Seventh American President Hickory

Many of us remember 'Old Hickory' as the general that defeated the British in 1815 at the Battle of New Orleans. Others remember him for his huge wheels of cheese at the White House. Perhaps the most pertinent reason to remember the seventh President of the United States, at least right now, is for two facts:

1. His relation to Phil Jackson, Coach of the Los Angeles Lakers.
2. His prediction of the Lakers defeat to the Dallas Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

Many people are unaware of the fact that Andrew Jackson and Phil Jackson are related. It is well known that Phil Jackson tells stories of how he learned lessons from 'Old Hickory' when he was a kid. As someone from Deer Lodge, Montana many people assumed that Phil was simply referring to getting smacked with a small hickory branch. Well plausible, this is not true. Rather, Phil is referring to the family lessons that were passed down from Grandpappy to Pappy to son from 'Old Hickory' Andrew Jackson himself. Crucial nuggets like:

"We wanted to be aggressive and physical on defense."
-Andrew Jackson, On the Battle of Horseshoe Bend (1814)

"There are no necessary evils in a triangle offense."
-Andrew Jackson, On the Battle of New Orleans (1815)

Needless to say, we know that Phil Jackson took many of these lessons to heart even calling his unique offense the 'triangle offense'. Below you'll also notice just how similar they look

 

Perhaps even more important than the fact that Andrew Jackson and Phil Jackson are related is the fact that Andrew Jackson predicted the Lakers loss to the Dallas Mavericks. Many of you will remember when Andrew Jackson said the following about Texas:

"Texas having offered us the key to the safety of our country from all foreign intrigues and diplomacy, I say accept the key."

-Andrew Jackson, on why why should annex Texas

We all know that Old Hickory was President from 1829-1837. This, of course, is 8 years before Texas was finally annexed in 1845 by James K. Polk. Strange that Jackson would be so supportive of bringing in Texas, but we have to remember that he had a bet on the Dallas Mavericks sweeping the Lakers in the Conference Semi-Finals of the 2011 NBA Season.

"Van Buren don't forget to bet my entire life fortune on the 2011 Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers Conference Semi-Finals. The Mavericks are going to take it in four. Tell Phil I'm sorry, but I'm sure he'll appreciate the inheritance."

-Andrew Jackson's last words, June 8th, 1845

The most specific piece of evidence that points to his knowledge of their victory is quite simply taken from this blog title. If you anagram 'Seventh American President Hickory' you come up with 'A Mavericks Hit Ends Incoherent Prey'. Many people would say that this is mere coincidence, but we here at Lost and Founders know this criticism to be false. Just look at the series 4-0 in favor of the Mavericks. Their 'hit' did exactly what Jackson said it would, it left the Phil Jackson and the Lakers incoherent. We, of course, are speechless because we are continuously surprised by the knowledge of the Founders.