About the Authors
I am a 17 year old sports fan living in sunny Burbank, California. I also have my own sports website(http://www.socalsportshub.com/).More By The Beast
What It Takes To Be # 1
"Winning is not a sometime thing; it's an all the time thing. You don't win once in a while; you don't do things right once in a while; you do them right all the time. Winning is a habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
"There is no room for second place. There is only one place in my game, and that's first place. I have finished second twice in my time at Green Bay, and I don't ever want to finish second again. There is a second place bowl game, but it is a game for losers played by losers. It is and always has been an American zeal to be first in anything we do, and to win, and to win, and to win.
"Every time a football player goes to play his trade he's got to play from the ground up - from the soles of his feet right up to his head. Every inch of him has to play. Some guys play with their heads. That's O.K. You've got to be smart to be number one in any business. But more importantly, you've got to play with your heart, with every fiber of your body. If you're lucky enough to find a guy with a lot of head and a lot of heart, he's never going to come off the field second.
"Running a football team is no different than running any other kind of organization - an army, a political party or a business. The principles are the same. The object is to win - to beat the other guy. Maybe that sounds hard or cruel. I don't think it is.
"It is a reality of life that men are competitive and the most competitive games draw the most competitive men. That's why they are there - to compete. To know the rules and objectives when they get in the game. The object is to win fairly, squarely, by the rules - but to win.
"And in truth, I've never known a man worth his salt who in the long run, deep down in his heart, didn't appreciate the grind, the discipline. There is something in good men that really yearns for discipline and the harsh reality of head to head combat.
"I don't say these things because I believe in the 'brute' nature of man or that men must be brutalized to be combative. I believe in God, and I believe in human decency. But I firmly believe that any man's finest hour - his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear - is that moment when he has to work his heart out in a good cause and he's exhausted on the field of battle - victorious."
--Vince Lombardi
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Meet the Users: Yakob878
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This is the 23rd edition of the popular Meet the Users series, where The Beast will be interviewing a particular ArmchairGM user. The goal for the series is to allow all users to know each other better. The 23rd edition goes to Yakob878.
1. How did you learn about AGM?
Funny you should ask that question. I remember reading over all the articles and that is always the question that opens, it is always open with something like this. “I was writing articles on some other blog and was recruited here by Dan . I actually heard about the site from my friend, you might remember him from his first and only one of two articles, one that hit Deadspin the article was this. He actually was my recruiter to this site. The article was heavily viewed if I remember. It was only his first on the site too. I can’t imagine what he could have developed into if he kept writing. Too bad for all those rips he received on Deadspin and a few anons on this site. That is why he told me he gave up on writing majorly. So not to get too much off topic that is how I learned about Armchairgm.com.
2. After a close call in the first round against the Hawks, are you concerned about the C's?
As most users know here, I'm a pessimist, so yes. I am always worried that my team is going to lose. But, The Celtics should be fine in my opinion. The Hawks were probably one of the tougher matchups the C's could have drawn. A young athletic team that will go down fighting with nothing to lose. Guys like Al Horford and Josh Smith, with Joe Johnson leading the way... that can be a scary combination. The C's probably struggled because of inexperience as a group in the playoffs. Their first series together in the playoffs was the same as most first things: a lot of kinks can be worked out. They got out of that series and should look for nothing but the best from the Cavs, and whoever elsse might or might not come there way in the NBA playoffs. LeBron James is a great player and great players do bounce back. So his performance in the early games in round two might seem low. However, HE WILL GET HOT. So, the C's have to keep playing tough defense and they will be alright.
