I'm inspired...

I am not a sports fan and have never claimed to be one. When it comes to watching sports, my motto is "If it doesn't benefit me or make me any money, why would I waste countless hours doing it?" With this in mind, I don't keep track of what's going on in the world of basketball. Even though I distance myself from sports, I can't help but hear stories about Lebron James being a free agent, that stuff with his mom and teammate, and lastly, his lack of a championship ring. I've heard many compare him to Kobe and many think he's a better player. Quite frankly, I think that both of them are ridiculously overpaid and with or without a ring, Lebron is ballin' both literally and figuratively. The purpose of this post is because I was watching BET over at my mom's house this weekend and they aired More Than A Game, a movie that basically shows how Lebron James made it to the NBA documenting the growth of a group of Basketball playing friends from grade school all the way to multiple stellar high school seasons. After watching the film, I was extremely proud of Lebron even though I don't know him at all. In fact, I was proud of the entire team especially the African American young men that considered themselves the "Fab Five." One teammate in particular was my favorite and his name is Dru Joyce III (pictured center). Dru's father coached the group of guys from childhood (all except one named Romeo Travis who appeared during their Sophomore year in high school). With his father as the coach, one can only imagine the extra pressure that this must have caused him. Dru not only faced this battle, he also dealt with the fact that he was smaller than most of his peers.

This post is getting lengthy so I'll get to the point where I became instantly inspired. In middle school Dru Joyce III was approximately 4'11 while his teammates had already began to undergo puberty. Dru came off the bench during a game when his team was trailing and the crowd immediately began to laugh at the thought of this skinny little boy being put in the game. If that were me I would have been extremely embarrassed and hurt to the point where my performance would have been poor. Luckily, Dru is nothing like me. Coming into this particular game he ended up shooting about seven three-pointers almost back-to-back and the crowd began to roar. This one part of the movie stands out to me. I don't know if it's because I'm skinny or if it's because of the drive and dedication that this young man possessed. It's probably the latter. To make a long story short, at the end of the film the member of the Fab Five accomplished their goal of becoming national champions after a couple of disappointments and numerous wins. Their success speaks volumes. I deem it important for you and I to set goals and work diligently to accomplish them as opposed to sitting around wishing we could become successful. Granted, we may never become national champions or go the the NBA but hey... There's room for us all to be successful in our own right. One may look at the film in question and say that seeing as though Lebron James is the only one who went to the NBA, he was the only successful team member. This couldn't be more wrong. If I read the information at the end correctly, two of the men play basketball professionally overseas and another one played football in college. They are each successful in their own right.

Don't sue me if I have these facts wrong because like I said previously, I am not a basketball fan. I just really enjoyed this film and the story behind it. Who would have imagined that a group of young men from a small city would be so successful on a national scale? Have you seen the film? If you haven't seen it, I suggest that you do so. What goals would you like to accomplish? Have you started working toward them? Oh and if you see Dru, tell him he has a fan! LoL

Thanks for reading,

Alexandria B.