Ben Legere and The Meaning of Life

Wednesday evening, long time San Francisco youth sports official passed away suddenly at the age of 77. The sudden passing of Legere caused a lot of former athletes, coaches and others toreminisce fondly about the man simply known as "Benny".

Here are some links to several of my own items plus one news feature and one tribute from CYO on Ben Legere:

The passing of Ben Legere - SF CYO loses an original

Longtime sports official Ben Legere passes away at the age of 77

SF CYO Tribute to Ben Legere

KPIX-5 feature on Ben Legere

While many people (including myself) are saddened by the passing of Ben Legere, I found the timing very interesting. It caused to think that perhaps Legere's passing was meant to be and served a higher purpose.

A friend of mine had given me a spiritual book sometime last year. The book was a fascinating read but I won't rehash all the subject matter discussed in the book.

The pertinent line in the book that I thought applied to Legere was:

"When you accomplish what you have been sent here to accomplish, then your life will be ended. But not before then".

Legere had dedicated nearly his entire adult life to San Francisco Youth athletics. Many people on websites such as Facebook and others shared many memories of Legere and how he helped in various sporting activities through the years.

In recent years, I believe Legere felt under appreciated despite his past accomplishments. I don't have any proof of this but it was a just a feeling I got whenever I officiated or talked with Legere.

However, two things occurred which ensured Legere was recognized for all his contributions to San Francisco youth athletics:

1. Legere was inducted into the San Francisco CYO sports Hall of Fame in 2008
2. KPIX-5 in San Francisco interviewed Legere and had a feature on his 50+ years officiating about a month ago.

As I mentioned in my other blog posting, I saw and talked to Legere the day the feature was supposed to air. I had not talked to him in a long time so it was good to catch up. I found him to be very relaxed, happy and upbeat. After finding out that the KPIX-5 feature was going to air, I realized why Legere was happy.

When the news of Legere's passing was confirmed, I was shocked. After all, a whole new generation of people has been introduced to Legere and his accomplishments over the years through the news feature. I thought it was too bad that future generations of athletes would not get to see Legere officiate games again.

However, when I take a step back and think about the book quote I noted earlier, everything fell into place. I now believe that Legere had accomplished all that he could have done in this life and that it was his time to go. The Hall of Fame induction and the KPIX-5 news feature were the final chapter in the life of Ben Legere. They ensured no one would forget what Legere has accomplished over the years.

I do not know the whole story of Legere's passing. However, according to what I've read, Legere passed away while heading home after umpiring a baseball game. If that is the case, then Legere went out the way I think he would have wanted. He went out after doing something he loved. Not many people can say that.

Rest in Peace Benny. You will be missed!

America's Best Dance Crew: West Regional

The show's not over yet, but Season 5 for America's Best Dance Crew is shaping up to be entertaining. My early favorite has got to be the all-Asian crew from California, Poreotix, which just got selected to the Nationals. They aren't a traditional b-boy crew but have a unique style which is pretty entertaining.

Hype 5-0, another Asian crew from Hawaii was also selected and I like their style and energy.

More on this later.

What do Jeremy Lin, Far East Movement, and John Cho have in common?

This is NOT a trick question. Yes, all the people above are Asian, but that is not the answer I am looking for. I'll give you a few seconds to mull the question over..........................

Time's up! The answer is that all of the above people have some Christian influence in their life. As has been reported by the national media, Jeremy Lin is a Christian. I was listening to some Far East Movement music at a friend's house back in 2009. Another friend who was with us mentioned that the members of Far East Movement had become born again Christians thanks to the influence of Jaeson Ma (http://www.jaesonma.com).

The only person I didn't know about was John Cho. I did some quick research on Google last night and was surprised to find that Cho was the son of a PASTOR! Alas, I couldn't find any information on whether Cho is Christan himself. Regardless if Cho is actually Christian or not, I do believe he grew up with a heavy Christian influence that shaped his life to a certain extent.

As I mentioned in my previous blog posting, John Cho, Jeremy Lin and Far East Movement are current and future role models for Asian-Americans due to their visibility in movies, TV, basketball and music.

What I didn't realize at the time was they all had Christian influences. This makes these guys even BETTER role models regardless if you are Christian yourself. Why? The reason is that many high profile movie, TV, basketball and music stars live a life on the edge. These stars do drugs, sleep with many women and run afoul of the law. However, all of these guys seem to stay out of trouble and do what they're supposed to do.

John Cho, Jeremy Lin and Far East Movement are proving that Asians can succeed in movies, TV, basketball and music. However, they are also doing it in a GOOD way which many people (not just Asian-Americans) can appreciate. This alone should make all these guys worthy of our support!

