After our final off-season workout last season, our team had a talk about what sort of impact each individual will leave on the program. The idea was simple: when you graduate, will you have been considered irreplaceable?
Ryan,
I wanted to address what you said at the end of workout yesterday.
You are right. It's certainly going to take time to answer that question. However, I think I know where I want to start. When I was in Chicago, just before watching the Bulls play, I got a brief run-down of all the players. When I heard about this guy Joakim Noah, I kept hearing about heart. How Joakim has never played for another NBA team, how he's seen as the heart of the team, and how he's kind of like the soul of the Chicago Bulls. And then after watching him play, I could see that! He just had this contagious passion and energy that was consistently "feeding their fire." I feel like he would be irreplaceable for them. That, without him, they'd KNOW something is missing, that their heart is not there to keep pushing and encouraging them.
I want to be like Joakim Noah... Just for the Blue Devils, on and off the court.I was immediately struck by the idea of loyalty; staying with the same team regardless of what happens, resisting outside factors that typically cause people to switch jobs, teams, spouses, etc.
I suspect it's a foundational element of human character.