There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not? - Robert F. Kennedy
Those of you who are regular readers of my blog entries know that I am a sports fan, not just because I love the games but because I believe that the games when played well can teach us a lot about the good life in and out of an arena.
The retirement of NBA basketball player Yao Ming was announced yesterday, although that report has since been disputed. In any event, the 7'5" center for the Houston Rockets has been cut down to mortal size by a recurring foot injury, a common ailment among the game's big men. Yao Ming played only nine years in the NBA. He played well, but his real legacy will not be found in the statistical record book (although his 83% free-throw percentage is rather remarkable in comparison to that of many other NBA centers).
Rather, his legacy will be found in role as an instigator, a person who shows others what is possible and inspires them to follow suit. In the case of Yao Ming, what he showed is that Chinese basketball players belong on the world stage. Moreover, he showed that one can play with grace - and here I do not simply mean physical grace. He worked hard. He conducted himself with modesty and gentle humor. And he had only 13 technical fouls called against him in his entire career.
For many of us in the United States, especially sports fans, Yao Ming has been the face of China, a country with 1.3 billion residents, and he has created a cultural bridge of good will. How many Americans know the name of the current Chinese premier? Not as many as know the name of Yao Ming, I would bet.
Sports fans enjoy statistics, so here is one I encountered while reading about Yao Ming's apparent retirement: There are now 800,000 basketball courts constructed or under construction in China. That's not a typo.
Is there a point beyond basketball? Of course. Instigators exist and matter in all walks of life. They are easy to identify in sports because the games we play are so well-scrutinized and so well-documented: Think Jackie Robinson, Roger Bannister, Billie Jean King, Pelé, and Se Ri Pak.
But instigators also exist and matter more locally, like the first member of my extended family to attend college and earn a Ph.D. He planted the idea in my head that I could do the same, and I did.
One of the truisms of psychology is that past behavior predicts future behavior. Instigators make this truism a mere generalization as opposed to an invariant principle, at least when we heed their examples.
We tell our children to dream big and to reach for the stars, even if they are not seven feet tall. Instigators move these wishes from the status of clichés to action plans. Hail to them all.
