You Never Know What Ya Got Till It's Gone

How Understated Athletes Are Often Overshadowed for Abstaining from the Public Eye (Shoutout to Andrew Goldsmith for the title)

Sports are never-ending so when I say, "This year in sports..." I do not even know where it begins and where it ends.

But I will say this, I hope you all have appreciated these last few months that we have had. 

Now this is not a blog post of reflection, but I feel as though some things that have happened within our sports world should be touched upon.

What drew me to write this you may ask? Well, Serena Williams just won her 22nd Grand Slam and Tim Duncan just announced his retirement. (As if Kobe was not hard enough, Timmy. How could you do this now?)

This should look familiar. 

It was time for Serena to tie the record for most-Grand Slams and it was time for the great Tim Duncan to hang it up... And it is time that we appreciate what has always been right in front of us. 

Is this what the kids call a 'bromance?'

You all saw it coming, right? Timmy D telling us that it is all over now... On a very random Monday morning on July 11. No press conference, not even a statement. Just a 'hey guys, I think I'm gonna call it quits now. It's been real.' How Tim Duncan-esque of him. 
Someone said on Sportscenter yesterday that Duncan is probably laughing because Coach Pop is about to have to do a press conference in relation to the news and we all know how much he loves those and the media. 

From one GOAT to another... Only Craig Sager could get more than two words from Pop. 

Just as expected, much love for the legend swarmed throughout social media. Kobe Bryant stated that he was more cutthroat than people gave him credit for and that he loved everything about him on the court. Kobe Bryant, Mr. Killer-Instinct himself. No one sees how cutthroat people truly are more than Kobe. 

Shaq called him the greatest Power Forward of all time. Actually, quite a few backed that up. LeBron James, teammate Lamarcus Aldridge, Kevin Love (uh...), Jamal Crawford, Dickie V, and more.
Dirk Nowitzki took it a step further and said, "He was always about winning, never about making a brand out of himself. That's what I appreciated most." Us too, Dirk, us too. With Tim Duncan, what you saw is what you got. A 6'11", 256 pound individual who always 'kept it 100.' 

What you saw is what you got... Casual Timmy.

Gregg Popovich said, "He's the most real, consistent, true person I have ever met in my life. He was so genuine, it blows your mind." 

When Coach Pop has more than three words to say, you know it is important. 
Popovich also gave a scenario of when someone asks another if they could choose ONE person to sit down and have dinner with, who would they chose? Your obvious answers are Jesus, Abraham Lincoln, MLK Jr., Jackie Robinson... But if you know anything about Pop, he does anything but the obvious. Of all the people in the world, past or present, Gregg Popovich would choose to have dinner with Timmy. (If you have yet to see the video of him saying this, get on your Instagram, go to any sports media outlet, scroll a little bit, grab the tissues, and enjoy the 30 second clip). 

There is simply no bond like the bond between these two. 

The meaning of fundamental is this: forming a necessary base or core; of central importance. 
The Big Fundamental. Tim Duncan. He did just that and he was just that for last 19 seasons with the San Antonio Spurs. His one and only organization. There are few that can say that (okay, there is my line for Kobe. I am done now). Tim Duncan was definitely the glue for the Spurs and it will be interesting to see how they begin to rebuild, but it is almost as if his presence on that court will forever be felt. 

Holy THROWBACK. 

Tim Duncan, five-time NBA champion and two-time league MVP, will go down as one of the greatest to ever do it, whether you heard much about him throughout his entire playing career or not. That is the way Timmy wanted it. He never did it for the glory, never wanted the max contract, the five million followers on Twitter, the fancy suit and tie. He did for the love of the game and when he felt like he was not having "fun" anymore, he gave it up. Just like you are supposed to. 
Besides Kevin Garnet, Paul Pierce, and Dirk Nowitzki, Timmy is the last of this breed. It is only a matter of time before they are giving their farewell. Let us just appreciate them while we still can. 

Only a matter of time before we say goodbye to this kid. 

34-year old Serena Williams just won her 22nd Grand Slam title, tying Steffi Graf. 

I don't know about you, but Serena is feeling 22. 

Serena might be one of the most entertaining people on the tennis court. Now, how many of you have actually watched Serena in a Grand Slam? If you have not, you should be ashamed of yourself. Many just know Serena as one of the greatest athletes in the history of ever. She is a household name. Rightfully so. She also deserves to be watched. 

Williams is not your typical tennis player 'build.' She has heard that her entire professional career. Her shoulders are so broad, arms too muscular, thighs too thick, she is not your average tennis player... Nor did she ever want to be. 

One of the biggest joys that I get out of watching Serena's play is watching her come back from being down a couple of sets. It is truly something special. You have your coaches in tennis and all that jazz, but at the end of the day you are the only one actively playing on that court. You must dig deep within yourself to self-motivate. 

When I said she slams her racquet, I was not joking. 

Not everyone can pull themselves out of a losing hole. Serena? She has no problem, no problem at all. Whether that means slamming her tennis racquet time and time again (poor racquet, do you know how hard she serves?) or simply just screaming at herself after a screw-up or after she begins to climb herself back to the top. You can never EVER count her out. Just ask the hundreds of opponents that she has given a glimpse of hope to and then crushed every bit of it minutes after.  

It is something beautiful to watch in sports. 

Tennis is obviously not within the Big Three of sports so it gets overlooked a lot. "Oh, Serena won another Grand Slam." Moving on to other news in sports... That is the realization. But now we must take a good look at what we are witnessing and appreciate it. Yeah, Serena does have a sister who is also remarkable at tennis, but there is not and will never be another Serena Williams. 

Sister, Sister!

We also do not know how much longer we will have her. She recently stated that it would be extremely difficult for her to continue on in the sport she knows all too well if big sister Venus decides to call it quits... And that could be right around the corner, given age and injury. 

We have the opportunity to witness the greatest tennis player of all-time. Appreciate her, folks, before it is too late. 

Appreciation is all apart of the beauty of sports. Those athletes that help make the sporting world go 'round, the right way, deserve the upmost appreciation from sports enthusiasts like myself and you. 

The saying stands: "You never know what ya got till it's gone." 

One thing we know for sure, these two appreciated the heck out of Timmy.