The Life of Dos

As I sit here, I am in pain.

I hurt. But hurt is what makes you stronger. Hurt makes you a better person. Hurt establishes your character. In a funny way, hurt is you. Hurt is the strongest emotion that an individual can feel. And it is imperative for you to hurt every now and again just to make sure you are still there. As Johnny Cash said, "I hurt myself today.....to see if I still feel."

Well people, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that I am hurting. I've been hurting. But, something inside of me, something deep down, tells me that this hurt is just the beginning of a healthy rejuvenation.

We lost last night. We got beat. We are most likely not going to go to a bowl. Bobby Bowden is still going to be here next year. There is a chance, although minute, that Christian Ponder will leave for the NFL. We will break in a new Defensive Coordinator next year. Doesn't sound so rosy, does it? Well, it sure as hell sounds rosy to me. We just need to get through the next 3 games, and start the rebuilding process. We are on the right track. I am pretty sure Jimbo Fisher has proven over the last few weeks that he deserves the keys to the program at the appropriate time, which I believe is now, but Bobby believes is at the end of next season. And, I am actually okay with this. We may struggle next year, but it sure would be awesome to send Bobby off after beating Florida at home. The program is heading in the right direction. I know this in my heart. I really do.

Once again, I am not going to get into X's and O's because it is irrelevant at this juncture as to why I believe we lost, but, I'd like to share a few quotes with the loyal followers of the Chuck Wagon that establish hope- establish credibility.

I would like to preface this quote by saying that becoming bowl eligible is NEVER, and I mean NEVER, an appropriate or acceptable goal. Never. Think about this for a second.....If your goal is to become bowl eligible, which occurs when you win 6 games, your goal is to have a .500 winning percentage. Your goal is to be average. Since when is it okay to be average? Why waste your breath if your goal is to be average. I am not okay with people saying that "well, at least we have a chance to play in a bowl". Bobby has already brought down most of his records at this point, what the hell difference does it make if we don't play in a bowl? He just loses one more record. My point is rather simple here. I don't want you to read too much into this. I just simply don't think that average should be acceptable and my goal for the rest of the season is to play hard, and to improve. And if that brings 2 more victories, then so be it. I will be happy to watch this team play in the EmeraldNuts Bowl on a baseball field. It would also be nice to get another month of work in preparing for the bowl, but it should never be a goal just to become bowl eligible.

Last night, Jimbo was asked what the motivation for the rest of the year is. He responded with:

"I hope pride and the wanting to win- if that doesn't motivate you, then you're in the wrong business."

This quote completely illustrates the difference in attitude towards winning between Jimbo and Old Bobby. Bobby would be perfectly content to just get bowl eligible, but not Jimbo. Sure, Jimbo would like to play in a bowl. But, he wants to improve. He is not okay with middle-of-the-road success. And, I am afraid to say it, but, Bobby seems okay with middle-of-the-road success.

Back in 2000, Bobby said that he would know it was time to go when we became a middle-of-the pack team. Well, we became one of these teams back in 2002. And he's still holding on for dear life. Look, I love Bobby Bowden. He is the single reason why I am a Seminole Booster, Alumni Association Member, and Season Ticket Holder. But, isn't enough enough? It's painful to see his legacy tarnish like this to the outside world. His legacy will never tarnish with the true Seminole faithful because we understand how important he has been to our program. He took a Woman's Teachers School and turned it into the greatest dynasty that college football has ever seen, and ever will see, from '87-'00. Bobby, we won't forget. We never will forget. Just hang 'em up though. It's time.

But, once again, my over-loyalty will force me to write a check for an amount that I cannot afford to the Florida State University this coming spring because of my love for this man. I want him to retire, but I will support him unwaveringly until he actually decides to.

Accountability. You have to have it to be successful. My Father told me a long time ago that there are 3 rules. He said you have to work hard, have integrity, and take responsibility for your actions. Think about that for a second. It's true. Almost all successful people in this world have these three attributes in their lives. Christian Ponder sure does.

"We had a chance to win the game and I didn't come through."

That is coming from a guy who has a rib contusion, sprained ankle, and now a separated shoulder. He takes accountability. This was the first game of the season that he actually played poorly and just like when we lost games that he played great in, he took accountability. It has been a pleasure to watch him grow into a great leader and probably the best quarterback in the country. Yes, I just said best quarterback in the country.

There are two positives that come from his separated shoulder. 1- he will probably stay for his senior year now, and not test the NFL. 2- we get to see what EJ Manual can do. We already know what Ponder can do, and we feel really good about next year with him back under center, but now we get to see the future. I am genuinely excited to see EJ in action the next few games. How great would it be for him to go into Gainsville and hand them their first loss of the season- on Tebow's senior day? Tebow is easily the most overrated athlete in the history of sports by the way. It would be beautiful. And yes, it is okay to dream.



Now, on a more happy note- let's talk about the Rockets.

Writing these words doesn't give it justice. If there is a more refreshing sight out there in the world than The Rockets, I haven't seen it. That's how I would describe this team at this juncture in the season- refreshing.

Re-fresh-ing (adjective): 1: having the power to restore freshness, vitality, energy, ect. 2: pleasingly fresh or different.

