“Half my life’s in books’ written pages…”
Dateline: Confidence
“Confidence comes not from always being right but from not fearing to be wrong.”
Peter T. Mcintyre
Heart wins.
Yeah practice.
Yeah live and breathe it.
Yeah think, think, think it.
But in the end the one with the most heart, will win the thing.
Let me take a moment and give you an example:
October 1988.
“I watched him in batting practice and with every swing I heard him grunt in pain,” Bob Costas
It was Game 1 of the World Series, Dodgers vs. the A’s.
Vin Scully announcing the remarks that the spark of the team, Kirk Gibson, “…was nowhere to be seen,” and he was right, wasn’t introduced to the crowd, wasn’t on the bench, was back in the locker room nursing two bad legs, one leg torn hamstring, one leg sprained knee.
Sitting back there listening to the game Gibson heard the Scully remark picked up the phone and called Dodger skipper, Tommy Lasorda and told him if he needed him, he would play.
Bottom of the ninth, two outs, A’s up 4 to 3.
Out limps Gibson, some who I talked to who were there said they thought he used the bat as a cane along the way to the plate.
Two foul balls, 0-2, Gibson can only use his arms to power the swing, can’t use his legs Scully, “It’s one thing to favor one leg but you can’t favor two legs.”
Heat right down the middle, Gibson is behind the ball, hits a roller down the first baseline, goes foul. A buddy in the press box: “I watch him will his way back to the batter’s box, as he stood there I could see his legs shaking, Scully even mentioned it.”
3 balls, 2 strikes, bottom of the ninth…
Cliff, I was laying on the couch in my living room, Barb was nursing our 13-day-old son Jimmy. Emmaus, Penn., I was writing a book for Rodale Press…
I turned to smile at both Jimmy and Barb, Ashley was asleep in her room when…
…crack.
Both Barb and I look to the TV in time to see the ball land in the outfield seats just as the camera cut to Kirk Gibson limping around the bases, and then came the fist pumps.
Every time I wonder why I’m writing about sports I think of that moment.
Every time I wonder why I’m writing about sports I hear in my head, “Do you believe in miracles?” as the USA Hockey Team beats the Russians in the Olympics.
Yeah Cliff, I believe in miracles, it is flat out why I cover sports.
I believe in miracles, they are found, in our heart.
“…live and learn…”
“Always make a total effort, even when the odds are against you.”
– Arnold Palmer
I was happy to see you on stage on Day 1 of the shindig a.k.a. Texas Fest, as always your smile makes me smile, your voice just sounds happy and that Cajun way just rolls off your tongue.
Barb, walking by heard you and looked your way and she too smiled, “Love him.”
And then came this…
…first place, you ended up on Day 1 with 23 pounds, 1 ounce and finished in fourth.
Barb: “That’s great right?”
I just looked at her, smiled, thought, “I hope.”
Day 2, I watching BASSTrakk like a family member, refresh, refresh, refresh…
I’m watching others climb, you fall, slowly but moving backwards…
Refresh, refresh, refresh…
18 pounds, 14 ounces, down a few spots but you made the 12 cut, onstage right here you said this:
“I finally had a good day, to back up another good day, I’ve had some good days then the next day fall on my face, just to have a good day two in a row is like new life.”
And soon after hearing that I texted you and basically said, “Call Me.”
And you did.
“…from fools and from sages…”
“Argue for your limitations and, sure enough, they’re yours.”
Richard Bach
“db, Day 2 is always hard for me, I’m not good at changing, sometimes Cliff takes over, I don’t trust my own instincts.”
“What do you mean Cliff takes over, is there another Cliff in the boat with you?”
“No, it’s Cliff in me, that’s the bad habit I have, you have to go with what you know is right not what you think is right, think is right is the Cliff inside of me, when I start questioning myself things go bad in a hurry.”
To all of you out there who play sports, who want to play sports or who find yourself in a competitive situation the previous answer from Cliff is one of the most honest answers I’ve ever heard a professional athlete say, print it out, cut it out and tape it on your locker, or in a desk drawer where your boss can’t see it.
“If I would have had a second day fall like I have had in the past, it would have ruined me mentally, I would have crumbled the next couple of tournaments, crumbled.”
Cliff, let’s talk.
“…you know it’s true…”
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”
Sir Edmund Hillary
You were 5 years old when Gibson hit that shot. I know what a huge sports fan you are so I wouldn’t be surprised if you were watching even back then.
I know you have seen it though.
In the business I’m in we compete against each other all the time, did so at the local level both in big and small television markets, did so at the national level when I had to compete against a world full of journalists.
To have that in your mind, to have that thought of all those other people trying to break the story before I did, to get a cooler story than I did, to get the interview before I did, in the beginning drove me crazy, cost me some upward career movement in fact.
One day, sitting alone in a walkup apartment, out of work, I had a breakdown, crying, throwing stuff, punching walls and doors, heavy drinking, even heavier puking.
I was sitting with my right side of my head leaning against the cool porcelain toilet when I heard the door open up downstairs and Barb walk in, in her arms was our 10-month-old daughter, Ashley.
And in that moment this one phrase came into my mind: “Monkey ain’t going to dance no more.”
Barb: “You alright?”
“I am now,” said a man with puke in the bowl and head on the toilet rim.
Not shocking, but I’m not sure she believed me.
This is why I was alright Cliff, I told myself exactly this, “Screw them, screw all of them, the only one I have to compete against is me, me, I’m the loser not them…”
At that moment I decided that for the rest of my career I only had one ass to kick.
And it was mine.
“…all the things…”
“I don’t believe you have to be better than everybody else. I believe you have to be better than you ever thought you could be.”
~ Ken Venturi
Throw the “other” Cliff off one.
You are as talented as anyone out here.
Here let me help you push “other” Cliff: In eight years you have made the Bassmaster Classic four times.
In 97 tournaments you were in the money 41 times, that’s a db fishing batting average of .423, in MLB right now according to ESPN sources the highest batting average in the league is White Sox fielder, Avisail Garcia at .357.
Apples to oranges, yeah but, you’ve had nine top 10s, 16 top 20s and 22 top 30s.
Bye bye dumb ole questioning Cliff, see ya.
Bottom line son, I have all the confidence in the world in you.
Your turn.
Be the organ grinder, not the monkey.
You have the skill.
You have the talent.
You have the heart, follow that, and when you do that, miracles happen.
Just ask Kirk Gibson.
Just ask those on the ice when the 1980 Olympic Miracle happened.
It’s all about heart.
Just ask…me.
“…come back to you.”
Dream On
Aerosmith
db
“My mind is my biggest asset. I expect to win every tournament I play.”
– Tiger Woods