Five Lessons From Sports that Lead to Immediate and Long-Lasting Success

As many of you know from reading my blog over the years, I’m a huge sports fan. In this year’s NBA Finals I liked both teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, mainly because I’m a huge fan of LeBron James and Steph Curry. I appreciate how talented LeBron is and how he uses his immense talent to make everybody around him better. I admire Curry for his incredible shot making ability as well as his toughness for a so called “little guy.”

There are other players I enjoy watching on both teams, but I’ve come to admire and respect one individual in particular over the course of this Finals and the past NBA season, Steve Kerr, head coach of the Golden State Warriors.

I remember Kerr from his playing days and the big shots he hit to help his teams win five NBA championships over his 14 year playing career. I thought he was knowledgeable as a broadcaster on TNT and as I’ve learned more about him and his approach to coaching and life in general I’ve become not only a fan but also a student of his philosophies and success.

Kerr became the first rookie NBA head coach since Pat Riley with the Los Angeles Lakers to win an NBA title. When he was hired some were surprised because he had no coaching experience and the previous head coach, Mark Jackson had a successful season. Jackson’s problem was not a lack of coaching ability but rather an inability to get along with others.

Some co called “experts” thought the Warriors wouldn’t improve this season and that they would be in for another short playoff appearance. I’ve always felt there are a lot of lessons to be learned from sports. Lessons that apply not only to sports but to business and every walk of life. With that in mind, Kerr’s approach is worthy of sharing and included the following key parts:

• Humility: Since being hired as the head coach, Kerr has gone out of his way to give his team, specifically his assistant coaches and players the credit. He’s been quoted as saying, “The main thing in all this is I’ve been extremely lucky.” He’s also said on several occasions, “Don’t talk to me, talk to my assistants – they’re the ones doing all the real work.” He’s been careful all season to avoid criticizing Jackson and unlike Jackson hasn’t let his ego get in the way of the team’s success. Last season, Jackson implemented a rule prohibiting assistant coaches from talking to the press. When one coach was given credit for his work, Jackson had him relocated to coach the team’s D-League team. Kerr on the other hand has hired assistants known and respected for their expertise and skill. He’s leaned on them and relied on them to help him and his team maximize their talent and achieve a greater level of success that led to the best record in the NBA this season.
• Perspective: Prior to becoming a head coach and between broadcasting gigs, Kerr was the General Manager (GM) of the Phoenix Suns. Two stories about Kerr’s stay in Phoenix stood out to me and showed that he had a good perspective on what he wanted to accomplish. In the first example, Kerr was working with a guy named David Griffin. Griffin said, “Basketball was the sum total of my life. I threw myself into the job to such a degree that I had absolutely no balance whatsoever. Steve made me understand, ‘You don’t have anything to prove.’ He made me a radically better human being.” One night, when the Suns were on the road, Kerr discovered that Griffin was watching the game from home instead of the office, “I’m so proud of you,” he told Griffin.

The second example occurred during Kerr’s last game as the GM in Phoenix. It was the 2010 Western Conference Finals and one of Kerr’s players tried to save a loose ball from going out of bounds and landed on a courtside photographer. The photographer was injured and loaded onto a stretcher and taken by ambulance to the hospital. As this all happened, Kerr left his seat and walked with the photographer as he was carried out of the arena and loaded into the ambulance. As he was being loaded into the ambulance, Kerr asked if he could call anybody for him. Kerr called the photographer’s wife to let her know what had happened all while his team was losing and being eliminated from the playoffs.

• Have a plan: When Kerr was interviewing for the head coaching job, what impressed the team owner was how prepared Kerr was. He had created a PowerPoint Presentation that outlined things like, why he was ready to be a head coach in the NBA and specific areas of each players’ game that he wanted to work on to make the player better. Many people say Kerr had wanted to coach for years and when he got his chance he took full advantage of the opportunity by having a plan in place.
• Listen and take advice from others: A couple of years ago, during the offseason, Kerr attended a sports leadership conference. At the conference he ran into Jeff Van Gundy, a former head coach and current broadcaster. Kerr had always respected Van Gundy’s work and asked his advice. Van Gundy advised him to write down everything. Everything you’ve learned, everything you want to do, everything you’d change. It’ll organize your thoughts. Develop your philosophy. Kerr had kept a journal during his playing days but began writing everything down after his conversation with Van Gundy. As a result, Kerr had an extensive list of plays he liked and developed his philosophy to the point it was easy for him to build his master plan when he got the opportunity with Golden State.
• Willingness to learn and improve: Kerr was obviously willing to learn. For this point though, I’ll highlight a different coach, Clint Hurdle, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of Hurdle’s colleagues said, “Clint’s willingness to learn is one of his great strengths. You’re talking about a guy with a number of years in the dugout who could very easily be the old-school guy that’s done it for a number of years and has his own way. He’s always hungering to find ways to make everyone better.” This hunger is evident in his success. Under Hurdle, the Pirates have experienced a revival, making the playoffs the last two seasons after 20 straight losing seasons.

