Hood Dreams

    Sports no matter what part of the world you are located has always had an impact on its fans mind, body, or soul. The athletes of each respective sport have a voice that has millions clinging to their every word; athletes such as LeBron James, Patrick Mahomes, Killian Mmappe, and Mookie Betts to name a few. Due to these figures in sports and their stories of coming up in life we see a “way out.” Young people of the world, people of color especially, gravitate to having dreams of being an athlete because it provides the money and power to help their family and loved ones. If those dreams of being on the big stage aren’t achieved all is not lost. Just being in an organized sport growing up still teaches you things even if it is not on the highest level. 

    Sports as we all know isn’t always about the best player or the superstar player, it’s about a collection of parts with those type of players. We see this especially in the world of basketball and football that one person with elite level talent isn’t all a team needs. Michael Jordan didn’t win any of his six championships until he got a coach and other players around him that fit his play style nicely. Tom Brady does not win any of his seven Super Bowls without his teammates also doing their job on the field such as catching the ball, kicking the game winner, or even making a key defensive stop. NBA Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once said, “Great players are willing to give up their own personal achievement for achievement of the group. It enhances everybody.” This sacrifice for the better of the team can be applied to one’s own life. Making sure everybody eats while you also eat. This aspect of sports can alter the soul of the person, alter it in a way where the athlete or individual has to look themselves in the mirror and figure out who’s success is better, theirs or the teams. 

    Then there’s the mental aspect of sports where you must always be levelheaded and focused on what and who is in front of you, but what happens when you exit those lines? Most times you hear about players who fought drug addiction, being at practice or games was better than being involved in gang behavior or getting in trouble in the streets. What about those that didn’t play sports past high school but still had to deal with expectations from family or just fighting their own demons? When asked about this, ESPN Production Assistant Reginald Blake goes on to say that basketball “put my mind at ease, because I love the sport and being able to play took all the pressures off from school and trying to get into college.” He then states, “me and my parents weren’t really seeing eye to eye in high school so for me to go play was just a release for me mentally.” 

        For Blake it seemed that basketball was his “drug,” he wanted something that would allow him to be stress free, something that he could have full control over even if it was for a couple hours. What influenced Blake in many ways was also his favorite player the late great Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant. “I always admired him as a basketball player. His drive, how relentless he was, the ability to come through in big moments and then his ability to adapt as he got older is what I admired from the basketball perspective,” says Blake. “In the four years after he retired, I learned more about him than when he was actually playing.” 

    “In regard to the Mamba Mentality, everything I saw and appreciated him doing on the court, it wasn’t really until he retired and started things with his book and his Oscar winning short film… It made me realize the Mamba Mentality is more than basketball you can apply it to everyday life. Once I started to view things in that way, I would ask myself ‘How would Kobe go about this?’ Ever since that I feel I’m a completely different person.” Reginald Blake is a prime example on how much of an impact sports can have on a person. There are athletes that people idolize who are more than just athletes they are also human, humans who have a voice and craft that reach millions such as Blake. Humans who have gone through similar circumstances as their fans. All athletes are not role models but what it takes to be great at sports is applicable to the life of those who haven’t achieved that hood dream of going pro and that’s ok too.