Heart, Determination, Respect.

Today’s fortune reminds me of the greatest loss I ever witnessed.

I was elected president of the student government at a very small high school with about 30 students in total and a graduating class of 3. One of my campaign promises was to form a basketball team for the boys. Out of the 15 boys in the school, 11 wanted to play, so it pretty much became a team for anyone with a pulse. The school didn’t have a gym or a budget for sports, but the board agreed to let us move forward if we could fund it ourselves.

We held car washes, bake sales, and yard sales to pay for our uniforms. A few dads volunteered to coach, and a nearby junior high allowed us to use their gym four nights a week after 8 p.m. for practice. We called ourselves the Eagles and practiced whenever we could, whether it was before school, during lunch in the parking lot, or after school in local parks until the janitor opened the doors of our borrowed gym for us.

I was the worst player on the team. In any other world, I would never have made it onto a basketball team. I could barely dribble or make a layup, but for some reason, I had a knack for stealing the ball from just about anyone so, my role was to annoy their point guard, steal the ball and then get out of the way. 

While I was the worst player, my teammates were incredible. They were individually talented, and even more impressive together. They made it look easy. I swear sometimes it was like watching the Globe Trotters floating through the opposition and putting points on the board with a smile. 

One of our guys was great at sinking 3-pointers. After hitting two of three of them in a game, he would get double-teamed if he had the ball out there. When this happened, someone would yell “Shuttle” which was my cue to get myself set up in my favorite spot and the ball was passed to yours truly. I could swish a 3-pointer from this spot and it was the only time I was supposed to be shooting the ball.

Eventually, we started booking games with private schools, youth groups, and men’s leagues. The biggest challenge came when a large private high school, with about 450 students, finally agreed to play an exhibition game with us. They had everything. A fancy gym, matching uniforms, a band, cheerleaders, and a packed crowd. We were terrified. They played as well as they looked and by the end of the first quarter, we were losing 8-24.

During our huddle, as we whined and complained about how badly we were losing, someone on the other team yelled, "You losers should just go home!" I watched the fear and frustration disappear from the faces of my teammates. We weren’t going to quit, and no one was going to call us losers. Without a word, our point guard stretched his fist into the center of the huddle, and we all grabbed his hand in unity and determination.

We fought our way back into the game, and by the fourth quarter, we were trailing by just 4 points. As we mounted our comeback, a few scattered cheers from the crowd began to rise. With each basket, the noise grew louder, and when we tied the game at the buzzer, the gym erupted in applause. In the first overtime, the crowd’s cheers became even more deafening as we tied the game again. With just a few seconds left in the second overtime, down by one point, we had the ball. It all came down to a final shot. As the ball soared through the air, the gym fell silent, everyone holding their breath.

It missed. 

For a few moments, the silence lingered. Then, a single clap echoed from the bleachers. Another joined. Then another followed, and another, until the entire audience rose to their feet, clapping in unison, to confirm that we had earned the respect of everyone in that gym. 

When I got permission to start a team, I’m sure no one imagined that our scrappy group from a tiny one-room high school could challenge the largest private school in the area. That game taught all of us that with heart and determination, anything is possible, no matter how unlikely it seems. When you give everything you have to reach your goals, the clapping, whether you hear it or not, is respect. And with respect, you're ready to face the next challenge, no matter how intimidating it may seem. So, step onto the court of life and believe in the possibilities, because as today's fortune says, "An exciting sporting event is in your near future."