"Patience brings all things." Del Holdgrafer used the expression in a cartoon he drew for the old Morris Sun Tribune newspaper. The wisdom struck me. I reminded him of the expression in the years following. That, and "He knows every sparrow that falls." "He" being our Lord God.
I suggested to Del that he use the sparrow phrase with a cartoon during the O.J. Simpson trial of all things. It seemed pertinent. He did. Who knows to what extent O.J. may have had CTE? It's debilitating and dangerous. So, we have meandered into the subject of football.
The "patience" phrase pops into my head today because of a different sport. It's basketball. And it's one of the major subjects of 2024: the major strides of women's basketball. And isn't it something? Who could have seen this coming? Why now? A dazzling individual emerged of course. But hey, women's hoops has been around a long time. There is a track record of many distinguished individuals from across the vast U.S.
We're seeing serendipity. Who could have predicted that an Iowa girl would have such reach? And now we see women's hoops reaping dividends at the close of the pro season. This with Caitlin Clark having exited from the playoffs in the first round. How could there not be loads of talent still to appreciate? Obviously there is. Obviously there has been for a long time.
 |
| "CC" |
Enthusiasm has spread. And I expect college women's basketball to be bigger than ever this winter. The Caitlin legacy. "Patience brings all things."
Lindsay Whalen and Janel McCarville could not accomplish this, impressive as their talents were. Somehow even Sabrina Ionescu toiled in relative obscurity until the present time. She was so comparable to Caitlin. She played out west for Oregon in college. She is best positioned now to lift her stock because what better place than New York City?
Of course Sabrina played a disastrous Game 5. But consider Game 3. She was a carbon copy of Caitlin with how she excelled at the end. It could not have been scripted better if CC herself were out there honing in on the basket for the last dramatic shot. Sabrina maneuvered around just like CC would have. She got enough breathing room vs. a tight defense to let fly. This was at the home of our Minnesota Lynx.
And while I'm a perfect example of a person who is new to the fold of WNBA enthusiasts, maybe I'm not all the way yet. That's because I had no emotional connection to my own home team of the Minnesota Lynx. I ought to embrace them like they're the Twins or Vikings.
Maybe coach Reeve was a turn-off when she excluded CC from "Team USA." And then CC and her WNBA All-Stars beat Team USA in a highly entertaining exhibition which I watched. I have even watched some WNBA action on my laptop when I had to put up with a little square on the screen, there for copyright purposes.
Women have proven themselves as athletes for so long. But so much patience was needed to get to this point. "Patience brings all things." The biggest advocates for women would have been saddened to learn it would take this long. But it's surely here now.
 |
| Cheryl Reeve |
Women's basketball is going to be subject to the same human error that happens all over. So Reeve was quite displeased with how the officials appeared to impact the deciding Game 5. Normally a coach who goes off on "the refs" post-game does not come off well. But Reeve said "bring it on." And I like that spirit.
If Del Holdgrafer was alive today, I certainly would have encouraged him by now to acknowledge the eruption of women's basketball popularity here in 2024. And he would have delivered something interesting, I'm sure. And I'm sure with a kernel of wisdom incorporated, because that was Del's stock in trade along with the humorous and wry attitude.
Delmar was a young man during WWII and drew a caricature of Hitler. Associated with Donnelly, he wrote about the adventure of driving from Donnelly to Morris in a car that was short of being state of the art. Cars nowadays don't even come with spare tires! People routinely commute long distances. "Patience brings all things" with motor vehicle technology too.
We needed significant patience to even get pro basketball in Minnesota, men's or women's. There were early attempts that failed to stick, e.g. the "Muskies" and "Pipers." In an earlier time we had George Mikan's Lakers but the NBA actually had a "bush" quality then, or so I have read.
Patience brought us the Minnesota Timberwolves who last year ascended quite nicely. Our top Wolves player did a promo for Minnesota tourism by proclaiming "bring ya ass." Our Governor Tim Walz latched on to that. Aren't you all proud that our governor is on the national ticket? Well of course a lot of you aren't. A shame. Hubert Humphrey got a stadium named for him, the Metrodome. He was a Democrat! Times change.
 |
| Sabrina Ionescu |
Some critics from the minority community might point to CC as being privileged. Of course that's not her fault. Sabrina comes from a family with survival toughness. I'm so sad that she "put up bricks" in Game 5. But we'll never forget what she did at the end of Game 3! Right here in Minnesota. Quieting the crowd. It was a shot for the ages. You might say the Liberty would not have reached Game 5 without it.
The drama was the same as for CC's last-second shot to defeat the No. 2-ranked Indiana Hoosiers in college. They are birds of a feather, Caitlin and Sabrina. It's just that the cards fell right for CC to reach mega-celebrity and to land on "Saturday Night Live" with Michael Che! Who could have imagined a women's basketball player reaching that level several years previous? But, "patience brings all things."
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment