A story about some of the fine Manual kids - and be careful what you wish for...

I bumped into an old acquaintance that I have known for many years - since coaching basketball travel teams and summer tournies as far back as in the 90's & early part of the past decade...
He is a long time area sports guy who not only coached his own kids but who also gave of his time extensively to coach disadvantaged kids from the Peoria area.
He was also active as director of the sports programs thru the Salvation Army (you know where that's located over on the west side of town and many of those kids end up at Manual HS), and also through the Christian Center. He even coached both Shaun Livingston and Ben Zobrist when they were just elementary school-aged kids.

Anyway - he told me of all the Manual kids he's had the opportunity to coach over the years, and a couple of the current Manual team members are among them...but the story he tells is also a sad one...
He says that more than half of all the really talented kids he has had in that west-side area of town, ended up never being successful later in basketball. The talent was still there but because he maintained a good, close relationship with many of the kids and their families, he saw first hand how so many of them fell victim to the lure of drugs, booze, gangs, and ill-informed advisers, and many dropped quickly off the map. Some simply became lazy because they thought their talent would carry them to future success without even showing up for practices.....a common concept that any high school coach would, of course, laugh at.
He even went so far as to say Manual would be a state champ multiple times if only that talent they have flowing into their school from the elementary school level could stay on track, get and heed GOOD advice and guidance, and stay away from the bad element in the community. Traically that is a probelm that goes way, way beyond just sports - and it hurts the kids, the families, and the community. Of course that's the exact hope and mission that the Salvation Army promotes (and the Christian Center as well - building families and better character), but they can't force kids to follow...and sadly so many squander such fine talent.
Many of us can and should do more to help and there are ways even if you can't think of a way to help.



I had to really laugh when I saw the obvious ironies on the front page of today's sports section...

First - let me say -- I love these guys we have on our Braves basketball team, and I am still going to support them 100%...they deserve it and they really are working hard..
I have not and WILL not let up on my support just because it's a down year, and I hope others follow suit.
(ps- I am still hoarse from last night, and encourage others to let them know we still support them.)

I DO see a couple silver linings and here they are...

-already mentioned - our guys are working hard and I think the shots will start falling....we can surprise someone in St. Louis, plus we still have that opportunity to be the ones who burst ISU's bubble.
We have some talented and entertaining players and I am going to continue to be a strong supporter!

-one other silver lining - even though I hate losing - is that the loss to Drake actually pushes Drake a little higher up than ISU would have wanted -
meaning that our game against ISU is ALL THE MORE LIKELY to be able to knock them into a Thursday spot. (Which of course would mean we would get to play them again in St. Louis.)
I look forward to the chance to be the team that eliminated whatever remaining possibility ISU has to play in the post-season even if it is just a remote chance of playing in the CBI or CIT.

-BUT...I did see a couple ironies on the front page of today's Sports Section...
..one was a reference to a chat session with Geno Ford which reminded me of the last chat (last summer) where some "caller" - who just happens top be one of the well known anti-BU posters and haters on the other message board (PM me if you want to know names) asked Geno during the chat what's Bradley gonna do for those fans in the cheap seats, "the nosebleed section", the ones who lay claim to being the fans that most demanded the changeover and who were "responsible" for Geno getting the spot at BU..
They were the JL-haters who even went so far as to root for Bradley to LOSE in St. Louis last spring - literally root against their own team, just so they could have more certainty of JL getting fired.
Those fans who labelled themselves as being in the nosebleed section were intentionally calling themselves that - so as to separate themselves from the fans who generally have good seats and who give good money to BU - who they saw as the ENEMY who were the JL-supporters!

-I found that thought absolutely humorous in light of the other irony in KW's column....
Here are KW's own descriptions of the fans in the nosebleed seats last night (and really any night now...)
"Last-place team and the proof is in the stands.."
"It has been 20 years since so many empty seats watched the Bradley
Braves play basketball games on their home court. Not just from the student
section, but from all sides and corners of the arena.
..sadly, until the repair job is underway with better recruits, Carver Arena will
continue to have a lot of empty seats."

In other words - they aren't there - they have abandoned their team, they have lost interest or become unhappy about the outcome that THEY actually asked for.
It's like pulling up to the drive-up window at McDonalds and rudely giving them a big order, then just when they get it fully prepared - you put it into drive and race out of there leaving your mess sitting there for someone else to have to clean up.

Interesting - the guy who wanted Geno to pick the nosebleed fans as his favorite group was about as wise as the Occupy protesters who thought that their hate, violence, and bitter rhetoric would catch on with the HUGE majority of reasonable and intelligent people - WRONG!!!
The guy apparently thought the bandwagon fans who just as quickly jmp off and on and who are only happy when winning were going to be Geno's favorite folks.
Even worse - look at what the Occupy people are doing now that they see their tactics failing - they double down and even get MORE hatefull and hostile. We are also seeing that among the haters on certain message boards - turning on each other and other fans, turning on the players and just about anyone they can think of to hate on.
It is sad - even though I never go to certain hateful message boards, people tell me all the time they went to check what was being said and they found so much vile that it made them sick.

Those fair weather fans are always welcome back as Bradley fans -- we do have the empty seats and they can come back any time - but watch -- they won't -- they only care about themselves and only feel good about coming when BU is winning.
Every team has fans like that so in a way this is nothing new....but their hate and vitriol against BU and against Jim Les were inexcusable and it's almost funny were it not so sad that their own actions are what have resulted in so many records in futility being set lately by BU, records like the 1st time ever in deep last place, most losses, worst shooting, 0-20, most 30 pt blowouts, etc.
Even KW kinda touches on this when he cites that as badly as BU played last night without their best player Taylor Brown could b an ominous sign of what's to come - and it may indeed be even MORE fallout from what transpired.

"Without Brown, Bradley’s offense was reduced to the fabulously athletic but often wildly erratic Walt Lemon Jr., and the frustratingly inconsistent Dyricus Simms-Edwards — and prayers that a 3-pointer or two might go in.
With Brown gone, the task got even tougher. Only Lemon, with his ridiculous speed, was able to score consistently.
That’s a problem with no easy fix. And sadly, until the repair job is underway with better recruits, Carver Arena will continue to have a lot of empty seats."

so - as much as some fans thought we'd be better right away - it looks like it's going to be a long, long time....
remember the stupid statements people made last spring after JL was fired like...
"We're bound to be better right away. How can we be worse - we were a last place team...etc"

Hmmm...so be careful what you wish for -- and certainly be careful about bragging that YOU were the one who wished for for such a disastrous outcome because you now identify yourself for what you are, a cancer among the fans.