Remembering Jimmy V  

One sign of a healthy workplace is good-spirited banter before and after meetings. Financial work is high-stakes, sometimes high-pressure, and relies on good communication and teamwork. It should be no surprise that our good-spirited banter frequently revolves around what is happening in the sports world. I was profoundly surprised to learn during a recent bantering episode that a majority of our team was unfamiliar with the name Jim Valvano. I am not usually one to rely on sports figures or athletic analogies to enhance conversation, but in this case, I am willing to make an exception. The story of Jimmy Valvano is incredible, uplifting, and heart wrenching. Whether you like sports or not, this is a story you will want to remember for a good long while, maybe even the rest of your life.

Valvano was the head coach of NC State’s Wolfpack basketball team in the mid-1980s. Audaciously, even before the 1983 season began, Valvano encouraged his team to imagine cutting down the nets, a ritual enjoyed by NCAA tournament champions. The early season was challenging, with some key injuries and several losses. By tournament time, virtually no one expected them to contend for the title. They had to win six games in a row, against increasingly difficult opponents. They did so in nail-biting fashion, with one double-overtime win and five games decided by two points or less. Valvano’s mantra was “survive and advance.” That’s exactly what they did, beating heavily favored Houston, considered one of the most talented teams in college basketball history, with a tie-breaking, buzzer-beating slam dunk to secure the most improbable win. It was a real Cinderella story, for NC State fans at least.    

The heart wrenching part of the story comes next. Just nine years later, Valvano was diagnosed with metastatic adenocarcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer that would take his life in less than a year. Jim Valvano still found the time and energy to give one of the most memorable speeches of all time at the first ever ESPY Awards show. I highly recommend you find ten minutes to watch this speech, whether you have seen it before or not. I believe you will find something useful and enduring in Valvano’s message. How do you go from where you are to where you want to be? How do you live a more meaningful life? How do you give voice to your passion?

Valvano would die eight weeks after he delivered this memorable speech. Thankfully, over thirty years later, we can revisit this remarkable moment and make sure the ideals Jimmy V embodied continue to live on. It is easy for me, since I married an NC State alumna who attended all the games (and graduated in a male-dominated field, demonstrating her own considerable resilience and tenacity).       

That’s enough sports banter for a while. Let’s get back to our life’s work, with perhaps a bit more zeal than before.

Mike Masters