Tag: Human Nature

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Personal Sports

Winning Is All That Matters!

Wins and Losses

Are you a sports fan? Do you enjoy participating in competition, or just watching other compete? There is often tension, drama, emotional highs and lows, and plenty of excitement. And in the end, there is a winner, and a loser. (Unless a draw is an option for the final outcome in the particular sport of choice.)

The outcome is usually the way we judge a game. Did you win? You were the best team out there! Did you lose? Tough break. They were better. If it’s a league, where you’re tracking your wins and losses, chalk one up in the loser column for you and your team.

I’ve always thought this was such a strange way to judge effort, ability, and even the result of a particular contest. First, there are so many things that go into a win or a loss, and often a couple bounces or calls that were a hair’s breadth from going the opposite way may have determined that final outcome. So did the better team win? Or, were they just lucky?

Honestly, it’s often a toss up—and can even be well argued that the better team ended with fewer points.

And yet, we even champion the phrase, “Winning is all that matters!”

Bottom line is, that’s true. The way we have set things up is based on wins and losses. The ultimate champion in any sports league—the best team—is the one who outlasts all the others by winning. It doesn’t matter if it’s ugly, if the other team was better, or if they win by dominating their opponent—just win.

You don’t even have to win all of your games! The NY Giants won the Super Bowl a few years ago, after “sneaking” into the playoffs. In what might have been considered a sub-par season (9-7 overall, they were 7-7 after week 15!) they beat the New England Patriots (whom many considered a far superior team, for many reasons) … and THEY are the Champions.

Just because they won the right games, at the right times.

It’s funny to me, actually; how much emphasis we place on the final outcome. I don’t have an alternative, though. What else could you base it on? Everything else is simply subjective, based on opinion more than a measurable actuality. But still, there’s so much “luck” involved, and we base so much value, or “worth” on these ‘W’s and ‘L’s.

I think I may be more understanding of this as a fan of the Buffalo Bills. Did you know that this NFL franchise has not collected enough wins in any of the past thirteen seasons to advance to the post season playoffs? Thirteen! They have a record of 82-126 over that span of years. A win percentage of thirty-nine percent. That’s really incredible. I’ve watched most of those individual contests, and while it’s not really fair to say they “should” have won any of those games that they lost, there certainly were dozens that could have been flipped to wins by just one or two timely plays going the other way (and those plays being just a bad bounce, or a fraction of an inch from doing just that!)

And so, our team and its fans continue to be the butt of many a football joke. Just because of a few plays.

Overall, this usually is a good measurement. Those teams were not very good. But they weren’t maybe as bad as the W/L record would suggest. Nor are the winners necessarily as “good” as their record suggested. And yet, they are lauded as the best.

This is not a sour grapes post. 🙂 Yesterday my Bills won on a last second touchdown, in a hard-fought, back-and-forth game where either team could have won—and maybe the Carolina Panthers “deserved” the win even more. (Or at least, as much as the Bills.)

But the Bills won. They are 1-1. They feel better about themselves. Just because they finished with one more point. (Thanks to a penalty, and a few other beneficial moments.)

In the previous week, the Bills may have actually been the “better” team, but they lost. There were dropped passes, bad calls, penalties (which were correctly called) and in the end, the Bills lost on a last minute field goal.

I still say, wins and losses are a funny way to gauge the overall worth or ability of a team.

I guess that’s just a strange part of “sport”. In the end, winning is probably not all that matters. At least, not to me. Playing hard, good sportsmanship (whether winning or losing), competition, dealing with adversity, and just the enjoyment of physical activity and exertion… leaving everything on the field, as they say—all of these are great parts of sport, win or lose.

A famous quote, attributed to Thomas Edison, reminds us that winning and losing may not be the best measurement of any particular outcome:

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that will not work.[1. Note: This quote is interesting. I found several versions of it, usually differing on the number of failures (700, 1,000, and 10,000 being most common). But also the subject of the failure differed at times (battery storage vs. the carbon filament for light bulbs) and also there was some stated doubt regarding the attribution to Edison at all! Interesting.]

