I never really played the game; Im only an observer, But listen to the ones who have and wonder at their fervor. They'll recount how Dr. James Naismith knew what he was doing; How the rhythm of basketball gets in your blood and why its worth pursuing. There once was a player, David. Some said that, "He got game"; It meant so much more to him, it wasnt about fame. The squeak of the court, the swish of a shot, so much infectious excitement and joy; It started as the one place on earth he was in his element, this golden boy. Always willing to do the work necessary to become great at the sport; Strategy lured him: How do you defend? How do you score? How do you move up and down the court? Scrappy you might call him, playing his heart out in every game; Tournament or pick-up, to him they were the same. Acceptance, inclusiveness, unity, dignity, loyalty and brotherhood did he find; No one cared about age or background, only that he could play; a sense of community defined. Sometimes the game helped him set aside his worries or troubles, it was a release; A place where he was given grace for his mistakes, kind correction and an inner peace. It wasnt always easy, hard work, struggle, win or loss; he was not dismayed; The boy and then the man came to see that every moment of the day must be fully lived and played. He knew the interconnection of mass, spirit, and energy and how they all work hand in hand; He breathed the sport's inherent beauty; like poetry in motion; his art revealed truly was so grand. He played the game with passion and fierce intensity; The game gave confidence, transcendent in its way, with moments of pure clarity. As in life, basketball too, changes you as you get older; you learn to appreciate the lesson; You never give up- not on the game, not on your team, not on yourself; you try till the very last second. You learn to appreciate the deeper sense of the game, beyond any doubt; Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. Coach John Wooden made the last line famous and was known to say the following was the most important as originally said by J.B. Downie: We can't all play a winning game, Someone is sure to lose, Yet we can play so that our name, No one may dare accuse. That when the Master Referee scores against our name, It won't be whether we won or lost, But how we played the game.