Michael 'Pinball' Clemons bounced into town last week and, like he did on the football field, he ran up huge scores.
These were not points on a jumbotron, they were flashes of inspiration and seeds of ideas for the audience attending the Timberwolves Legacy Breakfast at the Northern Sport Centre.
Clemons was a star player as a child growing up in Dunedin, Fla. (population about 35,000 people). He was a star player in college in the uniform of the College Of William And Mary Tribe.
He was drafted to the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs and began his career there, but jumped to the CFL's Toronto Argonauts for the promise of substantially more playing time. At a height of five-foot-six, he went on to set CFL yardage records, win three Grey Cups, become the Argos coach (winning another Grey Cup), then take on senior management roles with the team. He became a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.
His messages were universal, emotional and personal all wrapped into one little package.
These are 10 highlight quotes from Clemons from his spirited address last week:
"When you see a really good team get beat by a really bad team, what it usually means is that the really good team wasn't humble enough to believe that it was going to require their very best."
"If you want to show me a great person, don't show me anything about records and awards, money and power, show me what that person has done for someone else."
"The greatest luxury in life is time. The greatest skill in life is discipline - how you use that time. We all suffer from one of two things in life: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret."
"Cheer for people in life."
"Things don't always turn out like you'd like, but when you do the right thing, you always win."
"The human spirit is the world's greatest superhero."
"Don't feel sorry; don't complain; don't quit."
"It doesn't matter where you are, it matters who you are. It doesn't matter what town you're in, you're the coolest kid in school."
(On former CFL opponent and Prince George resident Matt Pearce, who died in January at age 48) "Football was just the start, it wasn't the final word.
"The final words were: a great dad, a great husband, a teacher, a mediator, a great citizen and a great friend. If, at the end of our life, people can say the same thing about us, you can say you were a success."
"You've gotta know where you're from. You are from Prince George. What I'm going to ask you is to have Prince George become the standard. When you're from Prince George, they know you're the best, the highest quality. If we all make that conscious decision to become the best, we are the best. And don't tell me you can't do it. Because ultimately I'm a little guy, from a little town, who went to a little school, who ran for more yards than any player in professional football history."