Synonyms: bracing, invigorating, stimulating, renewing, intoxicating, restorative, energizing.

This is the Rockets. It is what we are. We are heart. The way we play is energizing. It is intoxicating. It is stimulating. It is simply a beautiful sight to see. It's amazing to see the power that you can create when you have different parts working as one. I said at the beginning of the season that we were going to struggle at times. I predicted a 7th or 8th place finish in the Western Conference. I still believe we are going to struggle at times this year. It is inevitable. We may go on a few 4 or 5 game losing streaks. It will happen. But I've never been so sure of something in my life than what I am about to say. We will bounce back from adversity. It is our make up- it's in our DNA.

I don't see why we cant be the division winner and a 2 or 3 seed at this point. Even being as unbiased as I possibly can be, I don't see why this can't happen. I think it is pretty easy to see, for anyone who is an NBA fan, that the best team in Texas plays its home games at a place called Toyota Center that resides on Bell and LeBranch Street in Downtown Houston.

We have the hardest working guys in the NBA. It is simply a fact. We have a team that plays the game for the right reasons. We have the best defensive player in the league in Chuck Hayes. If he doesn't make the all-defensive team if he continues to play at a rate close to what he has been playing at, I may boycott the NBA for several years. He embodies the passion, the pride, the "want to" that our team is built on. I wouldn't trade him for anybody in the league, because it is impossible to find someone that has what he has. Look, I'm not crazy. I know we probably aren't going to win it all, but who knows. I can guarantee you this though- there isn't one team that would be happy playing us in the playoffs. Our style of play is simply refreshing. We won't back down and we are going to play with heart. And we want to win. Our players wear their hearts on their sleeves- and as long as this holds true- we will have a fighter's chance.

I have been pondering this thought the past couple of days- who is responsible for this team of "want to" guys? And, the answer is not Daryl Morey. It's not Les Alexander. It's not Rick Adelman or Elston Turner or Jack Sikma or TR Dunn.

It's Jeff Van Gundy. The Legend himself. My favorite coach of all time.

He was a no bullshit guy to put it simply. He took shit teams to the playoffs. I mean seriously, go look at our roster in '05. TMac and Yao, then who? Ryan Bowen? Keith Bogans? David Wesly? Stromile Swift? He believed in hard work. He laid the foundation. He signed Hayes to that 10 Day contract. He believed in Hayes. And with that signing of Hayes, he forever changed the foundation of our squad. He wouldn't put up with players that had attitude issues- ie. Stro Swift and Bonzi Wells. There is no way he could have coached last years team with Ron Artest. I am convinced Ron would have been told to stay away- which wouldn't have ever occurred because he would have never given the "ok" to trade for him. This is where Adelman comes in to play. Adelman can coach these guys. There isn't a coach in the world that I would rather have than Rick Adelman with this squad. You are seeing his basketball brilliance this year. He's coaching players up that would be sitting in suits on other squads in the NBA. I love Rick Adelman, but, I love Jeff Van Gundy for laying that foundation that Rick has come in and run with.

Listen people, there are going to be struggles within this 82 game march to the playoffs. It's going to happen. But we have the skill set, and the mind set that allows you to overcome these struggles and come out a better ball club. I've never believed in something as strongly as I believe in these Rockets. I tear up when I think about them. I cried after we lost that game to the Lakers- but you know what- I know we are going to learn from that. That is the make up of this team. You hit a rocky stretch in the 4th quarter because we stopped playing our game- and it won't happen again. We will continue to push the ball- continue to get after it at 100 mph- continue to improve. I've never been so sure of anything in my life.

I also don't know how to take this whole "Chuck Hayes is becoming the most popular Rocket" thing. I don't know whether to get upset or embrace it. Chuck Hayes is MY guy, and he's been my guy for a long time now. I was the guy wearing his jersey to games and people would talk shit after a missed layup or a turn over. And I would take this personally. I wouldn't say anything back except "just wait". Well people, I think the wait is over. And it is completely bitter-sweet for me. I've longed for the day that Chuck Hayes received the respect that he so well deserves. But, I didn't expect to be upset about it. I hear people say things like "Chuck is the key to our team", "we can't be successful without Chuck", "Did you see how hard Chuck played tonight?"- all comments by people who said in the off season that we were screwed because Chuck Hayes was going to be our starting center. Really rubs me the wrong way. Did you not notice that Chuck plays harder than any player in the league on a nightly basis- and it's been happening for 5 years now? Did you not notice how Chuck was the key to us taking the Lakers to a Game 7 last year? Did you forget that he shut down Bynum last year in the playoffs? Did you forget that the reason we got off to a slow start in Game 7 was because we were picking our poison and stuck Chuck on Gasol to start the game- and what happened- Bynum started of hot? Did you not notice all these things? It would be one thing to share this guy with people who genuinely cared and respected what he has done- it's a completely other thing when people that hated him- resented him- didn't believe in him- for the past 5 years to finally jump on the band wagon- pun intended. I don't know. Maybe I am overreacting. I guess my love for this man just runs deeper than the love most people know. On a happier note, this stretch of play by him almost guarantees that he will be resigned and a Rocket for life- which is once again refreshing. He is too valuable to our Organization to let go.

I want to wish everyone a happy Sunday. God Bless.



Dos