This post is about two games – the sport of baseball and another game, one you could call the “financial education game.”
FIRST, BASEBALL
I am a baseball fan. Have been all my life. I used to watch the games with my Dad on a tiny RCA television way back in the day. That was the day when both the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants were both still located in New York!
Both teams soon moved out West, as did our family. Pure coincidence, I assure you!
In the summer of 1962 I had the fantastic opportunity to go to a baseball game with my friend Betty Jo. Her Dad drove us up to L.A., to Chavez Ravine, aka Dodger Stadium.
We watched the Los Angeles Dodgers play the San Francisco Giants and what luck! Sandy Koufax, my hero, was pitching that day. The Dodgers won 11-2. How do I remember the score? Have no idea! All I can say is that it was an historic experience for me.
I loved the Dodgers and listened to the games on my little transistor radio every night. I was supposed to be sleeping… school the next day and all… but I listened to every game. I did that for 2 or 3 years, in the early sixties.
I knew all the players’ names and their jersey numbers. They were all my heroes but Sandy Koufax was my favorite.
I loved Vin Scully too. He was the announcer for the Dodgers, and he was the best. He holds the record for the longest consecutive service of any current major league broadcaster for one team. Vin Scully is now 81 years old and still announcing for the Dodgers!
Fast forward to the late sixties and there I am watching a brand new Major League Baseball team, the San Diego Padres. It was May 1969, and I’ll always remember it. It was my first date with Ted, a fellow baseball fan and oh, as it turned out, my soon-to-be husband! I was so happy to be able to share the joy of baseball with someone who loved it as much as I did. It was the first of many games we attended, and we had great seats too – right behind home plate. That’s because Ted’s Dad had season tickets, so you see, my “baseball family tree,” which includes both my kids too, is a pretty big tree.
When I saw the movie “Bull Durham” (1988) with Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins, I loved it. At the beginning of the movie when Susan’s character Annie describes why she loves the game, I could relate.
A BASEBALL MOVIE ABOUT HARD FINANCIAL TIMES AND FORECLOSURE
Though “Bull Durham” was entertaining, Kevin Costner’s next movie was right up my alley: “Field of Dreams” (1989), a movie that can legitimately be described as one of the most perfect combinations of spirituality and sports ever made.
Ironically, it’s also a movie about facing hard financial times and foreclosure!
In this one video clip we have both sides of the story. Costner’s character Ray is being told by his brother-in-law:
“Ray, when the bank opens in the morning, they will foreclose. You’re broke, Ray. You sell now or you lose everything.”
In the same clip we have James Earl Jones’ character’s incredible oration on baseball and how following your dreams will lead to prosperity.
Fast forward again, this time to Fall 2001. Best-selling author Robert Kiyosaki had just finished presenting a 3-day seminar up at the Carefree Resort, just north of Phoenix, Arizona. A group of us, including Robert & his wife Kim, were celebrating at a Mexican Restaurant after the seminar.
The TV was on and blasting full force. No one in the whole restaurant was eating. No one was doing anything except watching the most miraculous series of events unfold. The Arizona Diamondbacks were playing the New York Yankees, THE dynasty in Major League Baseball, in the seventh and final game of the World Series. The two teams were tied at 3 games each so whichever team won this game won the 2001 World Series. Amazing game, won in the 9th inning by the D’backs in spectacular fashion. Read about it.
Well, that’s the short version of the part of my life called baseball. If you asked me WHY I love it so much, I swear to you, I could not tell you. I don’t know why. I just do.
SANDY KOUFAX AND OTHERS SWINDLED BY MADOFF
So all that said, it was sad to see the headline this morning on espn.com – an article about Sandy Koufax and other baseball folks being among those swindled by Bernard Madoff. The damage this man has done reaches far and wide. It’s astounding.
But this post is no comment on Sandy Koufax or anyone else. My compassion goes out to ALL who’ve lost their money. There are people who have lost their entire fortunes. They went from being wealthy to scrambling for a dime, some trying to get a job as a greeter at Wal•Mart.
An enormous amount of trust was placed in this man Madoff, by a multitude of people, many of whom were business-savvy. Perhaps there’s only so much you can do but I still feel that raising one’s financial IQ is one of the best forms of insurance.
THE FINANCIAL EDUCATION GAME AND HOW TO WIN IT!
Coincidentally, the same morning I see the headline about Sandy Koufax, I received an email from the Rich Dad Company about Robert Kiyosaki’s FREE online book, Conspiracy of the Rich – The 8 New Rules of Money. Read Chapter 1
I understand that there are no guarantees in this world. But the best insurance in the financial arena is financial education, in my opinion. Doesn’t mean everything is going to be perfect all the time, but to put the odds squarely in your favor, financial education is the way to go.
Check out Chapter 1 of Conspiracy of the Rich -The 8 New Rules of Money. Robert Kiyosaki is the best-selling author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad, a book that has been on the NY Times Business Best Seller List for over 6 years. Robert has written many other books, all of which have valuable information to offer.
“THE NEW WEALTH IS KNOWLEDGE — IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN KNOWLEDGE”
Two insightful quotes from Robert:
• “Learning is actively seeking new information”
• “The new wealth is knowledge — it always has been knowledge.”
Whether you study Robert Kiyosaki and Kim Kiyosaki, or Donald Trump, or Warren Buffet, someone else, or ALL of them, the point is, protect your family and your future by continuing to increase your financial education.
Technorati Tags: Athlete, Financial Wisdom, Integrity, Major League Baseball, Money, Robert Kiyosaki, Sports
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