The Three-Point Shot is Not About the Extra Point
Last night I tuned in to American Idol for one last shot of inspiration from my man Steven "The Muse" Tyler. And once again, I'm very sorry to say, the show started out with something that made me cringe. I know I know. It's probably just me.
Anyway, here's what happened: Ryan came on stage and introduced the final two contestants, Scotty and Lauren. Right away, he said there'd been a rumor going around online that Lauren was having problems with her voice. The camera zoomed in on Lauren and she looked kind of surprised and horrified that Ryan was sharing this fact with the world. But it got worse, and quite frankly, a little creepy, when Ryan asked the doctor to come on stage. So this guy wearing all black (not a suit, just black pants and a black long-sleeve shirt like stage hands wear) came out. As he neared the contestants, Ryan told him to stand a bit away. He said something like, "No, stay right there, stay right there." As if he he didn't want the guy to get too close. Which also seemed weird. Did anyone catch that?
Anyway, this doctor explained that Lauren had completely damaged (did he say shot? I can't remember) one of her vocal chords. Only it was OK! Because he had pumped her full of meds. That's what he said! And Lauren just smiled nervously and said everything would be great.
Friends, I think we have gone too far. I really do.
Maybe this isn't a big deal. Maybe this is how you treat vocal chord injuries. But bringing the doctor in black—who wasn't allowed to approach the contestants but was allowed to pump one of them full of drugs—onto a stage and in front of the camera so he could share this fact with millions of people without any sense of concern for the possible side effects of this practice, including permanent damage to a young teen's vocal chords, felt worse than creepy. It felt very wrong.
And it felt wrong again when Randy had to pipe up with his whole IN IT TO WIN IT campaign as well.
If this is what IN IT IT WIN IT means, I think we have a problem.
But I kept watching.
The contestants each had to sing three songs. These felt very short to me and all six performances, I must admit, felt rushed and karaoke-like. Don't hate me! But they really did. To me. I mean, both singers have lovely voices. But the performances were so unoriginal, especially for a season finale. I kept asking my son, Is it just me? Is it? Everyone looks so tired and bored. Neither performer seemed to be there for the joy of singing and creating music. They looked like they were being very careful not to screw up. Which is understandable, I admit. But neither seemed to put their own little piece of themselves into the songs. Even the songs that were written just for them. I think maybe it was because they were afraid to do that because all the contestants who had were, well, gone.
Is that what IN IT TO WIN IT means now?
I don't know. But I admit I was disappointed. We'd come all this way. And it all felt very anticlimactic. Even the judges looked exhausted. Their commentary felt totally scripted. Steven Tyler looked like he had been forced awake to come to the show.
It was all a bit depressing.
Or.
Maybe it's just how I was seeing things.
Maybe everyone else thought it was fantastic and genuine.
Maybe I am the only one who is tired of it all.
It's this IN IT TO WIN IT stuff, I swear. It has made me very cynical.
Even so, I continued to hang on, waiting for my muse to deliver. And sure enough, Steven finally piped up with a good one. But to be honest, I don't even remember who he said it too. I don't even remember the context. Because as much as I love Steven, even that line felt like something he'd come up with a while ago and he finally found a chance to use it.
"You can't take a three-point shot from under the net," he said. So, I wrote it down and started to ponder.
What, exactly, did he mean by this? Here are some thoughts:
You can't get the extra point if you play it safe.
You have to take a risk if you want the extra point.
You have to go the distance to get the extra point.
Yuck, yuck, and yuck. That is what I thought.
That doesn't sound like Steven at all. I watched the rest of the show, got more depressed about it all, and went to bed.
But this morning I knew I wanted to write a final entry about my muse. I had to find my way through my own stubbornness and negativity to find some inspiration. Isn't that what Steven would do? Isn't that what he's done all season?
Yes.
So I started thinking more about that three-point shot. I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I've seen players take that shot and make it. It's always kind of miraculous, isn't it? You see the player get the ball and make that unmistakable glance up toward the net and make that split-second decision: Do I go for it? Can I do it? And everyone in the stands is screaming "Shoot! Shoot!" And when the player does, everything goes quiet as you all watch the ball soar through the air. Heads move in unison to follow the graceful arc of the ball as it approaches that impossibly small metal circle.