As a player, Kerr earned the trust and respect of Michael Jordan as well as Hall of Fame coaches Phil Jackson and Gregg Popovich. In fact, Popovich said, “People gravitate to him. Steve has a great sense of humor – refined, honest and self-deprecating when it needs to be.”

Now, as a coach, Kerr has earned the respect of his players, the Golden State Warriors organization and the entire league. He accomplished this by creating a formula that breeds success for him and everybody that comes in contact with him. I admire him for what he’s done and am working to make sure I follow his successful example in my career.

Manners Matter, Even For NBA Players

As most of you know, I work part time for the Utah Jazz as a member if it’s Game Nigh Staff.  Last weekend I worked my first preseason game of the season.  The Jazz played the up and coming Los Angeles Clippers.

What impressed me most about the game were two players, Matt Barnes and Jared Dudley.  Neither player is considered a superstar but both have been productive over the course of their careers.  Barnes has been in the league 10 years and has career averages of 7.9 points per game.  Dudley has been n the league six years and has a career average of 9.0 points per game.

I remember when I started working for the Jazz.   I was excited but had certain expectations based on what I had heard about players in the past.  Before I started with the Jazz’s Game Night Staff, I had a friend that worked for the Jazz as a Ball Boy.  I remember him telling me about the first time he met Kobe Bryant.  He was excited because Bryan skipped college and went straight to the NBA from high school.  Bryant and my friend graduated high school the same year and my buddy thought that was cool and was eager to see him when he came to town or the first time.

Upon Bryant’s first game here in Utah, my buddy got a chance to run into and meet Bryant.  He took the opportunity to tell him how they had graduated high school the same year and how he wanted him to be successful.  Bryant waived him off like he would an annoying gnat and didn’t even acknowledge his comments.

Needless to say, my friend was upset and disappointed.  He shared that story with a lot of people and from that point on was never again a fan of Kobe Bryant.

With this story in my mind as I started my job with the Jazz, I didn’t have hopes of really liking or being impressed with any of the players.  I’ve been proven wrong many times and Saturday night’s game was yet another instance where I was impressed with players.

Part of my job as a member of the game Night Staff is to run stats to the visiting teams bench.  I usually stand in the tunnel that runs from the court to the visitor’s locker room.  There is a printer under the stands that prints the stats at every time out and I pick them up and run them to the visiting teams bench.

Saturday night Barnes did not play due to a minor injury.  At one point he had gone back to the locker room and when he came back there were some fans in the tunnel making their way to their seats.  There was some congestion and I looked back to see Barnes making his way back to the bench.  As he made his way, he politely said, “Excuse me” as he was wading through the fans.  He wasn’t irritated but was friendly and courteous.  I remember thinking to myself, “Good for him.”

Later in the game, I handed one of the assistant coaches the stats during a timeout.  As I was walking back to the tunnel as the timeout ended, Jared Dudley turned unexpectedly and ran into me.  Dudley is 6’7” tall and it’s really my job to make sure I’m out of the players way.  Regardless, as he ran into me he looked at me and said, “Excuse me, I’m sorry.”  I told him it was not a problem.  Don’t let it happen again though, right?

It was my fault, but he was polite and well mannered about the whole incident.

As I thought about both of those encounters, I thought how much more I liked both of these players than I had entering the game.  Before the game I wasn’t a player hater but due to their manners and polite demeanors I walked away from both with a higher appreciation for them.

