The Lakers' coach Phil Jackson, Montana-born, North
Dakota-raised, belies his parental heritage at times. Both Mom and
Dad were ministers. Known as the "Zen Master," he often invokes Far
Eastern magic in his coaching. And he also pays tribute to his
region's Native Americans, burning sweet grass in the locker room
and even starting some practices with the beating of a Lakota-Sioux
tom-tom.
Ah, but hardly known outside their court is the Celtics' use of
exotics. Coach Doc Rivers is masterminding an all-black starting
team and in a way he has Africanized the squad in spite of the
Irish moniker it goes by. Rivers is quoted as saying he got the
idea from his old school, Marquette, where he came across the
African Bantu word, ubuntu, which roughly translates to
"all for one, one for all." (In Musketeer-like parlance, collective
success beats individual effort.) It is said ubuntu plus
the shaving of the teams' skulls early in the season accounts for
the squad's success.
That Bantu word, Rivers is quoted as saying, "has come into play
all year...has been an important word for our team." In fact, the
starters are supposed to chant Ubuntu as they break huddles in
preparation for play. More than 60 million Africans speak some form
of Bantu, mostly in the south. And the word has formed the backbone
of several small communities, some established in the time of South
Africa's apartheid days.
Few in Boston speak Bantu, or come from a Bantustan. Can you
hear the late Red Auerbach pacing the sidelines and yelling
"ubuntu, ubuntu!" to his charges on the court? I thought not. But
look, whatever works, works.
As far as game five was concerned, there was a shortage of
ubuntu, and the Zen Master was the master of the night, with more
Boston Bantu to come.
topics:
Africa
