Up In the AIR

"You mean y'all ain't gone wait on me bruh? That's bogus!"

An Old Italian on the south side of Chicago once told me that luck is the intersection where opportunity and preparation meet. The key is to keep driving down the road of preparation until you run into opportunity. Now you may only cross it every now and then so you’ve got to be paying attention. If you pass opportunity you can’t turn around because somebody else has made the turn and taken advantage of it. So keep driving until it comes up again but there is a possibility that you may not ever see it again.

Somebody needs to give Houston Rockets rookie Royce White those same jewels of advice because he’s about to drive right through the intersection and crash the joint into the guard rail. This cat is unwilling to report to training camp until he gets the team’s permission to travel by bus to some games because of his fear of flying.  He has an anxiety disorder that is magnified when he flies.

I remember when the Rockets drafted this kid out of Iowa State this past summer and that was a major topic of discussion prior to them drafting him and he assured them that it wouldn’t be a problem. Now he’s having second thoughts. Hey bruh, this is the NBA and boyz travel nightly all over the country for the sole purpose of working. They aren’t going to wait for you to show up on a bus to play. This ain’t football where they only play one game a week. John Madden wasn’t a flyer so he traveled that way when he was calling games.

Let’s keep it real or all the way 100, whichever comes 1^st! If this dun can’t handle it then he’s got to find another profession. It’s just that simple. When teams are playing in 10 cities in 14 days the bus won’t get it done. I’m sorry! That's like a race car driver being afraid of high speeds or a football player being afraid of getting hit. Would you allow a surgeon that was afraid of blood to operate on you? It comes with the territory bruh! If you're going to play in the NBA you've got to fly!

 Now I can hear some clown in the background saying, “Jay, you have to be more understanding of his mental condition and if he can’t do it then he can’t do it.” You’re absolutely right, pimpin’! But if he can’t do it then he can’t play in the NBA! It’s just that simple!

Am I being insensitive? Not at all, because I’m claustrophobic so I hate flying because the plane seems too small at times, I hate being in crowds and when traffic stops on the expressway with cars in front and back of me my anxiety races 100 MPH. I only ride elevators when I HAVE to because I’ve been stuck on them before and my anxiety goes into overdrive when I’m on them. However, I’ve been in sales for 22 years and my bread is dependent upon me traveling by car, plane and oh yeah, riding elevators. So guess what? I’ve forced myself to deal with it or not eat and I’m not trying to lose any weight bruh. It’s simply a part of life.  

So Royce can play crazy if he wants to but if he doesn’t get on that plane somebody else will. Just like if I don’t show up to make sure my clients are taken care of somebody else will show up and happily spend my money.

Most importantly, this kid needs to understand what he has to do in order to become successful in his profession. Sure, if flying doesn’t work for his personal life then he shouldn’t fly personally. However, this is work and he has to learn how to compartmentalize it. That’s real talk. So either show up to work or go find another job because you can't be up in the air about being up in the AIR!

Holla At Ya Boy!

Jay Graves

Get @ me on Twitter: @jaygravesreport