3. As a Boston sports fan, who would you rather have the ball in the clutch: Tom Brady or Larry Bird?
If I had to choose between either one of them, my answer would have to be Tom Brady. Now this answer has a little controversy behind it in my point of view. One reason is because of my age (I'm a few weeks away from turning 16). I have only had seen one of the two compete in competition. Not that I am stupid and have never heard of Larry Bird. I know right well what he and the other members of the Original Big 3 accomplished in the 80’s, giving the Celts their last championship in '86. Another is the opportunities that arise in any basketball game versus in a football game. In basketball, teams get many more possessions and occur more frequently than those that happen in football. In football, a team can hold the ball for almost an entire quarter, but in basketball, a team has possession for no longer than a minute. The last reason I would pick Brady is because of the great respect I have for the NFL game and all who play it. Not that I don’t respect the NBA, but I have a true passion and love for football. I still enjoy playing basketball, but not as much as football. Tom Brady is a prime example of what I want to be someday. A “Nobody” who will never make it in the NFL, the person who never gives up on their dream and seizes the opportunities when they occur. I was actually in attendance for the game Drew Bledsoe was injured by Mo Lewis and Brady saw his first action in the 2001 season. Also, Brady has already acquired three championships, and I’m not going to even say anything about last season. Bird has three in his career. Brady is at the peak of his career and I am sure of it will achieve at least one more ring in his playing days. So, I pick Brady over Bird even if the reasons are not too great. It's all I can think of because the two are just to great.
4. You seem to have a lot of Vince Lombardi quotes on your user page. Is he the greatest coach in NFL and sports history? Are his ideas still applicable in the modern age of sports?
I knew this one was coming. Vince Lombardi’s speech entitles “What it takes to be number 1” is my motivation in life. I believe Mr. Lombardi is the greatest NFL coach of all time, until someone dethrones him. I say NFL because no two professional sports leagues are the same in my opinion, and any combinations between two different sports just don’t compare all. Now his career postseason win-loss record was 9-1, he won the first two Super Bowls, along with 4 other NFL championships in the 60’s. Now, we all know that I am a huge New England Patriots fan. So, I think this man will ultimately become the greatest coach of all time in the NFL, having a championship trophy named after him. To some, he is the hooded demon... to others, he's the defensive guru. Now please do me a favor and don’t turn this entire discussion into SPYGATE! Now to the speech, I have a few parts that I feel everyone needs to live by. One is “There is no room for second place” You see in the sports and real world, if you are always pessimistic, as I usually am, you do not think many things are possible. So you settle for certain things. However, if you don’t settle, you will find that you have achieved much more than you could have ever imagined in the beginning. Another part is explained in the quote, “You have to play from the ground up – from the soles of his feet right up to their heads, every inch of the body has to be put into it.” Saying in order to achieve glory and success in whatever you do you will never achieve your full potential if your entire mind and every inch of your body is dedicated to the same goal. The last quote I believe in the most important is this “But I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour-his greatest fulfillment to all he holds dear – is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and he has exhausted on the field of battle-victorious.” This is something I believe in a great deal if I am playing a sport, especially football. However, it could be anything in my life, and I see people taking short cuts or complaining, not giving it all I get really angry in the fact that they, in some sense, don’t care and nothing happens to them because of it.
5. You're known by most users for saying, Ya I agree." Where did this come from? Was it just random or did it originate from anything?
Three words have been said by everyone (at least) once before. I made myself known on this site last summer (when I joined) and kept posting the simple phrase “Ya I agree”. I was a kid at home in the summertime bored out of his head, who loved sports and wanted to get a hobby. So I spent a lot of time on this site. I started reading articles and like I’m sure some other users here, when they first came to the site, started scoping it out from a far. I did and wanted to get more involved in the community. So I decided to comment more using the famous quote. The reason was that I am a very cautious person at new things I do and try. I rarely take on new tasks with a great sense of confidence. That is who I am. I did not want to whore points or anything like that, I just wanted to be accepted by the community and not hated for my beliefs on sports, so then I chose the neutral path of saying something no one would be mad at. A few users called me on it and I realized people just cared that if you back up what you say with facts, users will respect you for who you are (for the most part). One user in particular I would like to thank who helped me out of this is Insan, who I hope is going to come back this summer and become active. So I did, and I am glad I listened. He has given me more confidence to give it my all in new things I then went on to the wikifying scandal one at a time that prompted many fan boxes. I think 10 months into my time at this site, I have finally found the correct way to do things: comments editing, and not caring about points, but for the site as a whole to succeed.
- One thing I don’t know is whether another user has gone through this. I think I went through around 6 phases of my AGM life, wondering if any other user has done something like that. Phases meaning way you spent your time on the site.
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