Funny thing about sports: The more popular they become in society, the more trivial they also seem to become.
Modern athletes, with few exceptions, honor winning above sportsmanship. That attitude filters down to the youngest players in beginning recreation leagues, often egged on by parents who berate referees and complain endlessly about how their children are treated. Successful players often beat their chests, spike the ball or in other ways trumpet their own accomplishments.
But if sports is just about winning, it has no meaning at all.
John Wooden taught that lesson. He also embodied the truth that the lessons of fair play, teamwork and reaching beyond one's abilities through sheer effort carry people far beyond the field of play. That's why the nation is mourning his death late last week at age 99.
Wooden was no stranger to winning. His record as head basketball coach at UCLA is a jaw-dropper, especially in light of today's competitive NCAA. His teams won seven national championships in a row, from 1967 to 1973, and 10 total. His teams once won 88 straight games. All this came despite the realities of college athletics, in which players are constantly graduating and being replaced by new recruits.
But that's not the part of Wooden's life that made him an enduring legend long after his coaching days ended. If the cliché of having one's head screwed on straight applied to anyone, it was he, and he saw himself as responsible for making sure everyone around him had theirs screwed on straight, as well. He was a teacher, on and off the court. And, as he said, "I think the teaching profession contributes more to the future of our society than any other single profession."
Wooden seemed to have volumes of aphorisms stuffed in his head, ready for use at the right moment. He developed a "pyramid of success" that taught his players, and later business and community leaders, how to cultivate industriousness, enthusiasm, faith, patience, loyalty and self-control. He taught that character was more important than reputation, "because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are."
What made him great, however, was that he lived what he taught. Wooden was a man of strong religious faith. He valued family and virtue more than fame and fortune. When he told his players not to swear or criticize teammates, they knew he would abide by those rules, too. And when the Lakers offered him 10 times his salary at UCLA, he turned them down.
To Wooden, it never was about money and fame. For sports to have meaning and value, they simply can't be about that.