48MinofHell: Pop Elaborates on the Pounding the Rock Quote

[BillMc]

This is old, but I just discovered it with a random Google. And, hey, its summer....

We all know the famous Pounding the Rock quote by Jacob Riis that has become the mantra of the Spurs:

“When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it, but all that had gone before.”

Well, in this short article on 48 Minutes of Hell, Pop talks about the source of the quote and what it means in his mind.

Pop:

“That was a long time ago. Well, I guess I never really… well let me just say it was a long time ago. It was back in the 90s and I was reading something about immigration in New York way back when, that kind of thing, and he [Riis] was a reformer. He fought for better housing and better conditions, working conditions, that type of thing, for immigrants of all countries.

“He was relentless at it and that quote that we use is obviously his quote, and I thought it embodied anyone’s effort in any endeavor, really. It doesn’t have to be basketball. It can be a musical instrument or it can be learning mathematics or going to law school or figuring out how to turn the water off in your house because you’re an idiot. If you can’t figure that out you just keep looking, keep trying, keep going.

“The way he said it was very eloquent, and I thought that it fit. You get tired of all that other junk. ‘Winners never do this’ or ‘Losers always quit.’ ‘There’s no I in team’ — all the typical, trite silly crap you see in locker rooms at all levels. It’s always turned me off, so I thought that this was maybe a little bit more, I don’t know, intelligent. A different way to get to the guys and make them think about it.

“They’ve had that in their brains for a long time. They’re probably totally tired of it, but it’s worked well for us… They’ve been brainwashed pretty good by now… I’m leaving right after Ghadafi. They’re going to get rid of me… I’ve been here too long.”

http://www.48minutesofhell.com/coach-pop-pounding-the-rock-jacob-riis-spurs

[BillMc]

As Pop suggests I am now applying this to turning the water off in my house. May be drowning soon...

[Kawhi 5-0]

That's a great story! Thanks for posting! Really sums up why the Spurs have been successful. They are competing against themselves--against their own high expectations. There's no royal road to sustained success (to paraphrase the quote about geometry...circa Alexander the Great). It's hard work. It means competing...even in garbage time. There is no garbage time for the San Antonio Spurs. That's an integrity of purpose which resonates with me (and I'm sure lots of other people in the unglamorous, working-class San Antonio).

[BillMc]

That's a great story! Thanks for posting! Really sums up why the Spurs have been successful. They are competing against themselves--against their own high expectations. There's no royal road to sustained success (to paraphrase the quote about geometry...circa Alexander the Great). It's hard work. It means competing...even in garbage time. There is no garbage time for the San Antonio Spurs. That's an integrity of purpose which resonates with me (and I'm sure lots of other people in the unglamorous, working-class San Antonio).

Well said! :toast

[littlecoyotecoin]

That's a great story! Thanks for posting! Really sums up why the Spurs have been successful. They are competing against themselves--against their own high expectations. There's no royal road to sustained success (to paraphrase the quote about geometry...circa Alexander the Great). It's hard work. It means competing...even in garbage time. There is no garbage time for the San Antonio Spurs. That's an integrity of purpose which resonates with me (and I'm sure lots of other people in the unglamorous, working-class San Antonio).

Good quote, but Euclid, Alexandria, maybe 1000 years or so earlier, but who is counting. It's pithy as hell.

[littlecoyotecoin]

You're, of course, right with the time. I was thinking ATG was much later than Euclid, but Euclid lived in Alexandria. Duh. Fairly contemporaneous. My math is better than my history.

[Kawhi 5-0]

You're, of course, right with the time. I was thinking ATG was much later than Euclid, but Euclid lived in Alexandria. Duh. Fairly contemporaneous. My math is better than my history.

All good :) I wasn't really sure I had the right time period, but I just knew that the essence (moral of of the story) is that there is no shortcutting knowledge (or excellence). I always forget who Alexander's tutor was, but I always remember SPA (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle). Math is my worst area.

[Kawhi 5-0]

Well said! :toast

Thank you! The Spurs have been a great example for quite a while. Amazing how sports can illustrate the battles of life. I always just wanna see the guys give it their all. Even if they lose, I'm watching that garbage time looking for that effort and desire to improve. Coach Pop must be a wizard of motivation--good cop and bad cop rolled into one. We usually see the bad cop on the sidelines, but there must be another side to him behind closed doors which earns him respect with the players. That said, the organization has done a fantastic job of finding players who can take instruction. There's some hard lessons and no mincing of words in the heat of action, but the results have been remarkable.

[littlecoyotecoin]

All good :) I wasn't really sure I had the right time period, but I just knew that the essence (moral of of the story) is that there is no shortcutting knowledge (or excellence). I always forget who Alexander's tutor was, but I always remember SPA (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle). Math is my worst area.

You nailed it.

I use the quote a lot, actually. When you used it, it made me want to revisit it, yesterday. In doing so I saw the answer to your question. Aristotle was his teacher, supposedly.

[BillMc]

You nailed it.I use the quote a lot, actually. When you used it, it made me want to revisit it, yesterday. In doing so I saw the answer to your question. Aristotle was his teacher, supposedly.Yep. Socrates taught Plato, Plato taught Aristotle (until their falling out) and Aristotle taught a young Alexander at the behest of his father, Philip II of Macedon.

All these years I've been waiting for the opportunity to put that Ancient Studies degree to work at last!! :lol

[Kawhi 5-0]

You nailed it.

I use the quote a lot, actually. When you used it, it made me want to revisit it, yesterday. In doing so I saw the answer to your question. Aristotle was his teacher, supposedly.

Yes, it's a good one. It certainly stayed with me (at least the message of it). And thanks for the clarification regarding Aristotle and Alexander. I guess a similar device to SPA (the big three) would be AA for the teacher/student relationship in question. Glad to have some thinkers like yourself on this forum! Cheers, --Paul

[Kawhi 5-0]

Yep. Socrates taught Plato, Plato taught Aristotle (until their falling out) and Aristotle taught a young Alexander at the behest of his father, Philip II of Macedon.

All these years I've been waiting for the opportunity to put that Ancient Studies degree to work at last!! :lol

I know the feeling. My music theory/composition degree has its limitations. Always glad when I can put some harmonic analysis or counterpoint to work :) --Paul

[DMC]

More bullshit. What does that PtR quote say about putting a fat French guy on the floor to lose in the 1st round?

[Kool Bob Love]

More bullshit. What does that PtR quote say about putting a fat French guy on the floor to lose in the 1st round?

yeah let's just ignore system player's horrible play against a 35 year old Matt Barnes. You fucking clown.

[DMC]

yeah let's just ignore system player's horrible play against a 35 year old Matt Barnes. You fucking clown.

Leonard who was still on his rookie contract you mean?

[BillMc]

I know the feeling. My music theory/composition degree has its limitations. Always glad when I can put some harmonic analysis or counterpoint to work :) --Paul

I can completely relate :toast(well, other than in music theory...I know as much about music as an earthworm - or Britney Spears.:lol)