THAT
It’s What’s Inside COUNTS
HAVE THERE EVER BEEN moments IN YOUR LIFE WHERE YOU CAME TO THE difficult realization YOU WEREN’T THE SHARPEST PENCIL IN THE BOX ?
That despite what you wanted to believe about yourself and your brilliance, there was substantial evidence to the contrary? I’ve had my fair share of those. Probably more than I’m willing to admit. There was this one time when I was 12 … It was summer. It was hot. For some bizarre reason only other 12-year-old boys understand, I was drawn to the huge red-wasp nest in the shrubs. The buzz of activity in and around it caused me to more than inquisitive. I had never done much “research” in this area, but on this particular day I decided to do so. I would test my hypothesis about what would occur when the wasp nest was impacted by an Easton baseball bat. Surely the power and velocity of the blow would destroy the inhabitants of the nest. Wrong. And I wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion, either. I’m reminded of the Kenny Chesney song: “No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem.” Well, it was a problem. Twelve stings later, I remember thinking, “I’m not very smart.” While I’m at it, there was another incident when I was 12 (do you see a pattern here?). I was doing research on the results of centrifugal force, or the effects of how an object traveling
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in a circle behaves as if it is experiencing an outward force. My two study subjects were a small wagon and my sister Cathy. I thought it was entertaining to pull her in a rapid circular motion until gravity took its course and she flew across the yard. Dad was not a fan. He said stop, and I did. At least until I thought he was out of the line of sight. Translation: he went around to the back of the house and I decided to re-engage research. I thought what he couldn’t see wouldn’t hurt me. Wrong! He saw, and once again I was reminded of not being in the “smartest” category. I wasn’t dressed well for that situation either. I could have used an extra pair of pants or two. Now that I think of it, Cathy may have gotten the better end of that deal. There are a lot of people around the country right now who are not feeling very smart. All of the people who pretend to be experts in predicting which teams will have success in the NCAA Basketball Tournament (and other sports areas) are embarrassed to show their brackets. Surely this was going to be the year for the national powers to flex their muscles. The blue-bloods of the college basketball world would prevail in their quest to dominate through to the final four. Wrong! It seems someone forgot to tell Butler and Virginia Commonwealth they weren’t invited and that their weak conferences couldn’t
prepare them for the rigors of the Madness of March. Wrong again. Most of the professional prognosticators felt like Butler and VCU had a “wasp of a chance” when facing the power of the number one seeds, the fatigue and the travel. Not very smart. Of course I was right there with them, and this time I couldn’t blame it on 12-year-old intelligence. It’s hard to measure motivation — that which is inside a team or an individual and inspires them beyond what is seemingly possible. A first glance indicates a lack of talent or shortage of depth. It’s easy to overlook. What you can’t see is the drive, the hard work, blood, sweat and tears it took to get to a place others take for granted. When you think about those things, teams begin to take on a whole other hue. From blue-blood to … Orange or any other “bright color” associated with success. You begin to believe that for a few days in March and April, teams like Butler and VCU had ’em right where they wanted ’em. We like that kind of attitude around here, too, don’t we?! It kind of reminds you of Cowboy ethics, determination and toughness. KYLE WRAY ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT & MARKETING
GO POKES!