This is a wicked spring to be bogged down, and I mean that literally. We're soggy and bogged and as a result, not a lot of traditional spring-like activities are happening.
But we do have NHL Stanley Cup finals and won't all this overblown hype surrounding the expected walk-through victory by the Vancouver Canucks just add to the national bogginess when they don't win?
But if we are seeking inspiration in the sporting world, we have some remarkable practitioners of wonderful quotes to call on to provide us with hope and confirm the fact that there are good people in this world doing good things, or crazy people in the sporting world who keep us excited and entertained.
You want inspiration to take into a Stanley Cup final? Well, there were no more inspiring words to recollect than those of the late Fred Shero who spoke to his Broad Street Bullies, the Flyers back in the 1970s. His words were prophetic.
"Win together today, walk together forever," he told them. And they have. The Broad Streeters are like the Saskatchewan Roughrider alumni. They actually liked one another and went to the hockey wars together with a peculiar brand of play that is still analyzed to this day.
You want fun quotes from the sporting world? Nobody better than Yogi Berra and his "it ain't over till it's over," quotation. Of course he had many. While driving to a certain club without knowing the directions Yogi sputtered, "I don't know where we're going, but we're making good time," or talking about the early afternoon shadows in left field at Yankee Stadium. "it gets late early out there."
Or how about Lee Trevino, the fun loving Tex-Mex professional golfer, refusing to gripe about a PGA tournament rain delay. "When God wants to play through, you let him," he said. Or another quote using the Almighty, Trevino was quoted as saying that if a golfer is caught in the middle of a fairway when an electrical storm strikes, one only needs to raise a one-iron aloft because, "even God can't hit a one-iron."
The great tennis icon Arthur Ashe, a leader in integrating professional tennis, noted that "when you're handed a lemon, make lemonade."
Another black American who made an impact, the monumental Jackie Robinson, was quoted as saying "life isn't important except when it impacts on other lives."
The guy who brought Jackie Robinson into the major leagues also had a memorable quote or two. Branch Rickey uttered the observation that "luck is the residue of design." He knew what he was doing all the time and he knew bringing Robinson into the big leagues was a calculated risk.
Then there was the anonymous coach who spoke these wonderful lines when addressing his players. "Do not let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can do." Pretty straight forward, I believe.
How about Muhammed Ali before he became Ali? He was a pretty well unknown light heavyweight, attempting to make it to the Olympics when he uttered the simple line, "I am the greatest." That line got everyone's attention and then he went out and proved it in his chosen profession.
How about the immortal Vince Lombardi who was noted for his inspirational leadership abilities. His oft misquoted line still rings true for those engaged in intense competition at any level. Lombardi simply stated that "winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is."
Saved for the last, the late and great sportswriter Grantland Rice who came from the old school of sports reporting. He coined the phrase "the sultan of swat," to describe Babe Ruth and referred to Red Grange, an early day running back as "the galloping ghost." He also poetically used the Great Scorer lines to work on an article about sportsmanship and pulled out the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse to describe a Notre Dame football backfield.
So hey, maybe you can use one or two of these to brighten up your soggy day. Good luck with those drenched basements, flooded fields and not so gently flowing waters. What can I say ... it's Saskatchewan!
