Harding sports is over, and we’re already in motion, with both basketball teams well within the season. COVID-19 couldn’t keep us down for long. I mentioned a lot throughout the hiatus about how the most important thing is each other, even though we couldn’t be together for long. I commend you all for doing your part in keeping the world around you safe. We are already reaping the rewards for your humanity. After five long months, we’re back.
Times of grave severity, whether they be good or bad, are best summed up in simple words. Those rare cases are among the most powerful in the human experience — to a communicator such as me, of course. It baffles me that one or two words can aptly sum up a single situation, while bringing with it the power and severity behind the message. The best example of this comes from perhaps the most illustrious figure in sports history: Michael Jordan.
Following the 1993-94 season, Jordan announced his retirement from professional basketball in his pursuit of the game of baseball. It was nice that he got what he wanted, but something happened to him that happens to all greats of their field who walk away: He just couldn’t live without it. He knew it was time to come back. His agent wrote up press release after press release until Jordan, strong in his convictions, decided to put his message out there in a way he knew would grab attention. As simply as he could, he said, “I’m back.” That’s all he said, and that’s all he needed to say. The truest of all true icons returning to the place that built him up needed no fancy introduction; the fact that he was coming back was impactful enough.
Seeing life lived in its fullest is one of the greatest gifts we have as people. Seeing or doing something that renders you speechless is something that happens only a few times in a lifetime, so if it happens, don’t waste the moment. Live it as fully as you can. It’s what makes life wonderful, but it makes writing all that harder. As someone who expresses themselves through the written word, it frustrates me when I can’t figure out how to describe something; not in a way that I don’t appreciate every moment, mind you, but in a way that my brain frankly rejects as a concept. Maybe that’s the beauty of it, though: Maybe moments like that are just meant to be lived.
There’s so much that could be said about where we are, what went into the decisions and what’s going to happen next. There’s more than a lot to be said, actually. But, I’d rather “Be Like Mike” and stick to the simple. We’re back. Bison basketball is back in action all next week. Log on to hardingsports.com for live score updates during the game, or listen in with Billy Morgan on KVHU 95.3.