And then... Swoosh.
It's a beautiful sound (to one team, anyway). Because it's always a swoosh. It has to be when the ball travels that distance. Just... Swoosh. And then at least one side of the gym erupts in cheers over the beauty of it all.
Maybe that's what Steven was talking about. That precious moment.
You can't take a three-point shot from under the net.
Taking shots from under the net is all arms flailing and people grabbing at you and elbowing you in the ribs or face or anywhere they can get away with as they jump up for the rebound. It's all jumbled and ugly. But the three-point shot. The three-point shot requires you to slip away in the distance and wait for someone under the net to not only see that you're open, but trust your skills enough to take a chance on getting the ball to you. So you're standing out there. For an all-to-brief moment no one is guarding you and the ball pops into your hands and you have about one more second to set yourself up, aim and shoot with just the right amount of force. It's perfect physics, right? And the only people who make it are the people who have practiced and practiced and practiced thousands of times so that they know what they have to do. They just know. And even then, they don't always make it. But they dare to try. Steven said "Take it." Not "Make it."
Maybe that's it.
Maybe that's what Steven was talking about.
About having the confidence to take a risk. About knowing when to step out from the crazy jumble of reaching arms and jabbing elbows and taking the hard shot. The shot that requires practice and skill and timing and strength. And the courage to try.
I don't know if that's what he meant. But that's how I'm going to interpret it.
I know it took me a long time to get here, so if you read this far, thanks.
Here's what I think: This business CAN feel like a jumble sometimes. It can feel like a mass of arms and pointy elbows. It can feel like you are using all your strength just to stay standing. It can feel like you will never get a chance to hold the ball, much less take a shot.
But on the good days, and even on the bad days, really, I feel like our team is pretty fantastic. So here's my pledge to you. When we're all in a jumble and it feels like we're going to lose, step out. Leave the crazy. Set yourself up. Show us your hands. And we'll pass you the ball. Now remember what you've practiced and practiced and practiced.
What happens next is up to you. Either way, we'll cheer you on. You, and the beauty of it all.
That's what teammates do.
:-)
Anyway, here's what happened: Ryan came on stage and introduced the final two contestants, Scotty and Lauren. Right away, he said there'd been a rumor going around online that Lauren was having problems with her voice. The camera zoomed in on Lauren and she looked kind of surprised and horrified that Ryan was sharing this fact with the world. But it got worse, and quite frankly, a little creepy, when Ryan asked the doctor to come on stage. So this guy wearing all black (not a suit, just black pants and a black long-sleeve shirt like stage hands wear) came out. As he neared the contestants, Ryan told him to stand a bit away. He said something like, "No, stay right there, stay right there." As if he he didn't want the guy to get too close. Which also seemed weird. Did anyone catch that?
Anyway, this doctor explained that Lauren had completely damaged (did he say shot? I can't remember) one of her vocal chords. Only it was OK! Because he had pumped her full of meds. That's what he said! And Lauren just smiled nervously and said everything would be great.
Friends, I think we have gone too far. I really do.
Maybe this isn't a big deal. Maybe this is how you treat vocal chord injuries. But bringing the doctor in black—who wasn't allowed to approach the contestants but was allowed to pump one of them full of drugs—onto a stage and in front of the camera so he could share this fact with millions of people without any sense of concern for the possible side effects of this practice, including permanent damage to a young teen's vocal chords, felt worse than creepy. It felt very wrong.
And it felt wrong again when Randy had to pipe up with his whole IN IT TO WIN IT campaign as well.
If this is what IN IT IT WIN IT means, I think we have a problem.
But I kept watching.
The contestants each had to sing three songs. These felt very short to me and all six performances, I must admit, felt rushed and karaoke-like. Don't hate me! But they really did. To me. I mean, both singers have lovely voices. But the performances were so unoriginal, especially for a season finale. I kept asking my son, Is it just me? Is it? Everyone looks so tired and bored. Neither performer seemed to be there for the joy of singing and creating music. They looked like they were being very careful not to screw up. Which is understandable, I admit. But neither seemed to put their own little piece of themselves into the songs. Even the songs that were written just for them. I think maybe it was because they were afraid to do that because all the contestants who had were, well, gone.
