Bird's Greatest shot

Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!! · Dec 9, 2014

Something to read:
Great story on Larry Bird and his time before Indiana State.

http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/news-opinion/larry-birds-greatest-shot-one-didnt-take/

Boom_70 · Dec 9, 2014

Great story. Thx for sharing. Never get tired of Larry Bird stories.
Still an iconic figure and to think he didn't even need a personal brand
consultant.

Songbird · Dec 9, 2014

A leggy boy carrying a basket of clothes had emerged from a laundromat, followed by an old woman who, Hodges guessed, couldn’t be any taller than 5-foot-2. The coach introduced himself to the odd couple and offered his hand to the player. The boy hesitated—his hands were grimy from working on his truck—and looked at the ground. Hodges began his spiel, explaining that he wanted to talk about playing for the Sycamores. But the 18-year-old, who had quit two colleges in the last five months, wasn’t interested. He had to go back to fixing his truck, he said, and get Granny and her laundry home.

“Why, Larry,” she said, “these nice gentlemen have come all this way to talk to you. Now, you invite them up to the house to have some iced tea.”

He grumbled.

“Larry!”
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The "Larry! is very funny.

Songbird · Dec 15, 2014

For a good long moment he (and Magic) owned the world.

Songbird · Dec 9, 2014

In the pros, Bird sang his own praises, calling his own shot in a defender’s face or demoralizing rookies and veterans alike with trash talk. And he made good on the boasts, amassing a litany of stories that brim with self-assurance and teeter on arrogance—swagger fed by the year he began to believe enough in himself to reject a future others had charted for him. <snip> Before a Christmas Day game against the Pacers, Bird sent word to Indiana’s Chuck Person that he had a present for him. Person, known as the “Rifleman,” had boasted he was going to go “Bird-hunting.” During the game, Bird released a three-pointer in front of the bench where Person was seated. Bird turned to Person—“Merry fucking Christmas,” he said—as the ball dropped through the net.
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Stoney · Dec 9, 2014

Great read. Amazing how a guy who was once the best player in the world came SO damn close to bagging it all for a life riding a small town garbage truck. Kinda makes you wonder how many other lost superstars there might've been who stayed on the truck.

Jake_Taylor · Dec 9, 2014

This video has some more interesting tidbits on Bird's early years.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/mwzm97/kroll-show-the-legend-of-young-larry-bird

Boom_70 · Dec 9, 2014

Jake_Taylor said:

This video has some more interesting tidbits on Bird's early years.

http://www.cc.com/video-clips/mwzm97/kroll-show-the-legend-of-young-larry-bird
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Yeah some great clips there.

old_tony · Dec 9, 2014

Not anything really new in there. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But I kept waiting to read something I didn't already know.

And help me out here: What's the "shot he didn't take"?

playthrough · Dec 9, 2014

I took that to mean the shot to stay at home and work on the garbage truck. Kinda great to not take that.

I'm biased in that I know the author, but I thought it was a very good story. It takes spending a bit of time with Bird to get him to open up, you don't just get him on the phone for a 15-minute breakdown of his youth.

old_tony · Dec 9, 2014

playthrough said:

I took that to mean the shot to stay at home and work on the garbage truck. Kinda great to not take that.

I'm biased in that I know the author, but I thought it was a very good story. It takes spending a bit of time with Bird to get him to open up, you don't just get him on the phone for a 15-minute breakdown of his youth.
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I thought it could be that. I also thought that it could have been the same shot his dad took in a cryptic, morbid sense.

Like I said, I enjoyed the story. But I knew most of it already. And as someone who has covered the NBA for more than a decade of my career, I know Bird does not open up. He's a very strange character who no one will ever figure out. I get the impression the writer spent some time with him but wasn't really able to get him to open up much.

Boom_70 · Dec 9, 2014

old_tony said:

Not anything really new in there. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it. But I kept waiting to read something I didn't already know.

And help me out here: What's the "shot he didn't take"?
Click to expand...

Good question. I wondered that also. Felt like I missed something.

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Bird's Greatest shot

Evil ... Thy name is Orville Redenbacher!! Well-Known Member

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