Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)
Filed under the name Neil · June 25, 2026
Every kid who's ever dreamed about doing something nobody's ever done before should study Neil Armstrong, because that's literally the whole story: first human being to walk on the Moon, a milestone that still stands as one of the defining moments in the history of our species. I use sports metaphors for basically everything in my life, my ex-wife will tell you that's a problem, but there's no better one here than this — that was the ultimate buzzer-beater, except the buzzer was the entire history of human exploration and there was no next possession to make up for missing it. I think about the astronauts who trained for years and never got that mission, the ones who did all the preparation and someone else got the moment, and I think about my own players who put in the same work as the guy who made the NBA and didn't get the same break. Armstrong got the shot, and by every account made the most of the responsibility that came with taking it. Some moments you only get once. He made his count for everybody watching, forever.