Former NBA player Manute Bol passed away over the weekend. Manute had two stints with the Golden State Warriors in his career and was a joy to SF Bay Area fans. Watching Manute jog down the court with his seven foot seven inch watusi-like frame was a site to behold. Never before or since has the NBA entertained us with a character the likes of Manute.
Memories of Manute taking a three-point attempt with encouragement from the fans always brings a smile to my face. As much as I'd like to be able to say that Manute changed the way professional basketball was played, the truth is that the NBA changed the way Manute played and lived.
Manute may not have been a dominating force on the basketball court, but to the poor peoples of his homeland in Sudan he was a Godsend and hero. His humanitarian efforts in Sudan to help the oppressed made him a knight in shining armor to his people.
I remember attending a party at a friends bachelor pad back in the days when Manute-mania plagued the bay area. When I'd called to get directions to the place the person who answered the phone said to just look for the life-sized Manute Bol cut-out glaring out from the bay windows of the apartment building. Sure enough, when I arrived in the designated block I had no problem spotting the life-size image of Manute, which looked so real that I thought maybe my friend had actually gotten the big fella to make an appearance at the party.
To us in the SF Bay Area the big fella will always be a symbol of hope, courage, compassion and fun in sports as well as in life.
Manute Bol
1962-2010
