Survive & Advance

Coach V.

On Monday I sat down to eat lunch and watch the new ESPN 30 for 30 film that I had recorded Sunday night- Survive and Advance! This was a TV event that I had been looking forward to for some time, and I only recorded it because it was on at the same time as The Good Wife - and I value my life so I didn't dare interrupt the one show a week my wife absolutely MUST see!  The film was the story of the the 1983 North Carolina State Wolfpack men's basketball team and their improbable, miraculous run to the national championship.  The film also told the story of the relationships between the players and the late, great Jim Valvano, who was their coach.  As mentioned, I had been looking forward to this 30th anniversary celebration of this accomplishment for quite a while, and my expectations were high.  It did not disappoint.  On a scale of 1-5 stars. I give it 6...

The movie was like a giant flashback for me in so many ways.  Many of you know that I am and always have been a fan of the University of North Carolina Tar Heels.  UNC had played for the national championship in 1981 and won it in 1982 on a shot by a somewhat unknown freshman named Michael Jordan. Duke was just starting to rebuild its program under some guy (Coach K) whose name no one could pronounce, so State was our number one in-state rival.  This was an amazing era for ACC basketball.  Even the best players stayed in college for 3 or 4 years. There was no shot clock or 3 point basket (except in the ACC where it was an experiment) and strategy was every bit as important as talent- and the ACC had the best coaches anywhere. In the film, Coach K  says that ACC basketball in the 1980's is the best college basketball has ever been- anytime or any place. Maryland was always loaded. Clemson was coming on strong, and Wake Forest had a very good team most years.  And Virginia- well Virginia had Ralph Sampson, who was simply the most dominant player in the country.  NC State was, for most of 1983, the fourth or fifth best team in the ACC.

The film reminded me of what a lost cause the Wolfpack season seemed to be as the ACC Tournament began in Atlanta. They had to win the whole thing to make the NCAA tourney, and they beat Wake Forest, Carolina and Virginia to do just that. Then they moved on through the early rounds of the NCAA. Pepperdine had them beat- to the point that the TV announcers lamented Sidney Lowe's "final game in a Wolfpack uniform" when he fouled out -, but the "Cardiac Pack" won in overtime.  UNLV was a huge favorite, but they blew a big lead and lost when Thurl Bailey tipped in a last second shot. The Pack was a team of destiny.  They seemed to win every game with some sort of miraculous finish or unorthodox method, and Jimmy V. was always right in the middle of it.  They sent people to the free throw line- on purpose- in tie games to insure they got the last shot at winning (There was no double bonus in 1983; all non-shooting fouls were 1 and 1).  They beat Virginia twice by playing a triangle and two defense and guarding Sampson with BOTH of the two guys playing man to man.  And everything they tried worked. By the time they played Houston for the championship, they were national darlings. But no one gave them a chance against Clyde Drexler, Hakeem Olajuwon and the dunking machine that was mighty Phi Slamma Jamma.  Jim teased the media that State had no chance; that they would hold the ball.  His famous quote was that "if we win the opening tip, we may not shoot until Tuesday morning" - and it was a Monday night game. Instead, they took it right to the Cougars.  When they won on the Lorenzo Charles miracle dunk, it only seemed fitting.  I watched the game in the home of my dear friend Beth McGalliard, whose husband Bob (and his father) were in Albuquerque that night. It was just amazing. The image of Coach V. running around the court looking for someone to hug is one that has been with me for 30 years now.  It was one of the transcendent moments in sports history.

I had read Jim Valvano's brilliant book They Gave Me a Lifetime Contract...and Then They Declared Me Dead! I had read so many stories and seen so many specials on that team.  There was very little in the film that was new to me.  But there was one thing that really stuck out.  Dereck Whittenburg told a story of how early on in Jimmy V's tenure at State he held a practice in which all the team did was practice cutting down the nets like they had won a championship.  Coach V. had a dream. A big dream. And he believed that if his players learned to dream along with him - and to love each other- that someday that dream would come true.  In his third year in Raleigh, the impossible dream came true. And when it came down to cut down the nets, his players knew the drill.  They understood the dream.

The movie also shared the story of Jim Valvano's fight with cancer and his seminal speech at the ESPY Awards just prior to his passing. His words - "Never give up. Don't ever give up..." - had as much to say about his 1983 team as they did about his fight with a killer disease.  Survive and Advance refers to the motto Jim used during that incredible tournament run, but it is a slogan that could apply to every part of each of our lives.  If we hold tight to our dreams, if we love the people God places in our lives with a great passion, and if we face each day with that survive & advance attitude, then there is no limit on what we can achieve.  It is a reminder to dream big dreams and pray big prayers.  I finished the film with some very wet eyes and a very inspired heart.  I recommend it highly.  

Because of Jesus,