College Football – Coach Eddie Robinson – Grambling State University – L E’s Stories Special – “We’ve Done So Much With So Little….We Can Almost Do Anything Without Nuthin'” – Salute To Legendary Coach Eddie Robinson

Bone Daddy, the original Sportsphile, has always said that“The true beauty of the coaching profession is the ability of a Coach who understands the power of teaching valuable life lessons to his players…..and not just how to win a game.”…..as this statement certainly applies to my story today.

Now don’t get me wrong here….I said that I like the core principles that they both embody….but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t bite either one of them…cuz I would. Why you say?….cuz they are both just a little too full of themselves….but then again what real Sportsphile isn’t.

OK…so I would probably give both of them a good nip around their ankles….heck….I might even have to bring a lil blood with one of them….which totally depends on how cocky each of them are the day we meet…..you know….just to let them know whose boss….“What a devilish bitch”.

Anyway, I sat down to write this story because I just finished watching one of my favorite all time First Take shows….specifically the segment with guest debater Doug Williams….who was the first black quarterback to win the Super Bowl when he joined Steven A, Cari Champion and Skip at the debate desk.

                            Music – 1982 – Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder Sing Ebony And Ivory

                                                                                                                                                                                    The question was asked of Williams by Steven A….“What does it feel like to be the first man of color to be the winning quarterback of a Super Bowl?”  William’s response was said in simple eloquence and was completely insightful….cuz it provided a significant amount of value as essential “life’s lessons” in a very short period of time….which is unusual for the majority of HUMANS….simply because of their determination to makes things more complicated than the circumstances tends to be.  In tribute to QB Doug Williams leading his Washington Redskins to the Championship of Super Bowl XXII….while receiving the Most Valuable Player Trophey in 1988….as world renowned trumpeter Herb Albert provides an awesome rendition of the Star Spangled Banner..                                                                                                 

                                Music – 1988 – Trumpeter Herb Albert Plays The Star Spangled Banner                                                                At Super Bowl XXII With Washington Redskins Vs Denver Broncos

On this day, William’s responded to Steven A’s question by saying…..”There has not a day that has passed that I haven’t thought about that accomplishment and its impact on my race and my sport”.   He went on to say that he and James Harris….another black NFL quarterback at the time….who also played for Coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling University….had discussed and agreed often that their edge in football and in life had been Coach Eddie Robinson.

Coach had instilled in both of these men first of all that “No matter how tough it gets….it can only happen in America”….and then of even greater value….”We’ve done so much with so little….we can almost do anything without nothin”.  

Man….that is so powerful….for Coach Robinson had cut to the chase in the simplest of manners….and passed on one of life’s greatest lessons for all HUMANS to read….listen…. and absorb these two simple phrases….”we’ve done so much with so little”….and followed by “we can almost do anything without nuthin”….cuz within the simplicity of these quotations lies the answer to so many of life’s most difficult questions….but in order to understand the depth of these simple words….each and every HUMAN who reads this….needs to take just 3 minutes and think about the message that Coach was trying to get across from the perspective as taught to all dogs by God Dog (God Almighty to my HUMAN friends)….which at the very least….obviously gave those two young black men such a distinct advantage in life.                                                                                                

                                   NFL – 1992 – NFL Films – The Life And Career Of QB Doug Willliams                                                                          From Grambling University To The Washington Redskins                                                                                                                                                                                      

No matter where or how this philosophy is applied throughout any HUMAN life….they can do almost anything without nuthin’….as long as they have the right attitude that they can do what they want to do.  I love that mentality…..along with the application of that simple philosophy…..as Bone Daddy so aptly puts it…..“it’s not about what you don’t have in life….it’s about what you do already have that truly matters in life.”                                                                                                                                                                                

                 Sports Debate – 2015 – ESPN First Take Special – NFL Trailblazers Past Present & Future                                              With Cardale Jones + Doug Williams + Stephen A Smith + Skip Bayless

In this lil ole Chiweenie’s opinion…..after observing HUMANS for my 121 years on this Earth (dog years)….is that God gives each person inhabiting this planet a very special talent unique unto that specific person….and if that person is fortunate enough to identify that (those) talents….and they are willing to take the time necessary to learn to master their own gift of life from above….then they can achieve almost anything…..as the video I have chosen speaks directly to living proof that it isn’t what you don’t have…..but rather what you do have that counts in life….as we get too see how Eric Weihenmayer turned his blindness into his unique sight of the world….as he became the only climber to ever reach the summit of not only Mount Everest….but so much more with regards to kayaking the Colorado River, riding a bicycle and hang gliding off a mountain….as this video provides evidence of what can be done with so little.                                                                                                              

