I've been lucky in my life... I've met and talked with Jordan, Bird, Magic, Kareem, Dr. J, Barkley and other old-time greats. But what makes my time with Kareem and Magic special was it was on the same plane and right after we fired Harrick.
So, I was flying from ATL to LAX with a stop in Dallas where one of the sweet 16/elite 8 sites was, and realized in my 2 hour layover that Kareem and Magic would be on my flight. Now, you all know Magic is a known great guy, a friend to anyone he meets, and Kareem is rightfully known as an a$$. I was flying first class, window seat, so you know who was in my Aisle seat... Of course.
Now I am a fan boy, so there's a million things in my head about what to say to Kareem... 1) Bruce Lee. Come on. 2) I'm on a plane with Roger Murdock! What's your vector, Victor? COME ON! 3) UCLA and NBA Royalty... COME ON! 4) UGA just fired Harrick and ATL radio had just mentioned Kareem as a possibility to replace him! COME. ON!
So we get on the plane and the guy in front of me breaks the ice... He asks Kareem for an autograph. So glad he made that mistake! Kareem bit his head off... Said "Dude, I just sat down. Why can't you ask me later in the flight?! " it was what I imagined a known a-hole would do... And I didn't ask him! But I had an ace up my sleeve... UGA fan... And Kareem was VERY involved with Harrick. So... Swallowing my 100% desire to only quote Airplane! lines, I started with, "Hey, nice to meet you. I'm a UGA fan and your name is being thrown about as a replacement to Harrick. Please tell me that you've talked to Jim and whether or not UGA has contacted you." (Please remember, the Vent was much smaller, the internet was smaller, and news still traveled slowly. No one knew crap about who could replace Harrick in the days after his firing).
Kareem was shocked. Here is a well-known famous person who was notorious for not wanting to talk to anyone, and I shocked him. So, for most of the next two hours, I got to talk basketball with Kareem. Now, this isn't to say I got close, and it took a lot of skill to continue the conversation (he had never been contacted about our job, he thought the world of Harrick, he didn't know if he wanted to coach at any level and thought college was the most difficult, and, no, I never, to my honest regret, I never told him that "my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense.")
As all this happened, Magic was in seat 1B and was holding court... There were only 12 seats, and 9 were hanging with drinks around Magic, who was sitting on his arm rest and telling stories of what must have been the best times... People laughing, Magic smiling... Just beautiful. But I was stuck by the window next to Kareem, who wasn't very engaging in our conversation. I just happened to have an angle so he opened up a bit.
So, as we pulled into the gate, I ducked under the ridiculously tall Kareem, grabbed my bags and started talking to Magic. Just general bs as we walked the jetway... Then, as we exited into the terminal, there was Joe Morgan... So I'm walking with Magic, and he introduces me as if we are old friends! Kareem comes up, gives Joe a hug, and ignores me. Such is life.
So, I told my story. The only thing that is relevant to today is that we will hear of coaches, and rumors of coaches, but if you get the chance, exploit that to have conversations with famous people. No one knows now who our next coach will be, but use it to your advantage.
Next time on "Who has Monolithicdawgx talked basketball with in airports: Jerry Tarkanian." (Yes, he had a white towel with him).
So, I was flying from ATL to LAX with a stop in Dallas where one of the sweet 16/elite 8 sites was, and realized in my 2 hour layover that Kareem and Magic would be on my flight. Now, you all know Magic is a known great guy, a friend to anyone he meets, and Kareem is rightfully known as an a$$. I was flying first class, window seat, so you know who was in my Aisle seat... Of course.
Now I am a fan boy, so there's a million things in my head about what to say to Kareem... 1) Bruce Lee. Come on. 2) I'm on a plane with Roger Murdock! What's your vector, Victor? COME ON! 3) UCLA and NBA Royalty... COME ON! 4) UGA just fired Harrick and ATL radio had just mentioned Kareem as a possibility to replace him! COME. ON!
So we get on the plane and the guy in front of me breaks the ice... He asks Kareem for an autograph. So glad he made that mistake! Kareem bit his head off... Said "Dude, I just sat down. Why can't you ask me later in the flight?! " it was what I imagined a known a-hole would do... And I didn't ask him! But I had an ace up my sleeve... UGA fan... And Kareem was VERY involved with Harrick. So... Swallowing my 100% desire to only quote Airplane! lines, I started with, "Hey, nice to meet you. I'm a UGA fan and your name is being thrown about as a replacement to Harrick. Please tell me that you've talked to Jim and whether or not UGA has contacted you." (Please remember, the Vent was much smaller, the internet was smaller, and news still traveled slowly. No one knew crap about who could replace Harrick in the days after his firing).
Kareem was shocked. Here is a well-known famous person who was notorious for not wanting to talk to anyone, and I shocked him. So, for most of the next two hours, I got to talk basketball with Kareem. Now, this isn't to say I got close, and it took a lot of skill to continue the conversation (he had never been contacted about our job, he thought the world of Harrick, he didn't know if he wanted to coach at any level and thought college was the most difficult, and, no, I never, to my honest regret, I never told him that "my dad says you don't work hard enough on defense.")
As all this happened, Magic was in seat 1B and was holding court... There were only 12 seats, and 9 were hanging with drinks around Magic, who was sitting on his arm rest and telling stories of what must have been the best times... People laughing, Magic smiling... Just beautiful. But I was stuck by the window next to Kareem, who wasn't very engaging in our conversation. I just happened to have an angle so he opened up a bit.
So, as we pulled into the gate, I ducked under the ridiculously tall Kareem, grabbed my bags and started talking to Magic. Just general bs as we walked the jetway... Then, as we exited into the terminal, there was Joe Morgan... So I'm walking with Magic, and he introduces me as if we are old friends! Kareem comes up, gives Joe a hug, and ignores me. Such is life.
So, I told my story. The only thing that is relevant to today is that we will hear of coaches, and rumors of coaches, but if you get the chance, exploit that to have conversations with famous people. No one knows now who our next coach will be, but use it to your advantage.
Next time on "Who has Monolithicdawgx talked basketball with in airports: Jerry Tarkanian." (Yes, he had a white towel with him).
