#185 final

I am a big college basketball fan and enjoyed watching Coach Rick Majerus throughout the seasons.  He was a very large and colorful man, and sadly, he passed away on Saturday.

What I remember most about Coach Majerus was when he took his Utah team to the Final Four in 1998.  A reporter asked him what was the best part about being in the Final Four and his answer always stuck with me: "a parking place."  Huh?  Turns out that Rick had a propensity to illegally park right outside the door of the Utah arena.  Throughout the years, as the chief of security was writing parking tickets, he had jokingly told Majerus that he could legally park there if he made it to the Final Four.  So, for the coach, the best part about the Final Four experience was the reward (and likely gloating rights) that came from cashing in on the chief's promise.

To me, it is just another example of how people value different things and are motivated by different rewards.  Set the goal high, promise the parking place and be happy when you have to deliver it.

-- beth triplett
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