Who is Kal-El? On Krypton, he is the average son of a highly-respected scientist, Jor-El. Within the confines of his own planet he is no more than you and I are here on earth — mortal — equal in every way to his fellow Kryptonians, as we are to our fellow earthlings. However, on the blue planet, due to factors beyond his control, Kal-El, aka Clark Kent, is bestowed with transcendent strength and powers that give him otherworldly abilities. As the story goes, Clark’s adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, forbade him from playing sports, i.e., football, because he was put on earth “for a reason” — a higher calling if you will – and said calling was not to score touchdowns.
Italian political theorist, Machiavelli, in his discourse, The Prince, holds that a prince should never profess his authority to his subjects, for to do so renders him powerless, and thus, hinders his ability to lead and command. Machiavelli also holds that, if one is truly a prince by nature, then he will innately rule like one, and his subjects will follow.
Finally, science holds that every element in the universe was once bound to itself — as a whole — in its original state. Therefore, all iron was bound to iron, and all copper bound to copper, and so on and so forth. Science also holds that, if, for some reason, an element becomes fragmented from its whole or original state, and thus, is carried away to some distant place, say millions of miles away over the course of time, it will eventually work its way back to its original whole state — kind of like, “where are you going, where have you been?” Or, “what goes around comes around.”
Interestingly, during the second half of this NBA season, much has been made of Dirk Nowitzki’s alleged lack of leadership. However, my question is, why is Dirk considered a leader in the first place? Did he ask for the mantle? Has he exhibited some characteristic suggestive of being a leader? Or, is Dirk Dallas’ leader because he is the Mavericks’ leading scorer and best offensive player? Perhaps he is Dallas’ leader simply because of some pill, placebo if you will, given him by Avery Johnson or Mark Cuban? If the latter is the case, does anointing a man a leader make him, in fact, a leader? Whether he believes it or not? And, if so, aren’t there varying degrees of leadership, including the possibility of a failure of leadership?
Back to Superman, have you ever wondered how or why the one thing that renders Superman mortal, kryptonite, also seems to follow him wherever he goes? I mean, out of the gazillions of places it could travel throughout the cosmos, it remains in symbiotic two-step with the man of steel. Perhaps the reason is that no matter where we go or who we become, we cannot escape who and what we are. In this regard, a Scot is every bit a Scot — and the land he is born in — no matter how far he travels from home.
Similarly, and follow me here, greatness cannot be doled out or deliberately ascribed by the hands of men. Greatness sets its own course, and finds its own ways in which to bind itself to the essence of what it is, and though it like all other elements in the universe has become diluted via time and space, every ounce remains, in its essence, greatness. It is through its journey back to wholeness, however, that we occasionally get to witness its radiance and glory, particularly in the world of sports — be it Michael Jordan’s shot over Cleveland’s Craig Ehlo, or Kirk Gibson’s clutch homerun off Oakland’s Dennis Eckersley, or Doug Flutie’s last second Hail Mary against Miami. Greatness, like leadership, always finds a way to reclaim every tiny bit of itself, whether in some outward journey or during its return trip home.
What is my point?
Steve Nash is a leader because he exhibits it in every fiber of his being — on the court, in every post-game interview, and in everyday life. The same can be said of Chauncey Billups, who is, unquestionably, Detroit’s fearless leader — not because Joe Dumars or Flip Saunders said so, but because it is who he is by nature. It is an everyday part of his elemental dynamic.
By luck or by design, leadership usually sprouts at a young age, when one is faced with a situation where altruism or selflessness occurs – forcing one to choose between oneself and, perhaps, the best interest of others. In said situation, when no parent is present to influence the direction one will go, born leaders make the right, high-character choice based on some powerful force that even he doesn’t understand. Is it the superego? After all, we are our parents and our parents are us. Perhaps, but more likely, leadership has its own origin, and decides its own journey, before reaching its apogee, upon which it sets course for home. For humans, we are lucky, at best, if we are one of the fortunate few to have it as part of our natural code, to be used as Jonathan Kent taught Clark to use it, to uplift, console, protect, inspire, champion, and to lead our fellow man.
Here’s to genuine leadership, and greatness.
Congratulations Dirk, on your 2006-07 league MVP honor, and for leading the Dallas Mavericks to three double-digit win streaks en route to the sixth best regular season in NBA history. You had a ’super’ season. The best is yet to come.
NBA
Don’t drink the water? What is it with Utah and player illness? First Michael Jordan overcomes a mean bout of food poisoning during Game 5 of the 1997 NBA Finals, scoring 38 points and nailing the game-winning three in 44 minutes, now the Warriors, most notably Baron Davis, become stricken with the flu during their brief stay for Games 1 & 2 of their second round series with the Jazz. Word to Utah hoteliers, y’all might want to occasionally change those air conditioning/heating filters and hit the sheets with a little disinfectant.
[In all fairness, I have no idea if the Warriors traveled to Utah with the flu bug, or if they picked it up after their arrival.]
MORE NBA
Congratulations to the following guard recipients of NBA hardware. All are well-deserved honors.
Brandon Roy (Seattle) (All-Rookie Team)
Randy Foye (Newark) (All-Rookie Team)
Rajon Rondo (Louisville) (All-Rookie Second Team)
Kobe Bryant (Philadelphia) (All-NBA First Team)
Steve Nash (Johannesburg) (All-NBA First Team)
Gilbert Arenas (Los Angeles) (All-NBA Second Team)
Tracy McGrady (Bartow) (All-NBA Second Team)
Lebron James** (Akron) (All-NBA Second Team)
Chauncey Billups (Denver) (All-NBA Second Team)
Dwyane Wade (Chicago) (All-NBA Second Team)
** Officially listed as a Forward
Superman created by Jerome Siegel & Joe Shuster
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