Fred Bowen's "The Score" column,
November 21, 2003, Washington Post

No Buddy System

It is early in the National Basketball Association (NBA) season and Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant already have had a couple fights. The Los Angeles Lakers' superstars are not throwing punches at each other (yet), but at the beginning of the season they were calling each other names in the newspapers. Shaq said that the Lakers were his team, not Kobe's. Kobe questioned how much of a team leader Shaq can be when he arrived at training camp last season "fat" and "out of shape."

Sounds like Shaq and Kobe are not the best of friends. So the Lakers' chances for the NBA championship this season are over, right?

Not necessarily. Players do not have to be best buddies to be good teammates.

Want some examples?

Take Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. The two legendary Hall of Famers went long periods of time without speaking to each another. Their 1927 New York Yankees are still considered one of baseball's greatest teams.

And last year, Keyshawn Johnson and Warren Sapp spent the football season snapping and yapping at each other. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers still won Super Bowl XXXVII. (Johnson and Sapp likely won't be fighting anymore this year, because the Bucs basically dropped Keyshawn from the team.)

Even though Shaq and Kobe haven't really liked each other for years, they have won three NBA championships together. Somehow they have learned to work together without being friends.

Now I am not saying that fighting or calling your teammate names is a good thing. Shaq and Kobe may be letting their nasty feelings for each other drag their team down (although the Lakers are 9-3 this season). All I am saying is that being good friends and good teammates can be two different things.

That's important to remember. Sometimes I hear kids say that they don't want to play on a team because they don't have any friends on that team. Those kids may become your friends. But remember, even if the kids on the team are not your friends, they can still be good teammates.

I remember a kid who played on my Little League team for three years. His name was Scott Vollmer. We were never friends. We went to different schools and hung out with different kids. In fact, I don't ever remember seeing Scott anywhere but on the baseball diamond.

But Scott Vollmer was a terrific teammate. He could hit, run, play shortstop and had plenty of spirit. Scott always gave his best effort whether the Pirates were leading by a run or losing by 20. And he was a nice kid. Just the kind of kid that anyone would want around when you were playing a game.

When you are playing in a tight game and trying your hardest to win, a good teammate is the best friend you can have.