I’ve talked to others that work for the Jazz including Ball Boys, ushers, photographers and security personnel that have shared similar stories about players and how they’re actually nice people.  One team that always comes up in these types of conversations is the San Antonio Spurs.  Their team is professional and knows how to treat people.  They always say “thank you” when you help with something and include a “please” when asking for something.

In one instance, Tm Duncan had a bag of licorice in his hands as he arrived at the locker room.  As he approached he said “hello” to one of the security guards.  The security guard responded with a hello of his own to which Duncan asked him if he’d like a piece of licorice.

The Spurs have always been a tough opponent for the Jazz and when a team beats your team like the Spurs have the Jazz it makes it hard to like that team.  However, even with their success against the Jazz, stories and examples like this make it hard to dislike them too much.

Manners play an important role in any relationship.  When you display good manners people notice it and not only like you more but respect you as well.  I know that this season I’ll be paying closer attention to Barnes and Dudley and except for when they play the Jazz I’ll be rooting for them to play well.

 

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

You Must Be Famous

My wife and I are moving and over the last couple weeks have been boxing things up in preparation for the move in about 5 or six weeks.  This weekend as we were boxing things up, I came across my copy of the August 13, 2012 issue of Sports Illustrated.  On the cover is Usain Bolt, the Jamaican speedster and fastest man on the earth.

I love the Olympics and had fun watching the Olympic last summer.  When I saw this cover with Bolt, it reminded me of the time several years ago when my dad met one of the all-time American track and field greats.

My dad has been running for the last 30 years.  As the 1990’s were coming to an end and we were preparing for Y2K, he was the Vice President of the Utah Chapter of USA Running.  In this capacity he would travel once a year to the USA Running’s national meetings where the committee would host a luncheon to honor the Runner Of The Year.  In 1999, the meetings were held in Los Angeles, California.

The annual lunch is proceeded by a pre-lunch networking event with snacks and drinks.  As my dad was mingling and talking to other attendees he started talking to one individual who seemed really nice.  They talked for several minutes until an announcement came over the loud speaker saying the luncheon was starting.  After the announcement, the doors to the banquet hall opened.  My dad and the guy he was talking to were standing right near the entrance and as they turned to walk in, they were greeted by hordes of photographers.  The flashes and clicks from the cameras were going crazy and my dad turned to his new friend as they walked in and said, “Wow, you must be famous.”

As he and his friend continued walking into the banquet hall they were joined by the hundreds of other attendees and were separated. As the lunch started, the program to honor the Runner Of The Year began.  The host stood up and introduced the Runner of The Year, Maurice Greene.

At the time of this honor, Greene was the world record holder in the 100 meters.  As the host went through Greene’s qualifications and accomplishments he invited Greene to accept his award as Runner Of The Year.  As Greene stood up and approached the podium, my dad was shocked to see that his new friend, the guy he had been talking as the doors opened and the cameras started flashing was none other than Maurice Greene.

Suddenly his “you must be famous” comment took on a whole new meaning.  Dad didn’t say anything to anybody at the luncheon about talking to Greene or his comments as the cameras started flashing.  It wasn’t until he got home a few days later that he told me about it.

I work part time for the Utah Jazz and one of the things that struck me when I first started working for the Jazz is how different the players look in street clothes.  As a fan you get used to seeing your favorite players on the court or field of play and in their teams uniform.  In that venue it becomes very easy to recognize them and pick them out.  It’s another story when you see them out of context or off the field of play.

The first picture I included in this blog entry is of Maurice Greene in a suit.  The second is Greene in his running gear, specifically his Olympic uniform.  The second photo is they way most people are used to seeing Greene.  In this setting, he’s easily recognizable, but in the suit, it’s easy to not notice or recognize him.

I know many people who treat people differently simply because of their position, title, job or some other status. In a recent Forbes column, Ty Kiisel after hearing of the passing of Stephen R. Covey reflected on his leadership teachings and highlighted the two things he learned from him.  First, people are not resources like computers or office furniture and second, techniques fall flat, a genuine interest in other’s success creates successful organizations.  In reference to the second point, Kiisel pointed out something that I think is critical and important in the way people should treat each other:

“All you need to do is peruse the local bookstore or visit Amazon.com to learn the latest and greatest business management techniques. I spend a lot of time reading them myself—however, if they merely become techniques to manipulate (or manage) people, your colleagues will see right through you. Because business is personal, a genuine interest in the people you work with and a desire to help those you lead achieve success is what really drives business performance. What’s more, honesty and integrity are not techniques—they should be the way we are, the way we do business and the way we interact with people. This type of atmosphere is created from the top. A “Do what I say and not what I do” approach to how you manage your business does not work. However, there is hope for those of us less inclined to interact genuinely with people. Jean Kerr said, “Man is the only animal that learns by being hypocritical. He pretends to be polite and then, eventually, he becomes polite.” I think this is true of developing a genuine interest in our relationships with colleagues as well (for those of you who feel you might be lacking).”