Jeremy Lin: Asian American Role Model

Last night, at the Leavey Center on the campus of Santa Clara University, a throng of 4,700 fans showed up to watch the basketball game between the Harvard Crimson and the Santa Clara Broncos. The game was a sell out and the largest crowd ever to watch a Santa Clara non-conference basketball game.

While there was a solid throng of Santa Clara students, cheerleaders and band members there, one can safely say that the majority of the other people in attendance were there to watch one person: JEREMY LIN of Harvard.

The 6'3" guard from Palo Alto made what is likely to be his final home appearance in a collegiate uniform. Besides his family, a huge throng of Asian Americans made their way to Santa Clara to watch the best Asian-American college basketball player play.

However, expectations of Lin may have been a little too high. Santa Clara focused their defense on stopping him. Lin did not try to score much throughout the night and finished with 6 points (2-5 FG, 0-2 3PG, 2-5 FT), 9 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks and 4 turnovers. Lin played like he usually does and contributed in every single category. However, after huge scoring games against good competition, the 6 points may have been a let down for the crowd.

The game itself wasn't that great. Both Harvard and Santa Clara struggled in the first half. Both teams went through a scoring drought of 5+ minutes which left the crowd restless. The good news was that Harvard played better in the second half and eventually won the game 74-66. Lin seems like a low key kid and his own personal statistics don't matter to him much as long as his team wins. At 11-3, Harvard is doing well and will begin their Ivy League season in a few days.

Looking past the game itself, I'm very proud that Asian-Americans came out in large numbers to support Jeremy Lin. This fact was noted by many media outlets both local and national. Jeremy Lin, whether he likes it or not, is now a role model to many young Asian-American athletes.

Whether the industry is movies, TV, music, athletics or otherwise, Asian-Americans have had minimal role models to emulate in the past. There have always been foreign born Asians like Yao Ming (basketball) or Jackie Chan (movies). While having some Asians are better than nothing, people like Yao and Jackie Chan do not understand the challenges of growing up Asian in America.

However, I feel like this is the calm before the storm. Jeremy Lin has suddenly stormed into the public spotlight in college basketball. John Cho has gained exposure in movies and TV with Harold & Kumar, Flash Forward and Star Trek. Far East Movement, an Asian-American hip-hop band, garnered national exposure in 2009 with their hit song "Girls On The Dance Floor".

All the people above have given Asian-Americans a slice of the positive representation we've always yearned for and role models in which to emulate. This bodes well for the future as young Asian-American kids grow up. They may decide to be an athlete, actor or a musician all because of Jeremy Lin, John Cho and Far East Movement.

No matter what happens to Jeremy Lin in the future, he has left a legacy for others to follow his footsteps in the future. All one has to do is not be afraid to take those steps. In time, I would hope that it is no surprise that Asian-Americans do well in sports, movies, TV, and music.

Doubting Jeremy Lin

I wrote about Jeremy Lin in mid-November and since then he has caught the attention of the national media after standout performances against the University of Connecticut and Boston College. One of the best articles was written by ESPN writer Dana O'Neil:

ESPN: Immigrant Dream Plays Out Through Son

Being Asian-American and a huge basketball fan, I am thrilled to see Jeremy Lin succeed and garner positive national attention for his skills and accomplishments. I am sure many people in the Asian-American basketball circles all over the United States are quietly cheering for Jeremy Lin. Despite the national attention, I know there are some people who still don't know about Jeremy Lin. I've taken it upon myself (as have many others) to tell their friends about this "Asian kid" who is doing well on the basketball court. Thanks to the power of the Internet, this is very easy to do these days.

Despite Jeremy Lin's success on the court, I have talked to people within the Asian-American community who doubt his skills or look down at his success. There are others who doubt Jeremy Lin can make the NBA. I am a little surprised at this. I would expect that Asian-Americans would back a guy from their own community rather than looking down at his success.

I had to step back and think about why Asian-Americans would doubt Jeremy Lin and I came up with two interconnected reasons:

1. Some Asian-Americans have a self-defeating notion than they cannot compete with other ethnic groups in basketball.
2. They have never seen a guy like Jeremy Lin before and cannot believe an Asian player can compete against other high level players.
   

In regards to item #1, I've heard and read about this from many sources over the years I've been involved in basketball. Many Asian-Americans simply believe they are at a physical disadvantage (height, speed and/or strength) when it comes to playing basketball against other ethnic groups.

When I was younger, I didn't question this notion. After all, it was fairly well known that Asian-Americans were generally smaller in stature than most other ethnic groups. As I've gotten older, I began to realize that Asian-Americans need to reanalyze this notion.

