Playoff Goal: Summer Slam ’88 Words of Wisdom for Victor Wembanyama
When are our instincts ever persistently wrong?
How often is the voice from within saying the wrong thing over and over again?
A 19 year old #1 overall pick with the ability to be the greatest basketball player to ever play should not be playing 29.5 minutes per game with intermittent rest games 31 games into his career.
Intuitively Victor knows this and has shown his displeasure.
Indirectly connected to Popovich’s allotted limited minutes (30 mpg) and post ankle tweak minutes restrictions (25 mpg) is Victor’s goal: “to qualify for the playoffs.”
Goals are important; it’s important not to give up on them because of external influences, however controlling those influences are.
The Spurs can’t make the playoffs if Victor isn’t playing.
I used to love wrestling.
We didn’t have cable so I never got any of the pay-per-views, but I did get to watch the weekend shows in the morning.
And, I caught up on all the big events by renting tapes at the nearby video stores:
- Smash Hit Videos
- Hollywood Video (which later became HEB Video)
- Kroger’s video section
- Albertson’s video section
Those late 80s, early 90s WWF mega events were chef’s kiss. Reflecting back, the cocaine energy seared through the screen even years after “history had been made.”
(P.S. When is history ever not made?)
Anyway, every now and then I go back and watch old WWF clips on YouTube and when re-listening to one match’s commentary, I came across some premium tier life advice that still rattles in my brain.
The commentary is found in the unforgettable mystery opponent contest where the Ultimate Warrior rushes Honkey Tonk Man to win the Intercontinental Championship.
I highly recommend watching the entire clip for cocaine powder remnants and context:
God, there was a vibrancy to prime WWF that will always be hard to match. (Literally, look at Ultimate Warrior waving his body with energy at 3:01.)
P.S. Don’t skip the video. It’s only 4 minutes and 19 seconds. Just listen to it on 1x speed to feel it.
Now that you’ve watched, did you catch it?
If not, listen at 2:22:
“That’s what you do if you want something, you go out and get it, baby.”
And then at 3:40:
“He went out and crowned himself. He went out and took the belt, brother.”
That was Gorilla Monsoon and Superstar Billy Graham on the call, with Graham slamming down some of life’s greatest advice.
