I think fortitude and grit are mostly about perseverance. (Forgive me if that's a little circular, Socrates might have a fit).
Basically, what do you do when you're down? Do you get back up and learn from your mistakes... or do you give up? It's as simple as that to me.
I think this Celtics team has proved again and again that they will get back up and keep fighting. That's true top to bottom. It's an impressive quality. This team was playing .500 ball, starting veterans who refused to buy in or play team defense, and turned it around in the second half of this season to become the best team in basketball by the numbers. Not only that, they beat two teams that were favorites to win the title -- teams that were led by two of the very best players the NBA has to offer. I can't say they'll go on to beat the Heat, because there's no doubt that the Heat are an extremely tough team themselves. I think the Celtics have more and better talent, but sometimes guys slump or lose their willpower. It's not a reflection on their character in the long-run.
Side bar: I know we're supposed to leave it alone, but please let me just say: my perspective has nothing to do with "virtue signaling" and everything to do with the work that I've done, which includes hundreds of hours answering the phone for suicide hotlines. There is no way around it: the way we talk about each other affects how people internalize their identities. It's no accident that LGBTQ+ people suffer higher rates of suicide. Language like "sissy" gets used to rationalize crimes against people who own those identities. Language like that makes those people feel like they don't belong in this world. Language like that leads these people to harm themselves and others to harm them. We're all only as safe as we feel we are.
The reason why I get so frustrated with the casual use of these slurs has nothing to do with "political correctness" and everything to do with marginalizing and threatening (whether unintentionally or intentionally) people who are already minorities. I don't mean to shame anyone -- or at least I shouldn't have, because it doesn't help. Only want to educate.
I agree, fantastic post. Further, thank you for being on the other end of those phones.
My initial attempt (which went sideways 35 ways from jump) was to call out the "up in arms" behavior regarding one term while allowing other terms which imply basically the same thought process. Policing words is not the same as changing viewpoints or actions. Being unable to get there without going sideways is on me - but I won't apologize for trying to make the point. I can however work at posting better while trying to make those points.
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WRT basketball: I will state up front that people display different behaviors, traits in different situations. Any statements made about athletic performance should be confined to that venue. If I wanted one athlete to save my life with the success of his play - I'm choosing Lawrence Taylor. As a fan, I couldn't root for him. My compliments about his play do not also infer that he is a positive to me off the field. The inverse is also true - I criticized JB for not adapting to Oladipo stripping him 5-6 times in the 4th quarter, just a futile attempt to use the same approach. That doesn't change the fact that I would vote for him post career as a Senator should he roll that way. These terms we are trying to use have books written about them individually, companies pay massive amounts of money to glean that knowledge from psychologists.
- Perseverance: the Cs and Tatum seem to have coming out their ears. I think that is as you describe - getting up again. Regardless of the final outcome of this season - they have demonstrated that repeatedly.
- Toughness: What do you do when you are punched in the mouth? Responding in the moment - not an hour from now, nor tomorrow but the next trip down the court - that is toughness. Digging your heels in and fighting back while something overwhelming is happening. I think Tatum and the Cs have SOME of that - in football we see terms surrounding the playoff run like "battle hardening" leading up to the final superbowl test. That hardening for the Cs is different than the perseverance they needed early in season sticking with Udoka's changes for the teams expectations for style of play. Blowing out the league post January by 10 points a game was important - but by definition does not harden, does not impart toughness because a) there were fewer close games due to the level of play and b) the stakes were different. The playoff series with BKN and especially the long one with MIL was a hardener, but that doesn't mean the team was done - the 3rd quarter in G1 MIA showed they didn't respond to their own standards when being overwhelmed.
- Grit: I'll defer to anyone else on this one, I think in sports terms maybe it's like sandpaper. If your opponent is wearing sandpaper, you simply wouldn't enjoy and therefore don't want to play against them. Assuming that definition is palatable, I don't think Tatum has (or even needs) sandpaper in his game. I think every team needs an element of it, but not every player has to have it. I think Ainge brought in Morris for example to ensure the Cs had a certain amount of it when the Js were younger. We know the DPOY has it, lol.
So beyond some additional toughness, what is missing in Tatum's play? Allen Iverson played on the court way I am picturing in my mind. Smaller physically, but that didn't matter. He was going to get from point A to point B and you weren't going to stop him. It was more than physical dominance, it was knowing that not only was he going to beat you going around you in 10 different ways you couldn't stop,
if necessary he was going through you. At his size, that approach caused him to just wreak havoc on his body. At Tatum's size I don't think that would be an issue. I personally want to see Tatum let other players know, that if necessary he is going to go through them. More frequently he needs
to choose not to Eurostep around a player, but go through them, so the next time he comes in they are dreading the drive. Not Giannis level battering ram, that's not a good fit for him. But his opponents should know that he has a deep bag to work with (they already do), but one of those options will be going through them. The moment he walks on the court, other players should know. Some great players do not work this way - I understand that. It's what Tatum is missing from being THE star in a galaxy of stars. That unstoppable force in a field of immovable objects. If Tatum doesn't harness that in his game he will still be an incredible player that will be a joy to watch for years to come. It might also mean that he has a KD in OKC existence, where they never get over the hump, unless there is additional growth around him (TL, Grant improve, maybe another guard who can shoot but also defend). Personally, I'm hoping for him to develop an occasional Incredible Hulk alter ego that allows him to just go through a few people when the situation allows/demands it. So put whatever label on it one wants. Remember that 1st year playoff dunk on Lebron? Not only did he go at him, after the play he went and bumped Lebron as well. He has it in him, it's not on the court enough. That moment, that's what I want him reaching for (without the taunting bump after the play).
Let's me be clear, this doesn't imply that I want him just putting his head down and running over a player and getting called for charges (though additional charges will come as a result).