CLEOEJACKSONIII.COM
  • My Home Page
  • My Life and Ministry
  • My Ongoing Thoughts
  • My Favorite Bible Verses
  • My Favorite Stories
  • My Favorite Jokes
  • My Favorite Quotations
  • My Favorite Web Links
  • My Contact Info
"Helping Others Communicate"

WHAT LIES UNDERNEATH...

3/2/2023

 
As the month of March unfolds, so do the various National Collegiate Athletic Association Conference Basketball tournaments.  These will all be followed by the annual National Invitational Tournament and also the NCAA National Championship Tournament, culminating in the famed Final Four Weekend, which results in the crowing of a National Championship for some College or University.

For my part, I enjoy watching a little basketball on occasion.  Back in the day, I even played on a team or two.  But my mother in law dearly loved basketball.  She played in high school and in college, and to this day, faithfully follows her favorite teams.

All the
“hoop-la” about basketball this time of year reminded me of an article I came across a few years ago.  The piece appeared in “The Guardian” back on April 5, 2017 and was titled: “Hard Maple: Why Basketball's Perfect Surface Has Lasted More Than a Century”.

The subtitle was equally intriguing:  “Since It Was Invented In 1891, Almost Everything about Basketball Has Changed. But One Constant Is the Maple Flooring – Hard, Durable and Beautiful To Look At”.

It seems that the one thing about basketball that hasn't changed since James Naismith invented the game way back in 1891 is the floor of a basketball court.  Even the first game was played on a floor of hard maple.  Why was maple selected?  Well, it seems that maple flooring is harder than red oak, black walnut, or cherry flooring, and its tight grain made it easier to clean and maintain. 

The icing on the cake was the discovery that maple flooring also turned out to be the perfect surface for dribbling a basketball.  Thus, it should come as no surprise that the NCAA said the official courts for both the men's and women's Final Fours were made of “500 trees of northern maple carefully harvested from the Two-Hearted River Forest Reserve in Michigan's Upper Peninsula”.

Later on, professional teams followed suit.  The courts of all but one National Basketball Association team are composed of hard maple.  The Boston Celtics alone play on a red-oak parquet floor.  Still, hard maple offers the most consistent playing surface, and also provides “bounce-back”, or shock resistance, which helps to lessen fatigue on players’ knees and ankles.

As I read this article, I was reminded of the importance of a good foundation.  It really does matter what the floor of a basketball court consists of.  The same is true for football fields, baseball fields, and soccer fields.  And if what is underneath matters in sports, how much more does it matter in life itself?!

Little wonder that Jesus reminded us of the importance of a good foundation in life.  In the conclusion to His famed Sermon on the Mount (as recorded in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew, chapter 7, verses 24-27), He states:

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

Basketball players need and appreciate a good solid floor beneath them as they pursue their sport.  In much the same manner, you and I need a solid foundation underneath us as we go about the pursuits of life.

There is no better foundation for this than the one provided for us by the Lord Himself!  I myself have chosen to walk there.  I hope you have as well.


STORY SOURCE: 

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/apr/05/hard-maple-basketball-surface-nba.

SCRIPTURE SOURCE:

https://biblehub.com/niv/matthew/7.htm.

Comments are closed.

    Cleo E. Jackson, III

    Occasionally I will add
    a few thoughts to my blog. If you find them inspirational, I will be
    honored.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010

    Categories

    All