       News – 2001 – CBS Special – Eric Weihenmayer: The Blind Adventurer Who Climbed Mount Everest                                                                                                                                                                                        The video seen above provides living proof that it isn’t what you don’t have…..but rather what you do have that counts in life….as we get too see how Eric Weihenmayer turned his blindness into his unique sight of the world….as he became the only climber to ever reach the summit of not only Mount Everest….but so much more with regards to kayaking the Colorado River, riding a bicycle and hang gliding off a mountain….as this video provides evidence of what can be done with so little.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            DOG ASIDE:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It is my humble opinion that the teachers throughout the HUMAN world….would be able to affect so many more of their student’s lives in such a valuable way….if they could get their students to simply  understand that so much has been and can be done with so little…which allows them to almost do anything without having a thing.                                                                                                                              

Founded within the understanding of the power that this statement affords to all HUMANS….no matter where or when it’s is applied….there lies everything that is needed for that individual to achieve whatever they might want to achieve….for it is not about what you don’t have…. it’s truly about what you do have….and what you are willing to do with what you do have that matters most while on this Earth……regardless of ones age.  I expand on this simple philosophy in a story that I wrote about how growing up under West Texas skies at night that gives some additional insight into the power  that this simple philosophy made a Sportsphile out of Bone Daddy and me.                                                                                                                                                        

            Comedy – 1982 – Johnny Carson Tonight Show – Featuring Robin Williams & Jonathan Winters

                                                                                                                                                                                      It turns out that in 1978….when Skip Bayless was a beat writer for the Los Angeles Times….he was called into his boss’s office and told that he was going to Grambling University in Louisiana to cover a young black quarterback who was graduating from a black  university in the South….who was projected to be a 1^st round draft choice in the upcoming NFL draft.  When Bayless arrived at Grambling State University….the 1^st person he met was Coach Eddie Robinson….whom Skip described as a really nice genuinely caring man….who asked Skip if he would address his team….to which Skip commented on how attentive each player on the team was….to a scrawny 21 year old beat writer from Los Angeles.  Skip said that the attention and respect that each player of Coach Robinson’s team was totally because of the respect that each player had for Coach.                                                                                                                      

                             NCAA Football – 1945 To 1997 – ESPN’s Outside The Lines With Bob Ley                                                                            Tribute To Grambling State Coach Eddie Robinson

Cari Champion, First Take’s more than qualified to sit between these two dynamic forces known as Skip and Steven A….and be an awesome moderator for their daily debates.

  However, of most importance to Cari’s lil ole YA YA Sister…. me  ….is how much I enjoy her wonderfully attractive and intelligent big time Diva attitude that she projects on screen….cuz it  takes one to know one.  Anyway, we’re both Sisters of Color…cuz I’m black too Baby (OK….with a little more grey than I like to admit). 

On this particular day when fellow Diva Cari….as the moderator of the daily debate desk….states that Doug Williams is the Head Coach at Grambling University…and asks him whether he recruits athletes that could eventually end up in the NFL. Coach Williams replied….”I don’t recruit young men to go to the NFL….I recruit based on the absolute advantage that a black man in America has to get a college degree paid for them while playing football for Grambling University.  If a player that I coach wants to go to the NFL….and they have the talent to do so….their journey does not start in their senior year….it starts the day that student athlete gets to college.”                                                     

                                 TV Ads – 1972 – Grambling State Coach Eddie Robinson And His Team                                                           Are Pitchmen For The Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme In This Classic Video

Steven A then asked Williams how he felt about how the black athlete conducts themselves today….to which Williams replied….”It is unfortunate….but in the NFL today….the players don’t have what we had….we would get up almost every day and go get each other to go to lunch.  We were a tight team on a daily basis….so, the demands created by all the money of today….have taken that away.  Now, cash comes and cash rules….and a lotta guys like what the NFL can do for them….but don’t think about what they can do for the NFL.” 

