Text 28131, 135 rader
Skriven 2015-09-09 06:18:12 av Lee Lofaso (2:203/2)
  Kommentar till text 28091 av David Drummond (3:640/305)
Ärende: Black Lives Matter
==========================
Hello David,

 DD>>> It may make a difference in how one is treated but I do DD>>not think it
 DD> has any relevance on how well one can perform DD>>some task. That is down
 DD> to personal aptitude and education.

 LL>> You are soooo wrong!  Even basketball player Larry Bird (a white guy)
 LL>> admitted, "White men can't jump."  So there!

 DD> I am sure that there are white men who can jump just as there are
non-whites
 DD> who cannot.

Once upon a time there was a white man who could jump.  His
name was Pete Maravich.  Not only could that white man jump,
but he could also shoot.

He grew up poor, in a state called Pennsylvania.  His father
was a high school basketball coach, and not a very good one.
Being a lousy coach, and a lousy father, the only thing he
knew to do was to give his son a basketball.  And so, from
the time he was a toddler, until his death (at a young age),
that is what Pete Maravich did.  He played with a basketball.

This guy was so good that Louisiana State University hired
his father to be the LSU basketball coach.  Nevermind his
father was a lousy basketball coach.  LSU did not hire his
father for his coaching skills.  What LSU wanted was a white
guy who could jump.  And shoot the lights out in the process.

Back in those days, freshmen could not play basketball with
the upperclassmen (varsity).  So this stringy white kid had
to play basketball with the JV squad (freshmen only).  Being
that he was the only one who could jump, and also the only
one who could shoot, it only made sense for the other players
to give him the ball every chance they got.  And that is
exactly what they did.  Now, try to realize that almost all
the other players on the team were black.

This was truly a sight to behold.  A white kid who could jump,
and shoot the lights out, regardless of what opponent the team
was playing.  This was a freshman, playing on a freshman squad,
against other freshmen squads from other schools.  People turned
out in droves to watch this white kid play.  Nobody bothered
going to the real LSU games, played by the big boys.

His shooting skills earned him the nickname "Pistol" Pete.
The next year, he played on the full team, and set several
NCAA scoring records, which remain records to this very day.
And he did it playing only three years, not four.

He never graduated from college, figuring he did not need
a degree in order to play basketball.  Every team in the NBA
wanted to sign him, but the owners did not want to pay him
the kind of money he felt he deserved.  So what did he do to
convince the owners to pony up?  He went and did a tour with
the Harlem Globetrotters.  The first white player ever to
play with that prestigious basketball team.  It was only
until a few years ago, when some guy from Puerto Rico, became
the second white guy to play (and he was more mixed than
white, as are most Puerto Ricans).

After doing a summer with the Harlem Globetrotters, Pete
Maravich was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, and played a few
years for them.  Then New Orleans got an NBA franchise, and
a deal was made.  "Pistol" Pete Maravich was traded to the
New Orleans Jazz, and put on a show for the hometown crowd.
He was always showboating, in his days as a youngster in
high school, in college at LSU, with the Harlem Globetrotters,
and in the pros.  He could do anything with a basketball.
And I mean anything.  I think the guy had eyes in the back
of his head or something.  Anyway, he could do with a
basketball would nobody on earth could do, then or since.

The games in New Orleans were wild.  The first games were
played at Loyola University, as the Superdome was not quite
ready.  The basketball floor was raised, and the NBA would
not allow players to play out of concern that somebody
might fall and break their neck.  So some genius decided
to raise a net around the floor, as if that would make a
difference.  Well, I don't know if falling into a net
before making a five-foot drop onto hard pavement would
keep a player from cracking his skull or breaking his
neck, but it was good enough to get the NBA to say "Okay,
you can play ball."

The Superdome opened for business the following year.
Butch van Breda Koff was the coach at the time, and he
was as crazy as the fans.  One time he got mad at the
referee and threw a metal chair onto the floor, almost
hitting the referee (and would have if the referee
not jumped out of the way in time).  Butch got tossed
by the referee, but the fans that it was a hoot.  If
you think Bobby Knight was a hothead, Bobby was a real
pussycat compared to Butch.

Yeah, I liked that Dutchman.  Fun guy.  :)

Anyway, most of us were drunk at the time, as those
fans in the upper decks could get beer for a quarter
a cup.  And those were big cups, of the supersize
variety.  What surprises me is that no one fell off
to the deck below.

Pete Maravich taught all the other NBA greats how
to play basketball.  Julius Irving, Michael Jordan,
Magic Johnson, every black player who has ever played
the game, owes their livelihood to "Pistol" Pete.
He was the greatest of them all.  In spades.

"But it is a black man's game, and it will be forever."
- Larry Bird

"Pistol" Pete Maravich - the first white guy ever to
play basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters

The socks.  Those stinky socks.  Rather than wear the LSU
socks like the other players, "Pistol" Pete had a thing about
wearing the same floppy pair of socks every game.  Just a plain
pair of socks.  Apparently never washed.  When he got to the
NBA, no referee would allow him onto the court unless he took
them off ...

 DD> Skin colour does not bestow the ability to jump.

"I mean, the greatest athletes in the world are
African-Americans." - Larry Bird

79% of all the players in the NBA today are black.
There is a reason why.

--Lee

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