I like to go and watch guys make the extra pass, I like to see guys cheer teammates, I like to see guys play without concern for themselves," said Butler head coach Todd Lickliter after defeating Maryland last Saturday. "So as we recruit, we want people that are somewhat selfless. That's a hard thing. We all have egos.
Coach Lickliter is being modest. What he's done with "team" play is just short of a miracle. And when you consider the huge cash disparity between Butler and the major conference schools they are facing in the tournament it's just staggering. ESPN's Kyle Whelliston described this David v.s. Goliath financial disparity in a recent article about the team play of Butler and Southern Illinois who barely lost to national powerhouse Kansas tonight:
And on Friday, Butler's program and its $9.6 million athletic budget will go up against national champion Florida and its enormous $78 million coffers. But already having defeated schools like Notre Dame ($55.4m) and Tennessee ($66.1m) in November, and Maryland ($46.2m) last weekend, the Bulldogs aren't going to be scared by a few extra bucks." For more go to: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/ncaatourney07/columns/story?id=2807490
I love an underdog. I love "team" effort any day over superstar obsession. Nothing against Durant, Oden and other superstars, but I love teams where no one remembers individual players' names, just the uniform color of the school. I hope these Butler Bulldog's remember the scene from the movie "Hoosiers" that was shot years ago in the very venue where they play their home games (historic Hinkle Fieldhouse) and remember the scene when Coach Norman Dale (played by Gene Hackman) measured the floor and showed his team from a rural small town that the floor at Hinkle where they were playing the state championship was the same size as their little school's gym floor in Hickory. That team had a great shooter, but it would take a team effort for the boys from the fictional "Hickory" to win a state title. By the way, the movie was loosely based on the 1954 victory by rural Milan over a big city school from Muncie.
For those who are regulars on this blog and need a "church" parallel it's simple. We achieve so much more for God when we focus on our collective strength and mission as the church (note a small "c") universal, instead of focusing on building a single mega-church, or promoting a mega-star pastor who takes the "show" on the road to large urban arenas pushing books, CD's and promoting their publishing wing. Think about it. Thousands and thousands of anonymous people are touched each week in communities of faith where unknown and unpublished people are simply living out their faith and pointing people to Christ while ministering in His name. Their focus is on the kingdom of God and less about building their church. That's a team or community approach. Jesus reminded two of his disciples that it's not about your position, order or title, when they were arguing and campaigning to sit at His right hand. It's about the kingdom and when we work together as a community of faith God wins every time!
Here's to the DAWGS! Win one for the late, great coaching legend Tony Hinkle and all those teams and students who struggled through the years to get you to this place! We'd like to see a win, but if you play your hearts out and leave it all on the floor and somehow still lose, hold your heads high because you will always be winners to the many who've called 46th & Sunset our academic home over the years! Go Dogs!
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