Jimmy Valvano

Jimmy Valvano cherished every moment of his life. (Jimmy Valvano)

A hero doesn't need to have superhuman powers or slay monsters. They can make mistakes. Being fearful isn't off limits, and they can lose their calmness. People will always face problems difficult to overcome. They can lose confidence and simply be fretful for challenges and situations they are thrown into. Today's heroes have been stereotyped into the position of a powerful man who can accomplish the impossible. To me, a hero doesn't need any of these qualifications. Yes, these help the person to be brave and inspiring, but it isn't always likely. My ideal hero is a role model who has his own role models. He strives to be the best he can or work as hard as possible. He stands up for what he believes in, is humble, selfless, loving, tries to have a positive attitude  even in the worst times, and puts his life on hold to help others. Jim Valvano upheld these classifications. He is my hero.

Jim Valvano coached NC State for ten years. (Jimmy V's)

Almost every public person you can Google produces positive and negative search results. There are those reviews and opinions about how loving and motivational a person is, but then you come across that one bad review criticizing their decisions and mistakes. These opinions about Jim Valvano don't matter to me. It comes down to the facts.

            James Thomas Anthony Valvano, "Jim", was born on March 10, 1946 in New York. He played basketball at Rutgers University and later coached at multiple schools after his graduation. He finally landed himself at North Carolina State University for ten years. His team won the ACC Tournament in 1983 and 1987, ACC Regular Season Champions in 1985 and 1989, NCAA Men's Champions in 1983, and they advanced to the Elite 8 in 1985 and 1986. This expresses his commitment and dedication to the sport, his players, and the school, which is very inspiring to me. Jim was voted ACC Coach of the Year twice as well.

In June 1992, Jim was diagnosed with bone cancer. One month later, he found out the disease had metastasized and spread. He was preparing himself for death, but didn't focus on the negatives of the situation. He was awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award, shown on the first annual ESPY Awards. His famous speech on March 3, 1993 turned my head. I wasn't alive on this day, but this speech has been replayed on TV thousands of times. I remember coming home from middle school sports, sitting on the couch, and watching his speech with my dad. This occurred a few years ago, but I came home from basketball in November and my dad was watching the speech again as an introduction to Jimmy V Week on ESPN. My dad rewound the part I missed and showed me his favorite part, when Valvano was telling a funny story about his own role model, Vince Lombardi, the Green Bay Packers coach. I remembered it so clearly, almost as if I was re-watching it from the previous week. This is when it clicked that he is my hero. For a speech to be so famous and inspirational is something special, but it was not just the speech. It was the perseverance, dedication, hope, and humor conveyed during this time.

Valvano was featured in the 2010 ESPY Awards. (Szarkowski)

He had this detailed outlook on life and analyzed what meant the most. In his speech at the awards show, he said, "To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special." (Valvano). Not only was he inspirational, he brought humor in the worst times and relating to the saddest subjects. "They got that screen up there flashing 30 seconds, like I care about that screen. I got tumors all over my body and I'm worried about some guy in the back going 30 seconds..." (Valvano).

All of these quotes are the best way to show how much he cared for others, recognized efforts, and tried to reach out to those in need. With his speech closing, "Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities. It cannot touch my mind, it cannot touch my heart, and it cannot touch my soul. And those three things are going to carry on forever. I thank you and God bless you all," (Valvano) He announced the founding of the Jimmy V Foundation, raising money for finding a cure for cancer. Its motto is, "Don't give up, don't ever give up." He had to hope for the best, but unfortunately he died less than two months after the speech took place on April 28. 

            Jimmy Valvano is my hero, not only because of his inspiration and dedication, but also for his accomplishments and commitment.  He focused on making a foundation to find a cure rather than worrying about his own death. Teaming with ESPN, the foundation has raised over $100 million, showing extraordinary success. I would want to live the end of my life like this, but it would be hard. If he was fearful or scared, he covered it up magically. He always put others before himself. Striving for goals is also something he models that I want to do. Not only do you need to try to accomplish something, but you need to go at it wholeheartedly. He lived his life to the fullest with great inspiration and thought. I hope I can successfully model my life after him in my future.

Works Cited

"Jimmy Valvano ESPY Speech." Money Matters. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .

"Jimmy V's Steakhouse and Tavern." Z Spotlight. Web. 05 Jan. 2012. .

Morris, Jerod. "Remembering Jimmy V 17 Years After Death." Midwest Sports Fans - Sports Blog. Web. 05 Jan. 2012..

Szarkowski, John. "Digital Photo of the Day | ESPY AWARDS 2010." Thephotographer4youâ„¢. Web. 05 Jan. 2012..

Valvano, Jim. "ESPY Awards Speech." Speech. ESPY Awards. Madison Square Garden, New York City. Nov. 2011. The V Foundation for Cancer Research. 2011. Web. 2011. .