As Doug Williams left the debate desk that day….Cari “You Go Girl” Champion showed Doug Williams that she was sincerely honored to have shared the time and space with Williams on this particular day….and that’s what I like most about Cari Champion….Diva or what….she has a pure love for the best of the best…. especially those who share hers and my common traits of a combination a of intelligence and good looks….and gals who love to take the reins in their own hands….not to mention that she just might be a Sportsphile to boot….and I like that…..but any way you cut the pie, Cari Champion could hold her own while sitting at the debate desk with two ego maniacs like Stephen A Smith and Skip Bayless.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

          Sports Debate – 1913 – ESPN First Take With Cari Champion + Skip Bayless + Stephen A Smith                                                        On The Subject Of LeBron James Athletic Prowess     

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    DOG ASIDE:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Now folks, I understand that I am just a lil ole Chiweenie dog….but as an accredited Sportsphile, I am more than qualified to say what I am about to say….for I left this particular First Take program realizing that I was personally moved to write this story just because of this Super Bowl champion’s ability to lead men….for Doug Williams ability to lead men was not only to lead men on the football field…..but he also took the lead in his short time on First Take with his articulate words and simple philosophies….which were founded during his years under Coach Eddie Robinson at Grambling State University….and to me those are the things that give anyone listening to what Williams had to say a clear understanding of what this man was made of……which was a man that sounded a lot like Coach Robinson…..and the kind of man and Coach that any parent would want to be coaching their sons and daughters….but of greater import…..he was the kind of leader that any parent would be proud to have him teach their kids simple and valuable lessons of life that they can use throughout their lives forever.                                                       

                                                                                                                                                                                                            NFL – 1987 – NFL Films – The Replacement Players Who Sparked a Super Bowl Run                                                                  The Story Of The Washington Redskins In 1987

                                                                                                                                                                                After watching this program….this viewer was left with the opinion that without a doubt….Doug Williams is a leader of men…..which by the way is a truly common quality in every champion that I have observed on my journey to becoming a Sportsphile over the past 121 years.  Heck, you’ll find that in a great deal of my writings that I have many story lines that have to do with monumental events and victories in sports ….which only happened as a result of the actions of great leaders of men.  Sadly though….the changes that have been brought about into today’s professional sports picture are quite different from the days that Williams played is a reality that has become significant….and the cause and effect of these significant changes is because of one thing only….IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY

   ….which has made what was then and what is now so very different….for as we enter the 2020 NFL season….the MONEY has gotten astronomical with quarterbacks  like Doug Williams getting $31,000,000 as a “franchised player” on NFL teams for one year. However, what the men from back in the day when Williams played have to teach is of great value to the ones of today….if they could only listen a little more than they talk….but that won’t happen cuz money has a way of closing ears and opening mouths…..as MONEY has taken the most humble of players to become the most egocentric of superstars in today’s game.                                                                                  

            Comedy – 1983 – Richard Pryor Live At The Met – On Being In The Jungle With The Animals

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               DOG ASIDE:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              As a side note from today’s story…BD’s video library gives me a tremendous amount of content regarding what was then and now….so, keep on reading….for I will share with you many “snip-its” from the library that give you a visual reality of what was then and what is now.  As a footnote to this story…. two days after I wrote this story….ESPN”s Bob Ley on Outside the Lines presented a special segment narrated by current Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III….a man of color who was honoring Doug Williams and his accomplishment of being the 1^st black quarterback to lead his team to the championship on the 25^th Anniversary of Super Bowl XXII.                                                                                                           

         NFL – 1988 – Special – Redskins QB Robert Griffin III Pays Tribute To Redskins QB Doug Williams                              On Breaking The Color Barrier Of Black Quarterback Super Bowl Champions

In the RGIII narrated program was an interview with Reverend Al Sharpton who reveals that the mindset that black America took from this historic event of the first black quarterback to win a Super Bowl Championship….was that if we can have a black man lead a team to the Super Bowl….then we can have a black man lead America as the President of the United States.  Further in the    Williams segment….Bob Ley interviewed African American Pulitzer Prize Winner Coleman King of the Washington Post….who was asked by Ley about making a comparison of RGIII to Doug Williams….whose response was that their most common shared quality was that they were both likable.  But my favorite part of the program was The Rev’s explanation of the essence of the moment at the end of William’s championship game….that was where winning QB Doug Williams and Coach Eddie Robinson were seen hugging and sobbing in each others arms….as Coach told his student….”It will be much later in your life before you realize the impact of what you accomplished today…I am so proud of you.”  All I can say is  “WE’VE DONE SO MUCH WITH SO LITTLE….WE CAN DO ALMOST ANYTHING WITH NUTHIN’”….and thank God Dog for HUMANS like Coach Robinson.                                 

         NCAA Football – 1945 To 1997 – The Life And Legend Of Grambling State Coach Eddie Robinson