My dad has always been outgoing and is a great example to me of how to treat people.  The fact that he was nice to somebody he thought was a stranger only to find out later that it was Maurice Greene is the perfect example of how to treat somebody.  Throw away titles, positions and status and just be sincere, genuine and nice to somebody.  It should be really simple but I think at times people get caught up in “networking” and worrying what the other person can do for them.  It’s my belief that if you worry less about what somebody can do for you and just treat them with respect and in a way that you would want o be treated you’ll build a stronger relationship that will lead to long term benefits as opposed to quick and meaningless interactions.

Thanks, Dad, for another example of how to be a good person.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Persistence

I’ve enjoyed watching Bryce Harper, the 19-year-old rookie phenom for the Washington Nationals.   He entered the big leagues with a lot of fanfare and so far has lived up the hype and handled himself incredibly well both on the field and off with the media.  According to teammates and coaches, he hustles and plays the game the “right way.”

Watching Harper’s Nationals face off against my beloved St. Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series reminded me of another player, Rick Ankiel that entered the league with high expectations as a flame throwing pitcher for my Cardinals.  Ankiel debuted in 1999 in Montreal against the Expos. He pitched his first full season in 2000 at the age of 20 (second youngest in the league), posting an 11–7 record, a 3.50 ERA. He came in second in the NL Rookie of the Year voting and received The Sporting News Rookie Pitcher of the Year Award.

In the 2000 National League Central Division Championship game Manager Tony LaRussa started Ankiel in the first game of the series against the Atlanta Braves.  In the first two innings, Ankiel didn’t allow a run, but in the third inning he allowed 4 runs on 2 hits, 4 walks and 5 wild pitches before being removed with two outs.

Ankiel never recovered.  He tried to regain his pitching ability before switching to the outfield in 2005.  He spent the next two years learning to play the outfield and working on his hitting skills.

In 2007 Ankiel was called up again to the Cardinals, as an outfielder.  He played for my Cardinals through the 2009 season.  Since then he’s played for the Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and now the Nationals.

Since 2007, Ankiel has collected 438 hits, belted 69 home runs, driven in 233 runs and has a career average of .244.  More importantly, he’s become one of the most feared outfielders for his ability to throw out runners from virtually anywhere on the field.

So often it seems like people run into obstacles or challenges in their lives and run away or shrink from the challenge.   It would have been easy for Ankiel to walk away and nobody would have blamed him.  I admire his persistence and determination to overcome this challenge.

In my opinion, persistence comes as a result of preparation and knowing what you want.  I believe there are four key steps to developing the persistence necessary to get what you want, including:

1. Decide what you want.  If you don’t know what you want, you’ll never know where you’re going.  Once you determine what you want,  it will be easier to be persistent.
2. Develop a plan to get what you want.  Once you know what you want, creating a strategy will help you get what you want.
3. Set goals to measure success.   Goals will allow you to see how you’re progressing and enable you to re-evaluate what you need to do to get what you want.
4. Reward yourself.  Every great accomplishment deserves a reward.   It could be as simple as a night out at the movies, dinner at a favorite restaurant or some new clothes.

Ankiel played for the Nationals this year.  He only played in 68 games and who knows what his career will hold in store for him next year.  One thing I’m sure of is that he has the persistence to bounce back.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Maintaining Focus

I’m a huge St. Louis Cardinals baseball fan.  I’ve been a fan since I was nine and played little league baseball for the first time.  I remember seeing Ozzie Smith on TV doing his signature back flips and hearing the sports commentator call him, “The Wizard of Oz.”  I was hooked and have liked the Cardinals ever since.

About this time last year I was thrilled to see my beloved Cardinals begin their comeback from 9 games back with a month left in the season to make the playoffs as the Wild Card team from the National League.  My excitement grew as they continued to defy the odds and beat the heavily favored Philadelphia Phillies and then the Milwaukee Brewers to advance to the World Series.

