The Greatest Winner of All Time

Growing up in the 60’s while watching 1 of 3 networks on a Sunday afternoon. You were almost assured of seeing the Boston Celtics lead by Bill Russell play basketball to perfection. Bill Russell was the demigod of winning it seemed he never was on the losing end of a basketball game. I always went to see the Celtics play when they took on the Baltimore Bullets and I was never disappointed at the result because I was going to see Bill Russell’s team. Bill Russell was a defiant black man born in the period of Jim Crow’s Louisiana when a black man dared not look eye to eye towards any white man but Bill Russell never it seemed tilted his head down. Bill Russell was majestic, towering, and graceful, Bill Russell was the ultimate winner. All this talk about this GOAT and that GOAT, well all Bill Russell had to do was to lay down his eleven rings and stop the argument right there. You see Lebron and MJ didn’t have to face the threats of lynching, murder, deification on their beds, racist catcalls almost every night, growing up with night riders looking to terrorize them, so don’t tell me about GOATS because the true GOAT was BILL RUSSELL. Bill Russell epitomized blackness never ran away from it owned his blackness and defied anyone who asked him to yield to his blackness. When I think of black male sports heroes I think of Ali, Owens, Louis, Brown, Chamberlain, Robinson, Aaron, Gibson, Paige, Johnson,and the ultimate winner Bill Russell. Rest well big fella you earned your place in the pantheon of life’s legends.