Spurs’ Drive for Five – It’s all About Team Work
By: Pete P. Gallego
You could hear the Spurs fans chanting “Go Spurs Go, Go Spurs Go!” throughout the country and in big cities and small towns across the Lone Star State. This has been an exciting year in NBA Playoffs, and I proudly congratulate the Spurs for finishing the “drive for five” and bringing the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy back to San Antonio.
U.S. Representatives Joe Garcia (D-Florida) and Frederica Wilson (D-Florida) will both look great in their Spurs jerseys in front of the U.S. Capitol, and we will be sure to take plenty of photos. Friendly wager aside, Congress and our nation can learn a few things from the Spurs.
Experts agree the Spurs played “beautiful” basketball. One second Tony Parker was driving towards the basket, seconds and two quick passes later the ball was in the hands of Kawhi Leonard who sank a wide open three pointer. The Spurs played basketball efficiently and unselfishly. They played team ball – not the blame game. They worked together to get the ball to whoever was open – always trusting their teammates and knowing their teammates would get the job done.
Interestingly, the Spurs are the most culturally diverse team in the NBA. Like America, the team is a patchwork quilt of cultures and backgrounds – and the fabric of the quilt is made stronger and more beautiful by the individuality of the players. Australia, Argentina, France, and the Virgin Islands are among the places represented on the team. Several players wrapped themselves in their country’s flag after the win in homage to their places of birth. Lesson number one: diversity brings strength.
Lesson number two: You get much further working as only one team. Like most Americans, I’m frustrated by the dysfunction and bickering in Congress. Why not change strategy and try team work? Work together, pass the ball, don’t worry about the credit and get things done. Solutions are solutions no matter the source. And, when you succeed, there is credit enough for everybody.
People who succeed are those who put their petty politics at the door. At the day’s end, partisans shouldn’t be worried about how the red team or the blue team is doing – we should be patriots who worry about how America is doing. Is America moving forward and will it continue to provide opportunity for our children and grandchildren as it did for us and our parents? That’s what matters.
