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When the Furry Basketball Association was founded in 1961, the winds of the American civil rights movement had blown strongly into furry society. Formerly segregated groups demanded social equality, and furry commentators and politicians argued at length about the idealism of tearing down the divisions that had separated species for centuries. When Ned Underwood (Lynx) gave his famous speech in front of a small crowd of furry sports fans for the first game of the FBA, he had weathered a crushing wave of criticism from voices insistent that his idea for a multi-species, multi-gender sports league was a recipe for violence that would only bring to focus the deep, painful fractures of furry society. While he spoke with confidence on that cold October night, those sharp words must have left a doubt in the back of his mind...

I apologize if I don't seem prepared, I wasn't given much time. But thank you, every one of you, for being here at this game... and what I hope will be the start of history.

Not too long ago, a colleague stopped me in the halls of Underwood College; I'd just approved an expansion of the school's athletics program, and he was troubled by my decision. He asked me, "Why are you wasting money on athletics, when the school's purpose is to educate? Why would you distract our young pupils from important things like history and language and science, with meaningless activities like basketball? Why would you take young minds who could reshape the world and turn them into something as uncivilized as athletes?" I suspect that same colleague would be horrified to learn that I've been part of starting this entire league, but his words gave me the inspiration to write what I wanted to say today, on this first day of this new league... of possibly a new future for all furries the world over.

I come here in defense of the athletes. To one whose sensibilities are sheltered by the walls of libraries and museums, no doubt basketball looks like a venue of arrogance and showboating. And maybe at times it can be. But I've always been of the belief that sport is the pinnacle of civilization. Where there is sport, there is wisdom. Where there is sport, there is kindness. Where there is sport, there is peace.

To those unfamiliar with sport, it's easy to draw a connection between an athlete and a warrior: both go to great pains to improve their bodies, physically both go through intense training and make much personal sacrifice to devote themselves to the activity. But there is one critical difference, and it is the difference that stands between the feral ways of old and the world we have built today. When an athlete competes, he uses all of his training -- all of his skill -- throws every ounce of his physical being into the competition, unwilling to stop until he is victorious. But he knows that only one will win this day, only one will carry the title of victor. And once the day is done and the winner and loser have been decided... they both go home: healthy, and ready to compete again.

This is not the way of the warrior, but of one who knows that there is more honor in out-playing your opponent than in killing him. And there is more courage in devoting yourself to an activity that does not stop your competitor forever, but leaves him the opportunity to battle you again. That it is possible to take the gifts Nature has given all of our bodies, to push them to the brink, to make them as strong as we can so we may fight our opponents with everything we can... and still stand as a symbol of peace.

And this... is why we have this new league.

A lot of people called us crazy. The idea of putting together predators and prey, of men and women, of small and large furries together in one league was a ridiculous thought to many, many out there. They... could be right. Maybe we are crazy. But I know one thing, and that is: we are right.

I can't say how long this league will last: maybe five years, or ten. But regardless of how brief our time in this great country of ours may be, I will be proud of the fact that together we believed in sport. We said that our civilization is greater than the divisions of Nature, that a mouse and a lion can be teammates -- or competitors -- and both can feel proud to have shared the same court with each other. And if we are so fortunate to last fifty or more years, then wherever I might be at that time, I hope that my message will reach that colleague of mine: that we have built something no one thought possible, that we have proven the power of peace and the courage of our people, that we have proven that every one of us under the same glorious sun... is equal.

And that is why I expanded our athletics program at Underwood College. And why we have this league.

Fifty years later, no one remembers the critics.

The journey hasn't always been smooth, though. A look at the FBA Hall of Fame reveals an ugly history of favortism toward domestic species in its first years, followed by a long stretch of male predator dominance through the 70's and 80's. It wouldn't be until 1988 for Jeremiah Vanhorn (Flamingo, F, retired) to be the first avian to win a post-season award, and to this day, a woman has yet to named league MVP.

But change is a journey, with the destination rarely clear. No one can argue, there has been progress. And while there are still victories the FBA's fans are waiting for, there are accomplishments to be proud of.