Prometheus 6

Bird had other people around him to verify what he said. All of them were great.

Cosby had his ego around him, and his bank account. And a lifetime supply of jell-o for anyone who pushed his story.

You'd think the fact that Larry had all that support would make it easier for Conservatives to acknowledge what he said. But the silence is deafening.

Larry was blue collar. Proof respect goes along economic lines of shared experience as well.

Like a former employer's agreement on idealogues, Marx hit it on the head but the system he envisaged was not going to work in its denial of selfish humans upon interaction. Nonetheless he described nature, his solution just tried to ignore the correct diagnosis it made.

Something about the class stratification in relation to income and opportunity that he touched on. Trying to ignore its bad effects is zero sum math , the lesser evil greater good approach is smarter- tempered and regulated free market.

But that is not the point in this thread, I digress... the point is that great athletes are the result of striving for greatness and Bird's humble origins (widowed family of a garbageman who killed self) mirrored a lot of the other athletes whose exploits he shared/rivaled in greatness of competetion with. The generation of athletes hungry to realize success on many different levels and terms. In the case of Magic and Isaiah it was more of shared family as the players family support groups were basically a big extended family that helped them realize/fulfill their great ability.This should be emphasized also.

Using the boundaries set as motivation and excercise can bring forth the best and brightest in a wide array of pursuits. Apply the striving model to all areas, as has been done. The only problem is there are so many set back or denied as is, the idea that each person reaches full potential is what the self-realization made relevant for a better democracy should pursue.

No more Bird Parkers left to regress into the demons that intially drove them. More Miles Davis models whose father was a successful Dentist. Both men still faced the barriers of perception and turned its energy into creative fire.

Bird understood those humble origins in a way few can. Not the same kind of situation but each dealing with deeply identified pain or circumstance personally... and efforts to surpass that which led to greatness.

Sorry for the long rant, but that generation was inspiration in the field of sport and that conversation caught some of the energy those men embodied.

Yes the media dropped it. Not Tyson enough for them. Eminem will have to rap about it before it gets the young demographic. And the old guard is no longer on guard. R.I.P. Ralph Wiley...