“Move on up…”
Dateline: Sturgeon Bay
“Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” ~ Henry David Thoreau
They have driven thousands of miles from North to South, East to West.
Those on the bubble.
They have spent two months of this year strictly on water.
Those on the bubble.
They have spent at least $75,000 of their own money.
Those on the bubble.
And all of that, every mile, every day, every dollar comes down, simply to this:
Today.
Tomorrow.
Sunday.
Comes down to simply this:
15 fish.
“…for a greater day.”
Yeah, Aaron Martens has already been crowned, AOY, and I love Aaron and I’m ecstatic for him, and yeah, pretty much everyone in the Top 25 already has a ticket to The Classic, and I’m happy for them as well.
But folks, 50 boats launched today.
Some out here only have to catch one fish, to make their year.
Yep.
So be it.
But half the field has to catch the fish of their lives to save their entire 2015 season.
That my friends, is a fishing tournament unlike all other fishing shindigs.
Do well and you can move up and fish in the Bassmaster Classic.
Don’t do well and your entire season was for naught.
If you don’t think this tourney means anything, call the 57 guys NOT here, the Elites who aren’t fishing now, ask them what they would give to be here.
“…but just you gonna make it…”
It is within The Bubble where lies the pathos of life.
It is your District Manager looking at your quarterly report.
It is your employee annual review with a manager who is jerk.
It is your sales goals set by someone not in sales.
It is the bottom line that keeps us awake at nights.
We have long since gone beyond this being, “just fishing,” this is livelihood we’re talking now.
The bubble lies not just in moving on up, but in careers as well.
The people who support this industry, our sponsors, the angler sponsors, they are great people, have big hearts, but at some point comes the return on investment, the return on the logo on the jersey.
There is very little return on the jersey when it hangs in the closet.
The logo is there to be seen.
The logo is there to take to The Classic stage.
Yeah, welcome to the bubble.
“…you put your mind to it…”
TO THOSE IN THE BUBBLE:
Listen my friends to the man who made dreams come true;
“You were born to be a player, you were meant to be here, this moment is yours.”
~ Herb Brooks
Olympic Gold Medal Hockey Coach
No fish you caught, no fish you didn’t catch this year, matters now.
Only the next 15, fish, count.
Fish your arse off.
Be afraid not of the bubble, embrace the edge you stand on, legends are made on the precipice.
It comes down now not really to money.
It comes down now not really to points.
It comes down now to…you.
Know, that the crowd on safe ground, always pull for you, while they themselves stand far back from the edge.
It may not seem it now, but this is why you play the game.
I prefer the edge.
Prefer the bubble.
The fall, the burst sucks, but life, but LIVING is found in the teetering, found in the fragileness between success and failure.
Living should scare the hell out of you.
I find conquering fear always leads to greatness.
“…you can surely do it…”
The Bubble, it comes for all of us.
We live in a blue bubble with darkness all around us.
And yet, we survive, we flourish, it is within the human soul to be within the bubble.
From within the safety of the stands, cheer for the bubble boys.
Know, that one day, your bubble will come.
And that we, on the edge, will cheer for you.
Too.
“…move on up.”
Move On Up
Curtis Mayfield
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“I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.”
~ Mia Hamm