I know there are thousands of these but they always remind me of the kind of human being coach K is. It's a small thing but so often those are the things that count.
My wife was at work the other day (she works with special needs children) and saw a dad with a UNC shirt on. She walked by and said, "Go Duke!" and they struck up a conversation. He told her that a couple of years ago he was at a conference in DC and just happened into a book store where coach K was doing a signing. He had a nephew who was a Duke fan so he decided to get a book and get in line for K to sign it. He figured K didn't want to take much time because there were so many people in the line so he rehearsed what he would say and would get out of the way quickly. "Hi coach. I'm a UNC grad but this is for my nephew, please sign it to him, his name is X." He got to coach K and K reached out to shake hands. As they did so he gave his request just as rehearsed. But, K would not let go of his hand. When he made eye-contact, K said, "What's your name?" He told him and then K asked him what he did for a living and chatted for a couple more minutes.
K didn't have to do any of that and the guy was not even a fan. But, the fact that he did made a significant impression on him. So, while he's a UNC diehard, he also has increased respect for Coach K the person.
And, isn't that just the kind of thing you want to see in a coach the stature of K? Class act. And, shouldn't that be a great example for everyone - to take the time to give attention to someone even for just a few minutes and even to no benefit to ourselves?
My wife was at work the other day (she works with special needs children) and saw a dad with a UNC shirt on. She walked by and said, "Go Duke!" and they struck up a conversation. He told her that a couple of years ago he was at a conference in DC and just happened into a book store where coach K was doing a signing. He had a nephew who was a Duke fan so he decided to get a book and get in line for K to sign it. He figured K didn't want to take much time because there were so many people in the line so he rehearsed what he would say and would get out of the way quickly. "Hi coach. I'm a UNC grad but this is for my nephew, please sign it to him, his name is X." He got to coach K and K reached out to shake hands. As they did so he gave his request just as rehearsed. But, K would not let go of his hand. When he made eye-contact, K said, "What's your name?" He told him and then K asked him what he did for a living and chatted for a couple more minutes.
K didn't have to do any of that and the guy was not even a fan. But, the fact that he did made a significant impression on him. So, while he's a UNC diehard, he also has increased respect for Coach K the person.
And, isn't that just the kind of thing you want to see in a coach the stature of K? Class act. And, shouldn't that be a great example for everyone - to take the time to give attention to someone even for just a few minutes and even to no benefit to ourselves?
