It’s that time of year again; the major free agents expected to change teams have landed a contract and movement is beginning to slow down. It’s the perfect time to dive way too far into the journalistic abyss with a throwback photo of legendary San Antonio Spurs coach, Gregg Popovich.
Pop graduated from the Air Force Academy and was pictured in the below photo as part of a yearbook. Credit to Reddit user WhenMachinesCry for the find.
Popovich’s surly, sarcastic and hilarious demeanour when speaking to the media often means that we are left with minimal information at the end of an interview with the coaching legend. When an insight into his character such as the text in the 1970 yearbook entry is given to us, it is our duty to read into it.
“He came to these nondescript hills from Merrillville, Indiana with his ways and his ball. Ball has continued to capture Popo's time during his visit at the Academy. What he did while here may have been bad and it may have been good, but he learned it did not matter much either way. He has, however, learned much about life during his revealing stay, and some profess that it was due not totally to fine associations and tutelage. His future plans include happiness.”
Firstly, “Popo.” Seemingly, Popovich was known by Popo for a number of years as a young man. This may have been representative of his personality at the time. The additional “O” was lost over time but what does that mean? Perhaps Popo is a more playful nickname, one that he deemed inappropriate for the world of basketball coaching, hence why he has not gone out of his way to correct us all over the years. Or maybe he just outgrew it.
The sheer ambiguity of the statement, “what he did while here may have been bad and it may have been good, but he learned it did not matter much either way” is fascinating. You can assume what it may have been that Popo did that was good but what is the bad that he is referring to? Perhaps an unofficial initiation procedure gone wrong? We will never know.
Then there’s the big one. “His future plans include happiness.” What can you do with such a vague, unspecific and open objective?
Popovich may have been attempting to find happiness in many forms at the time. Like many, he may have been trying to find a more suitable career path. The guy may have been seeking happiness romantically, but then again, who really knows?
He often declares his love of fine wine and has been happily married for a long time now. He is known as one of the greatest coaches in basketball history and is universally respected. You can only hope that his happiness has been found.
On a serious note, Popovich has had a truly amazing career and it is clear that his time in the air force shaped him as a person. The tutelage and discipline that he would have experienced seem to have helped him as a coach.
We wouldn't have Pop any other way.
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