Dickie V energizes audience at GPAC

By Jamie Griffith
Guest Writer

Exactly a week after Chapel Hill’s men’s basketball team won the National Championship, sports personality Dick Vitale translated his love of the game to a love of life, and it was “awesome, baby!”

Vitale was welcomed by a standing ovation of nearly 1300 people April 11 in GPAC before delivering a message marked by his view on life—optimism mixed with excitement.

Vitale worked to inspire others to do the right thing through a mixture of coaching, catchphrases, and fatherly advice. “So many people out there have a goal, but they don’t have a commitment—a commitment to make the goal a reality,” Vitale said before going into his personal story of success in love, life and basketball.

Tears brimming in his eyes, the sportscaster recounted the greatest lesson he learned from his mother; after feeling discouraged as a high school coach, his mother told him, “Someday, Richie, you’re gonna make it. Don’t believe in the people that tell you, you can’t.” It was this encouragement that has prodded a young ‘Richie’ toward a successful coaching career, which Vitale humbly summarized, “Not bad, 6th grade teacher in ‘70, NBA ‘77.”

Now Vitale is a sportscaster, writer, speaker, family man and philanthropist. And his motto is the same in each area of life: “Living, it’s about people.”

For two years in a row now, Vitale has predicted the national champions by looking for those with passion and “are prepared to make things happen in a positive way.” This same eye for talent pointed to UNCP’s Director of Student Activities, Abdul Ghaffar. Practicing what he preached, Vitale encouraged Ghaffar with a joke to Chancellor Meadors: “Watch out…cause in 15 years he is going to be Chancellor… because he has a love for this school.”