So I contend that whether your final result is a win or a loss, the ‘W’ or ‘L’ does not determine the worth of you, or your team, or even your effort on that occasion. People say there are “moral victories” (meaning you can take something good from a loss) and then others strongly object, saying there are NO moral victories. Wins are all that matters. That’s just silly … it’s a GAME! So many things go into it, and the final result can go either way. That’s what makes it fun!

Enjoy the competition. Play hard, win or lose. And even enjoy watching and cheering for your team, win or lose.

We Bills fans certainly know how to do the latter! 🙂

Categories
Sports

Tim Tebow: The Power of Belief

Tim Tebow is really not that good. At quarterback. Have you noticed?

Before his 80-yard TD pass on the first play of overtime in his first NFL playoff game, Tebow was a “magical” 9 for 20 for 236 yards and 1 TD. (That yardage total is actually pretty impressive on only 9 completions!) The best part about his 300-yard, two-touchdown game was that there were no turnovers. When he played against my Buffalo Bills he was nearly the sole reason that Denver was blown out by the Bills second and third string replacement players. (Yes, it was that kind of a season for Bills fans… but we did celebrate a win that game!)

To be fair, I only watched maybe 10 game-minutes of the game, but what I saw was Denver’s defense making it almost impossible for a hobbled Ben Roethlisberger to do anything on nearly every down, and I saw Tim Tebow throwing the ball off-target, or even in the dirt more times than not.

So what gives with this Tebowmania?

Now, don’t get me wrong. I really do think he’s a great kid. And if you listen to anything he says in interviews, it’s top-notch. He’s not some crazy cliche-spouting Christian who just likes to say, “Thank you, Jesus!” and “Praise the Lord!” any chance he gets. Yes, he might say stuff about Jesus a bit too much for the liking of some, but he’s really not obnoxious about it.

AND, the best part is, he never gives Jesus the “credit” for the win. Nor does he imply that God wanted him and his team to win more than the other. I believe he’s said the opposite. (That God doesn’t really care who wins the game.)

He’s a super team player, always crediting his teammates, and you can tell he just loves playing football.

But why the Tebowmania?

The one thing that Tim Tebow brings to his NFL team is… no, it’s not just “winning”. If we’re crediting just him—one player—with wins and losses, he did lose some games this year. (Again, to be fair, he was actually 7-2 this season, after taking over full time for whoever Denver had starting ahead of him at the beginning of the season. So he did win many more times than he lost. Except against the Bills.)

What he brings is his attitude. Not only a never-say-die, competitive attitude. It’s a positive attitude. And the part that matters is, it doesn’t just affect him and his play. His teammates believe in him, and somehow, his positive attitude—his belief in himself—is so infectious that they believe more in themselves.

The Denver Broncos players believe that they have a better chance to win games because Tim Tebow is their QB. Not necessarily because he’s going to Drew Brees someone with a 500-yard, 6 TD game. (They probably know that is not going to happen.) And not just because they know his will to win never quits. No matter the score, they’re never out of it. (Except in that game in Buffalo! Ha!) 🙂

Tim Tebow is a positive person. He gets his strength from his belief and trust that Jesus is who he said he is, and that that is the most important thing in life. So from his core, he exudes a confidence and a positive, others-oriented attitude. That is something that his teammates pick up on, and start to think inside themselves.

When 53 guys are thinking that way on game day … a win is a very likely outcome.

So it’s really not what Tebow does on the field. (Though you can’t deny that he usually doesn’t hurt their chances… except against Buffalo! Sorry… that was the last time.) 😉

It very much is who he is off the field. Good for you, Mr. Tebow. My boys definitely look up to him (as aspiring football players themselves) and I’d say he’s certainly worth looking up to.

Even if he is a pretty awful NFL quarterback. 🙂

Categories
Sports

Are You Sure?

Sabres vs Senators - 2007 Eastern Conference Finals
We managed to find a seat in front of the public TV in the Recreation Center of our little Pocono Resort. It was right outside one of the party rooms – which was in use by a Karaoke party this night – and was already populated by a few older people who were not that into the sing-fest. Oddly enough, the extra noise did not matter as there was nothing to hear from the television tonight. The audio was broken, and so we were stuck watching Game three with no commentators or other game sounds.

