6.20.2014

When the Army Gets it Right, The Army Gets it Right




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It’s been a while since I have harassed flattered The Army, But, you know, I barely have time to flatter my own children or indulge my own guilty pleasures. Sometimes, though, you just got to make the time.

Which brings me to the above video posted by the Army earlier today. Who is that mofo? That's right. It's Pat Riley. The same Pat Riley we learned to hate a little bit more each year in the 1980s, and maybe even a little bit more in the 1990s when he joined the Knicks. The Army sang paens to the man I call "Gordon Gekko of the NBA." Such praise no doubt doesn't sit well in some quarters.

Some Celtics fans are still bitter.

You know what I have to say about that?


In the immortal words of Marsellus Wallace fuck pride (which is the root of the bitterness in the first place).

What Pat Riley did in this video was speak the truth. Not just about life in the NBA but life in general.

"This stuff is hard. You stick together, if you got the guts. You don't find the first door and run out of it."

Fuck yeah. I want this guy in my fox hole. We've all suffered through this thing called life. Lost loved ones. Illness, disease, divorce, disappointment. You name it. Life brings it our way. That doesn't mean you go running. Hell no.

You think Red gave a shit when the the Lakers were prohibitive favorites in the 1984 Finals? You think Red cared when the Lakers got revenge in 1985? No and no. The Lakers eventually won the battle of the 80s. Then Danny Ainge returned to town, and it looked like order had finally been restored to the universe. Nope. The Lakers bounced back, and when they were done, Pat Riley picked up the baton. Now it's up to Danny Ainge to figure a plan to leapfrog the Heat.

That's life, man.

Pat Riley nailed it, and I say hats off to him.

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