Respect the Game

To know just where your're going You must know where you've been You must respect the history The things others have seen It's true in all things relative Be it music, sports or life If you don't know where you came from You're just dancing on a knife Gherig, Ruth and Robinson May, and Mantle, Seaver too Respect their contributions And don't just say Ruth who? Respect where things have come from And the players of the past Because you learn and make things better It's what makes the damn game last Jimmy Foxx, Bob Gibson, Kaline Nestor Chylak and The Goose They made baseball special They gave the game a little juice Orr, Richard and Gretzky Gordie Howe and Howie Morenz You have to know about them You need the beginning to your ends Bob Baun and Bill Barilko Connie Smythe and yeah...the Chief You have to know their history They're what it is to be a Leaf The game has changed immensely Things can not go back in time But to me...the old alumni Made the game I know as mine Respect the ones before you The ones who laid the groundwork down The ones who made it special The non-pretenders to the crown Elvis, Buddy, Harrison Played the songs inside their heart Lennon, Wilson and the rest They all played a real big part Every single generation should learn from the one before For if they don't know where they've come from Then what has it all been for? Nicklaus, Palmer, Bobby Jones Sarazen and Hogan too They pushed the gameright to it's limits Now the pressure's upon you The new breed are the teachers now They're the ones to lead the way When twenty or so years from now You'll hear somebody say "Respect who came before you The ones who made us so damn proud LIke Nash and , Perry and Taylor Hall They played the game so loud Pudge, Jeter, and Verlander they brought it up a notch They were there to stretch the limits Not to just sit by and watch Rory, Justin Rose and Mahan Bubba, Dustin and the rest They are the players of the future They all respected the games best So, to know where you are going You must know where you have been Respect, past through the future And all that's happened in between.