As game six of the World Series approached and the Cardinals were in a do or die situation I was a mess.  I was anxious and concerned that the Cardinals would lose.  As game six started and the Cardinals fell behind I couldn’t bear to watch and turned the game off.  I turned it back on later that evening anticipating that I could see what the final score was and to my amazement found the game was still in the 9^th inning and was stunned when third basemen David Freeze brought the Cardinals back and they eventually won to force a Game 7.

The next night as Game 7 was about to start, I tuned into the game and was fascinated to hear what Cardinals manager Tony La Russa did after Game six.  La Russa is considered by many to be a baseball genius and throughout these playoffs did a lot to back those claims up.  After Game 6 and all the excitement, La Russa visited each player at his locker and talked to them individually to tell them what a great job they did in game six but more importantly to remind them not to get caught up in the Game 6 win.  He told each and every player to remember the end goal and focus on what they still needed to do in order to win Game seven and accomplish their ultimate goal of winning the World Series.

In my opinion, what La Russa did can be applied to any business or career.  Often I find that people get so excited about an accomplishment or achievement that they lose their focus and end up losing out on their ultimate goal.  Our society seems to be very much one that is concerned with or subscribes to the philosophy of “what have you done for me lately?”

President Abraham Lincoln said, “Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

I’m all for celebrating success but not at the expense of long-term success or at the risk of missing out on the ultimate goal.  To avoid making this mistake, I recommend a couple simple things that will help maintain the proper focus and allow you to achieve long-term success.

• Understand the goals, both short and long-term. Sounds simple and while you may know what the goals are, be sure to maintain focus on those goals and communicate those goals to others that may be involved in helping you achieve them.
• Designate bragging/recognition time and rewards along the way.  Everybody wants to be recognized for their accomplishments.  By establishing a specific time to appropriately brag and tell others of your accomplishments you’ll get the benefit that comes from being recognized by others and the motivation that comes from such recognition.  Also, rewards for achieving milestones will help add to the motivation while providing another way to appropriately brag and tell others of your accomplishments.
• Use these accomplishments as building blocks for future success.  Everybody is excited about a notable achievement.  Use this excitement as encouragement for future efforts and to show the importance of continuing to achieve these milestones and what can be done by looking at the bigger picture and accomplishing all of the goals, not just the short term or smaller ones.

In my experience it’s good and healthy to get excited and celebrate accomplishments.  However, similar to La Russa, it’s just as important to maintain focus on long-term goals and make sure that every success is leveraged to help accomplish the ultimate goals.

What are some of the things you do to maintain focus?

Editors Note:

I chose this picture because it included Albert Pujols, a major player in last years World Series title run.  Even though he left the Cardinals in the off-season I still root for and like Pujols.  In my mind he’ll always be a Cardinal.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

Kyle Korver, More than Just A Pretty Face, Ladies

This year my nine-year-old son decided he wanted to try out for a competition soccer team.  No big whoop, but he made the team.  He’s kind of a big deal.

We recently had our first team meeting and each player was asked to pick out their number for their new uniforms.  My son picked number 23 because it was Michael Jordan’s number.  After he made his selection he asked if he could change it to number 26, after his favorite player, Kyle Korver.

Korver played for the Utah Jazz for a couple seasons and became my son’s favorite player.  Since leaving, he has remained my son’s favorite player.

I recently wrote about Paul Pierce and told the story about him inviting a young fan out onto the floor while he was warming up.  This story reminded me of another story involving my son and Kyle Korver.

Two seasons ago, my son was playing Jr. Jazz basketball and he wore Korver’s number 26.  Each season the Utah Jazz provides tickets to Jr. Jazz players to come and watch a game.  Each season, I arrange with my boss at the Jazz to take my son to the game and to bring him down on the court before the game starts. I also happen to know the Jazz’s photographer so I arrange to meet him on the court and take a picture of my son and I.  The photographer will also grab a Jazz player and have him take a picture with my son.

My son knows this and asked if we could get a picture with Korver.  I told him we would try.  Unbeknownst to my son, I talked to the Jazz photographer in advance and he said he could probably arrange for a picture with Korver.