Is that what IN IT TO WIN IT means now?
I don't know. But I admit I was disappointed. We'd come all this way. And it all felt very anticlimactic. Even the judges looked exhausted. Their commentary felt totally scripted. Steven Tyler looked like he had been forced awake to come to the show.
It was all a bit depressing.
Or.
Maybe it's just how I was seeing things.
Maybe everyone else thought it was fantastic and genuine.
Maybe I am the only one who is tired of it all.
It's this IN IT TO WIN IT stuff, I swear. It has made me very cynical.
Even so, I continued to hang on, waiting for my muse to deliver. And sure enough, Steven finally piped up with a good one. But to be honest, I don't even remember who he said it too. I don't even remember the context. Because as much as I love Steven, even that line felt like something he'd come up with a while ago and he finally found a chance to use it.
"You can't take a three-point shot from under the net," he said. So, I wrote it down and started to ponder.
What, exactly, did he mean by this? Here are some thoughts:
You can't get the extra point if you play it safe.
You have to take a risk if you want the extra point.
You have to go the distance to get the extra point.
Yuck, yuck, and yuck. That is what I thought.
That doesn't sound like Steven at all. I watched the rest of the show, got more depressed about it all, and went to bed.
But this morning I knew I wanted to write a final entry about my muse. I had to find my way through my own stubbornness and negativity to find some inspiration. Isn't that what Steven would do? Isn't that what he's done all season?
Yes.
So I started thinking more about that three-point shot. I'm not a huge basketball fan, but I've seen players take that shot and make it. It's always kind of miraculous, isn't it? You see the player get the ball and make that unmistakable glance up toward the net and make that split-second decision: Do I go for it? Can I do it? And everyone in the stands is screaming "Shoot! Shoot!" And when the player does, everything goes quiet as you all watch the ball soar through the air. Heads move in unison to follow the graceful arc of the ball as it approaches that impossibly small metal circle.
And then... Swoosh.
It's a beautiful sound (to one team, anyway). Because it's always a swoosh. It has to be when the ball travels that distance. Just... Swoosh. And then at least one side of the gym erupts in cheers over the beauty of it all.
Maybe that's what Steven was talking about. That precious moment.
You can't take a three-point shot from under the net.
Taking shots from under the net is all arms flailing and people grabbing at you and elbowing you in the ribs or face or anywhere they can get away with as they jump up for the rebound. It's all jumbled and ugly. But the three-point shot. The three-point shot requires you to slip away in the distance and wait for someone under the net to not only see that you're open, but trust your skills enough to take a chance on getting the ball to you. So you're standing out there. For an all-to-brief moment no one is guarding you and the ball pops into your hands and you have about one more second to set yourself up, aim and shoot with just the right amount of force. It's perfect physics, right? And the only people who make it are the people who have practiced and practiced and practiced thousands of times so that they know what they have to do. They just know. And even then, they don't always make it. But they dare to try. Steven said "Take it." Not "Make it."
Maybe that's it.
Maybe that's what Steven was talking about.
About having the confidence to take a risk. About knowing when to step out from the crazy jumble of reaching arms and jabbing elbows and taking the hard shot. The shot that requires practice and skill and timing and strength. And the courage to try.
I don't know if that's what he meant. But that's how I'm going to interpret it.
I know it took me a long time to get here, so if you read this far, thanks.
Here's what I think: This business CAN feel like a jumble sometimes. It can feel like a mass of arms and pointy elbows. It can feel like you are using all your strength just to stay standing. It can feel like you will never get a chance to hold the ball, much less take a shot.
But on the good days, and even on the bad days, really, I feel like our team is pretty fantastic. So here's my pledge to you. When we're all in a jumble and it feels like we're going to lose, step out. Leave the crazy. Set yourself up. Show us your hands. And we'll pass you the ball. Now remember what you've practiced and practiced and practiced.
What happens next is up to you. Either way, we'll cheer you on. You, and the beauty of it all.
That's what teammates do.
:-)
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