Overall, not too big a loss. 🙂

We did attempt to pull up the dulcit tones of Rick Jeanneret’s voice on WGR550.com, but the stream was at least 2 minutes behind the live action, so that really didn’t work.

Once we managed to occupy the children, and really get to watch the game, I noticed that these were not the Sabres that I expected to see. I thought maybe we’d see the Sabres who came out firing on all cylinders in Game 5 against the Rangers. With something to prove. I thought we might see the Sabres who from early October had only one thing in the front of their collective mind: Winning the Stanley Cup.

Instead, I saw an Ottawa team who has had that same vision, that same mission, for a year or two more than our Sabres, and it was evident in every single battle for the puck. The Senators just wanted it more.

Now, there was a player or two who had that fire for the Blue & Gold. Daniel Briere was playing with some spunk tonight. Thomas Vanek has some moments, as did Derek Roy. Ryan Miller was sensational. But overall, the Sabres did not have what the Senators did. They were missing the “drive”. They were not on a mission.

So now here they are. They are down three games to none. If they lose one more, they go home. No Stanley Cup for the team who won the most games in the regular season. No championship trophy for the team who scored the most goals, and led the points race in the East from wire to wire. Even after such a fantastic season, they are only one game away from elimination.

But they’re still a game away.

You see, everyone has all but declared Ottawa the victors in this series. Well, most everyone. Lindy Ruff has not. He would like to add the 2007 Buffalo Sabres to the list of teams that have overcome that insurmountable 3-0 series deficit. And he said so in the press conference following tonight’s game. But really who can expect such an outcome? Ottawa only needs one more win, and so far, they’re a fairly easy 3 for 3.

But they still have to win one more.

I could be a homer here, and just say that the Sabres are going to win, “cause they’re the best!” But I won’t. I think that the most likely outcome of a 3-0 series is a loss by the team with the zero. However, I’d like to point out that although in 150 attempts, only 2 teams have ever come back from 3-0 to win a series. 1942, 1975, and … 2007? (If you do the SAT logical pattern thing… we’d have to wait till next year. BUT… we’re close enough, aren’t we???) 🙂

If the Sabres come out Wednesday night and say to themselves, “All we need to do is win this one game,” then perhaps they can. They have done it before. Ottawa is good, but no one is unbeatable. You still have to play the games. And then, after they beat them once, there is a bit of confidence… “Hey, we did it once… perhaps we can do it again!” And if they do, then they have won two in a row, and the momentum builds.

All it takes are a few good bounces, and this “dead” series can take a serious up-swing.

Somehow we get into this pattern of “knowing” what the outcome of a series or a game will be. I do understand it. I have been watching these guys, too. Ottawa just wants it more right now. And it shows. But… the Sabres have wanted it since losing to Carolina in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Finals last year, too. Perhaps they rediscover that mission, that passion, that drive. Perhaps they become the team on a mission.

Point is, we really don’t know until they play the game. The series is over at four wins, not three. And I hope the Sabres come out playing like that. They are very capable of doing so, as long as they don’t listen to – or, especially, believe the hype.

As the Sabres have been completely amazing this season with impossible comebacks, incredible goals, improbable heroes… I have been saying to my boys all year long that we are “witnessing history”. My thought has always been that this team is so good, it will be difficult to pry the Stanley Cup from their hungry hands. But now that history appears to have been re-written. It looks like the ending will not turn out how I hoped/expected it would.

Or will it?

What kind of history would the Sabres make if they become the third team to win a series after being down 3-0??? I would be more of a prophet than I know! THAT would be some serious history! And, would advance the Sabres to the cup. And would likely be an emotional catapult lifting them to eventually hoisting the Stanley Cup over their deserving heads.

That would just be awesome.

But I’m getting ahead of myself, as I have mentioned that we are prone to doing. 🙂 The Sabres just need to play one game at a time, and really just focus on that one. Not what they have done, or what Ottawa has done, or what might happen “If”. Just go out and play. Win this game, and we’ll see what comes next.

How fitting though, if this team could possibly do the impossible. That has been their story all year long. Amazing comeback after comeback. Well, there is one staring them in the face, and the stakes are higher than ever.

Let’s just see how “done” these Sabres really are.