A reminder why Red Auerbach was awesome

I’m not sure why this Esquire interview from 2000 made it’s way across my Twitter feed, but I’m sure thankful it did.

Check out some of these great quotes from the one and only Red Auerbach.

Players changing teams:

You know what bothers me? All these ballplayers, they all want to play for contenders. That’s bullshit. You play where you’re playing and do the best you can and let things work out. It’s like coaches. When you get a good coach, whether it be a Phil Jackson or somebody else, what the hell does it take to have a ready-made ball club that’s star-studded?

Over-animated coaches:

What bugs me quite a bit is to have a coach whose team is twenty points ahead with three minutes to go, and he’s up there coaching and moving and making all of those kinds of things [waves hands], and — why? Because he thinks he’s on TV. The game is over. He should sit his ass down and relax.

Competitive advantages:

There are ways to gain an edge. I’ll give you an example: If you’re playing against a fast-breaking team, you put new nets up so the ball won’t go through quick. It hangs up. In kickball, you water the field the night before or you let the grass grow. In hockey, you make soft ice if you’re playing against a fast team. In baseball, you raise or lower the pitcher’s mound according to your pitcher, not their pitcher.

If they think we got an edge, we got an edge.

And most importantly:

You want an occasional beer, go ahead. But stay off the hard stuff.

Vintage Red.

(h/t Holly MacKenzie and Matt Moore)