GopherLady
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It seems like everyone had wonderful encounters with Flip, as he was such an amazing and approachable man. I'll start...
Flip was on the NCAA Tourney trip in 2005 to Charlotte with Nate and I (and obviously, many others). I remember Coach Mo telling me that leadership is a very lonely position. I saw that 1st hand with Flip. He had just been fired by the Timberwolves, so was able to go on the trip...and everyone just flocked around him, asking him everything, like he was god. He was so gracious and kind to everyone, but we were even getting annoyed with everyone constantly bothering him.
We didn't really talk to him much on the trip, but as we were waiting at the airport on the way back, one of the boosters asked me to show Flip my NCAA binder. At the time, I was a nutjob, I was in about 30 pools, printed out every single team's scheduled, reviewed it for wins and losses I thought were decent, and diversified my brackets like a portfolio. I handed this over to Flip, and he just looked and me and laughed - he thought I was a little psycho and intense...this, coming from a guy who's lived and breathed basketball every second of the day. After that, he kind of got away from his fans, and hung out with Nate, myself, and our friends as we had hours in the airport. He never acted like the rich, famous and talented person he was. He got generic chips out of the vending machine just like us (I want to say they were thunderchips), and we just chatted with him like he was a real person.
As people kept on asking him for his autograph, interviews, pics, etc. I joked to him and said "Flip, can I have your photo, autograph, 1st born, and a million dollars?"...he said, "for you, you can have anything you want." and just laughed. On the way home, it was a super late night flight and everyone was sleeping. Not Flip, he just seemed to have such a love for the game, and was reviewing plays, and other bball info...even though he wasn't coaching.
The world lost a wonderful man. I feel like he was one of those people, that even people who had brief interactions like me, adored him and he made everyone feel like a friend. That's a rare gift, on top of all of his other accolades.
Flip was on the NCAA Tourney trip in 2005 to Charlotte with Nate and I (and obviously, many others). I remember Coach Mo telling me that leadership is a very lonely position. I saw that 1st hand with Flip. He had just been fired by the Timberwolves, so was able to go on the trip...and everyone just flocked around him, asking him everything, like he was god. He was so gracious and kind to everyone, but we were even getting annoyed with everyone constantly bothering him.
We didn't really talk to him much on the trip, but as we were waiting at the airport on the way back, one of the boosters asked me to show Flip my NCAA binder. At the time, I was a nutjob, I was in about 30 pools, printed out every single team's scheduled, reviewed it for wins and losses I thought were decent, and diversified my brackets like a portfolio. I handed this over to Flip, and he just looked and me and laughed - he thought I was a little psycho and intense...this, coming from a guy who's lived and breathed basketball every second of the day. After that, he kind of got away from his fans, and hung out with Nate, myself, and our friends as we had hours in the airport. He never acted like the rich, famous and talented person he was. He got generic chips out of the vending machine just like us (I want to say they were thunderchips), and we just chatted with him like he was a real person.
As people kept on asking him for his autograph, interviews, pics, etc. I joked to him and said "Flip, can I have your photo, autograph, 1st born, and a million dollars?"...he said, "for you, you can have anything you want." and just laughed. On the way home, it was a super late night flight and everyone was sleeping. Not Flip, he just seemed to have such a love for the game, and was reviewing plays, and other bball info...even though he wasn't coaching.
The world lost a wonderful man. I feel like he was one of those people, that even people who had brief interactions like me, adored him and he made everyone feel like a friend. That's a rare gift, on top of all of his other accolades.