I don't like to make sports into more than they are--entertainment. I know for the men playing the games though, sports is passion, and that passion can carry over into many things in life.
Bill Walsh, coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 1979 to 1989, passed away on Monday. I'm biased, admittedly, but for myself Walsh is the greatest coach ever. He changed the game. West Coast Offense is now cliche' humdrum, and vastly inferior to Walsh's version. Today's offenses, with a few exceptions, just don't seem to have the rhythm that the Niners had. They don't have the personnel either: Rice, Montana, Craig, Clarke, Rathman, Solomon. And of course the defense was the most underrated in football at the time.
The most difficult part is watching your childhood fade when people like Walsh die. One remembers the excitement of boyhood.
Walsh didn't become a headcoach until he was 47 years old. That should give all of us hope for our own futures. And we can learn from Walsh's meticulous nature--every detail, every nuance was important to him. He knew that when you're facing the best, the little things count, just like they do in everyday life.
It's always the little things.
Good-bye Mr. Walsh
Prediction: The Niner's win their division this year.
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