But I do feel secure about some things. A guy like Allen Iverson was not put on this earth to work in an office. A guy like me probably was. But hey, there are always weekends I guess…..

March Madness

I filled out my bracket today intending to compete with no one in particular in predicting the outcome of the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Generally I like March Madness. I don’t particularly follow a team (Davis never seems to mentioned as a potential participant) but I enjoy the competition and the drama that tends to occur in a win or go home setting. This year though I have not been excited and I am trying to figure out why. I was talking to Amber the other night and we had a discussion about context and how maybe March Madness and its’ popularity is a factor of other things besides just basketball.

First off, lets be honest. College basketball is just not that well played. It is weird to me that so many people follow a second rate version of a sport. NBA games are constantly televised and the quality of play is such that the best college team on the country would lose 10 games out 10 played against the worst in the NBA. So if it is not quality, then what is it that makes the tournament one of the most popular sporting events in the country. Personally I think the reasons for its’ popularity are wholly contextual and have more to do with entertainment than the love of sports.

1.) “March Madness”. While living in Northern California where seasons actually exist, I think a big part of my excitement toward March Madness was that it implied a turn in weather and the ushering in of spring. I would guess that this is true for a lot of people. Spring is an amazing time anywhere in the country and I have always wondered if somewhere along the line March Madness has become synonymous with good weather, flowers blooming, people falling in love etc. This makes me wonder what the response would be if the tournament was held in January or August. It is a perfectly human thing to equate feelings to events or objects. Imagine how different we would celebrate our Independence Day if it was December 4th and not July 4th. This is not to take away from college basketball as a product, just a potential reason why so many who are not fans of the sport are fans of the tourney.

2.) The Vacuum Effect. It just so happens that the tournament falls in a time where practically no other sport matters. Baseball and football fans are enjoying the off-season. The NBA typically has its’ playoffs largely shaped and their games become monotonous and meaningless. And of course no one cares about hockey. So the March Madness tournament comes along and all of the sudden sports matter again for a few weeks. And it is ok that the play is not that good because there is literally nothing better out there. Besides there is always the power of what I will call the reality tv effect:

3) The Reality TV Effect. You know why reality television is so popular in this country? Because writers cannot recreate the drama that humans naturally bring the world. How else can we explain the popularity of shows like The Bachelor, The Hills, Big Brother etc. Never-mind the fact that the people who star in these shows are ugly, unintelligent, one-dimensional, and mostly unlikeable. The fact is these traits typically lead to conflict, conflict leads to drama, drama leads to ratings. Well in this same light the NCAA tournament satisfies this craving. As a rule NCAA teams are often inconsistent, immature, poorly coached, lack leadership, and prone to emotional highs and lows. Well these traits typically lead to unpredictable outcomes, which leads to drama, which leads to ratings. Here is the ironic part. If the product of play was good, which is to say that the teams were well prepared, mature, and emotionally stable the tournament would be boring and therefore much less popular.

So with these three things in mind why I am not too excited? Well, now that I live in San Diego the weather now is about the same as it was in early February so I can’t even associate the tourney with great weather. The NBA season has been one of the best in recent years and each game carries with it massive playoff implications. And it is undergoing a renaissance with the level of play. Lastly, the top four teams in this years NCAA tourney are well ahead of the other 60 meaning a fairly predictable outcome. None the less I will be watching and hoping that just one upset will make it worth it. Stay tuned for my picks…..

Zen and the Art of Sport

The concept of “mindfulness” is found throughout a number of eastern religions and more recently in a number of books making up the New York Times bestseller list. Although Eckhart Tolle can take credit for its recent popularity in the west, it is a concept that was first created by the Buddha about 2500 years ago. It is the seventh element on the Eightfold Path and was considered by the Buddha to be a major step on the path to liberation and enlightenment. Right mindfulness essentially involves bringing one’s awareness into the present moment and understanding that the mind is continually chattering with commentary or judgment. Those practicing mindfulness realize that “thoughts are just thoughts” and more importantly become aware that the messages one hears during “thinking” may not be accurate or helpful, but rather may be translations of, or departures from truth. 

Common interpretation of mindfulness is that it can only be attained through meditation but Zen Buddhism teaches that mindfulness does not have to be constrained to a formal meditation session. Rather, mindfulness is an activity that can be done at any time and does not require sitting, or even focusing on the breath, but rather is done by bringing the mind to focus on what is happening in the present moment. This can apply to activities as mundane as dinner where the mindful person remains aware of each unique taste. Although it takes practice, the truth is that any activity done mindfully is a form of meditation, and mindfulness is possible practically all the time. 

This type of thought would seem to contradict many of the religious beliefs found in the west where judgement, thought, and analysis form a major function of one’s relationship with God. As a result it would seem that many western people would be incapable of achieving this state, but as is often the case a closer examination displays otherwise. I cannot remember a time in my life where sports was not an extreme passion. My passions have changed but at any given time in my life I have been both an active participant and observer of various sports. In this I am not alone. Our country takes great pride in our athletic endeavors and in many ways it is our “games” that help define who we are to the rest of the world. Despite this collective passion I always hear the counterpoint that the importance we attribute to grown men playing games is silly - especially in the discussion of salaries of the modern day athlete. And if we view sports as merely entertainment I would have to agree with this, but to me, and I suspect to a number of others, sports is far more than entertainment. 

Following my move to Encinitas this past August I have fallen in love with surfing. It is this newest passion that is helping me see sports differently and is helping me understand my interest in the first place. I believe, that without knowing it, sports teaches us the practice of mindfulness and allows to be one step closer to the liberation that all religions seek. Surfing has elevated this for me. To be successful in the water you have to be completely in the moment. One distraction and your ride is over. You must literally clear your head of all thoughts and respond only to the wave. I often have a difficult time remembering any wave later in the day, mainly because I am so focused in the moment I have no time to file away the experience in my memory. This is not to say that this is a new experience for me. Even now in a pick-up basketball game I become solely focused on the task at hand. When I played water polo in high school and college, the sheer physical nature of the sport left no room for thoughts. This is what has made sports so special to me, its’ ability to turn off the chatter. 

This is not a totally unique concept I am introducing as many prominent sports figures have discussed zen principles as part of their success. Phil Jackson attributes his success to his study of zen, and many athletes today discuss the introduction of meditation to their training regimes. But in this light Zen is seen as an external practice that is brought to the sport to improve performance. I maintain that the act of participation in itself allows every participant a chance to practice mindfulness and that this, whether consciously or not, is why so many see sports as “more than a game”.