1. Asian-Americans are generally smaller but as Yao Ming (and others) have proven, not ALL Asians are short.
2. Just because someone has height does not make them a basketball player. Just because someone is short, it does not mean they cannot play basketball.
   

I believe Asian-Americans need to get over the notion that they cannot compete because they are short or not as strong. They need to embrace the notion that skill CAN triumph over height if the skill level is great enough. After all, the NBA does have players like Nate Robinson (5'9") and Earl Boykins (5'5") still playing. If these guys can make it, Jeremy Lin (standing 6'3") has a chance as well.

Item #2 is a direct connection to Item #1. Because many Asian-Americans believe that CANNOT compete in basketball, they are surprised that Jeremy Lin can play and play well against other ethnic groups.

Up until recently, video highlights of Jeremy Lin were sparse. In years past, it was easy to see Jeremy Lin's stats and just say "He's doing it against weak competition". However, as Jeremy Lin has garnered national attention, there is no more excuses. Jeremy Lin put up great games against VERY good competition and there are Youtube highlights to prove it:

Jeremy Lin: 30 Points against UCONN

My point in writing all of this? Regardless of whether you think of Jeremy Lin, I think all of us Asian-Americans should SUPPORT him. Any success that Jeremy Lin has on the college (and hopefully professional) level will indirectly help the Asian-American community.

Asian-American role models in the college and professional sports arena are sorely lacking. Jeremy Lin, who by all accounts, is a quiet and humble guy, would make a great role model for future generations of Asian-Americans who want to pursue opportunities in college and professional sports.

Volunteering

Volunteering my time has never been a problem. In the past, I have volunteered to coach basketball teams, officiate basketball games and other assorted activities. However, most of my activities centered around working with my immediate group of friends, immediate communities or activities that I am usually involved in. For many years, I am wanted to volunteer in a different capacity but never explored the opportunity myself.

A few weeks ago, an old friend of mine sent me a message asking if I wanted to volunteer at a homeless shelter. A mutual friend of ours had taken a position working at the homeless shelter and was looking for helpers to serve a Christmas dinner for the residents of the homeless shelter. It was a great opportunity that I couldn't turn down. It was a chance to catch up with old friends but also a chance to volunteer in both a different capacity (food server) in a different community (homeless folks in the Tenderloin) that I don't usually associate with.

That volunteer opportunity was tonight and it went great. I caught up with old friends and met a lot of the other volunteers who helped out. The work itself was a little easier than expected. We were only serving people who lived in the homeless shelter rather than just anyone who could walk in from the streets so that limited the number of people. Also, we had a great number of volunteers which helped minimize the workload even more.

While I didn't interact with the residents of the homeless shelter too much, one older lady was quite friendly. I talked to her briefly and got to know her background. She was a loner with no immediate family who had an artistic bent. It was different talking to her. Most of us are used to asking "How's work", "How's your family" or other things like that. For this particular lady (and probably a lot of the homeless people), some of these things don't apply. I had to take a different tactic to talk to her.

I had told myself that if certain people seemed like they wanted to talk, I should be open to it. My reasoning was that many of these people have gone through tough lives. While I can't change all the circumstances for any of these people, I figured a smile or a chat might make them feel better about themselves. I don't know if that was the case with the lady. She seemed fairly relaxed about her circumstances. However, if I was able to make her feel better in any way, then the time I spent today was worth it.

All in all, it was a great experience that I would gladly repeat again. Sometimes those of us who are "well off" forget that lots of others are in need, especially recently with the tough economic times. If you've never volunteered before, give it a shot. It may give you a different perspective on things you've never thought about before.

Cardio Boxing: Nintendo Wii Style

I've had my Nintendo Wii for a little over six months now. I've probably played the system for about three of those months. If you've read some of my previous posts, the main reason for playing the Wii was to get some additional exercise (and have some fun) for myself and my mom.

In the time I've had the system, I've primarily played Wii Sports (the game that comes with the system). I love Wii Sports and got the hang of the baseball, bowling, tennis and golf games. Yet, for some reason I stayed away from boxing. Perhaps it was due to some tough early experiences playing the game because I just didn't know how to play.

In the past month or so, I finally gave in and started playing the boxing game. It took a little while (and some reading) to get the hang of the game. Now that I have gotten the hang of the game, I LOVE it. Unlike the other four sports, boxing requires some effort and forces you to expend a lot of energy while playing. I find that using the three boxing training games and the main boxing game itself gives me a decent workout.

Recently, I got a copy of EA Sports Active for the Wii. I've loving EA Sports Active due to the great number of activities in the game. Among my favorites? If you guessed boxing you would be correct!

While I won't be participating in real boxing anytime soon, I actually thought about getting a punching bag or something similar. It would be nice to do some real boxing work rather than just using the Wii.