As we stepped out on the court that night, the photographer took a picture of my son and I.  We saw Korver come out to do his pregame warm-up and the photographer headed over to ask him to come take a picture.  As he approached, the Jazz trainer walked up to Korver to begin his warm-up.  Once the warm-ups begin we’re not allowed to interrupt.

My son and I were disappointed.  The photographer though had a plan.  He had my son stand in a way that would put Korver in the background of a picture. As the photographer tried to line my son up so that Korver would be in the background, Korver looked over and cold see what was going on.  As he was stretching, Korver walked up behind my son, smiled big and posed for the picture.  My son looked back and saw Korver, looked back at me and smiled as if to say, “Look dad, it’s Korver.”

The photographer got a couple shots and and said thank you.  I thanked Korver and he said patted my son on the shoulder, smiled and said we were welcome.  I have no idea who the Jazz played that night or if they even won.  All I know, and all that mattered was that my son got his picture taken with his favorite player.

My son still follows Korver and roots for his Chicago Bulls.  He can’t understand why Korver isn’t on the All-Star team every year, especially when he’s “the best three point shooter in the NBA.”  He still remembers that photo to.  Thanks again, Kyle.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+

When I Became A Paul Pierce Fan

I work for the Utah Jazz on the team’s Media Relations Department.  I just completed my sixth season with the team and have been surprised at just how often I’ve had an opinion about a player only to have to have it change by being able to interview, meet the player or see them in person.

The one thing I’ve learned over the last six seasons is that fans and the public in general don’t know players very well and have a lot of misconceptions about athletes because they don’t get to see some of the cool things professional athletes do.  Not every athlete is a great guy but there are enough of them out there, it’s just that the good things they do aren’t always public information.

I recently read and article about the Boston Celtics and their “Big Three” of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett.  I’ve always liked Ray Allen for his sweet shooting stroke and incredible work ethic and Kevin Garnett of his hustle, leadership and ability to control a game without being the highest scorer.  Paul Pierce on the other hand was a player I didn’t’ care for very much.  I liked him coming out of college but became disillusioned when, on the eve of his first playoff appearance early in his career he made comments about how unstoppable he is.

Pierce is a great player but I just didn’t care for his brashness.

This article I read reminded me of something I saw two years ago before a Jazz v Celtics game when I became a Paul Pierce fan.  I remember walking into the arena about an hour-and-a-half before game time.  I was running some information up to the visiting teams radio play-by-play guy at the top of the lower bowl.  As I turned around to return courtside and back to the pressroom, I noticed there was a large contingency of Celtics fans gathered around watching the Celtics warm up.  I also noticed there was a member of the arena’s security team in the stands pointing at people, trying to identify somebody that Paul Pierce was pointing out.

My first thought was that somebody said something or had thrown something at Pierce.  Pierce was pointing to somebody in the crowd and the security guy was trying to figure out who he was pointing to.   To my surprise, the security guard pointed to a little boy, probably about five or six years old.  This little boy was wearing a Paul Pierce jersey.  Pierce noticed the kid and had the security guy invite him down to the court.

Once on the court, Pierce gave the kid a ball and let him shoot with him and his other teammates and even gave him a shooting lesson.  Pierce was talking to the kid and had a conversation going with him.  Pierce is 6’7” tall and was leaning over to be as close to eye level as possible with this little boy.  I couldn’t hear the conversation from where I was, but at one point the kid said something that made Pierce laugh so hard he almost fell over.  He had to stand up to not fall over and laughed loud enough that I could hear him.

The kid was out there for three or four minutes before looking around and realizing Pierce’s teammates were all standing around him listening to everything he was saying.  Upon realizing this, the kid looked a little nervous.  I can’t blame him with all these giants standing there watching.

By this time, I was close enough I could hear a few things being said.  The kid said he wanted to go back to his parents and Pierce gave him five and said a few other things to him before clapping for him as he left the floor and returned to his parents in the stands.

After the kid returned to his parents, Pierce continued with his pregame workout.

I don’t remember who won the game that night, but I do know that was the night I became a Paul Pierce fan.  I had never seen a player do that until Pierce did it. That kid and his parents have a memory that will last a lifetime.  From my point of view, it also changed my perspective of Pierce.  I went from thinking he was an arrogant jerk to becoming a huge fan.

Author: Jeremy Kartchner | Google+