Reflections on winning and losing

We are well into the baseball divisional playoffs to determine which teams will face each other in the World Series. Some teams will win while others will lose … that is stating the obvious. What isn’t so obvious is how we relate to the situation if our team is on the winning side or on the losing side. It is all in the mind and spirit of the person involved and just how directly we actually do relate to the team involved.

Individuals who participated in sports of various kinds surrounded me as I grow up. My father played high school and college basketball, as well as teaching my oldest brother, Ronnie, how to play tennis. Ronnie, besides tennis, played pick-up games of hockey, ran track in high school and when he returned from his tour of duty in the Army one mean game of ping-pong. Dale played golf and a lot of it. Todd, Dale’s son, played professional tennis and was ranked in the upper five for a number of years. Sports Illustrated said of Todd that he was the best player who never won a major. Ralph, the closest to my age, ran track in high school. As for me I played spectator fairly well!

Oh, there was a time that I was encouraged to go out for basketball by one of the Junior High School coaches … that is; before he saw me play … then he encouraged me to take up drama. His “kind” words simply reinforced that what I could do best was to be a spectator … with enthusiasm … when it came to sports! I took his “advice” to heart.

Living in Florida I cheer on all the Florida based teams. Dolphins, Buccaneers, Jaguars, Rays, Marlins, Lightening, U of M, U. of Florida, Florida State, UCF, USF … you name it I am a fanatic spectator. Now, I do cheer them on in a particular order, especially when they are playing each other, but nevertheless I am on the sidelines, via the TV, cheering the various teams on. When they win I feel like a winner and when they lose … well, that is another story isn’t it.

It is the “winner-takes-all” mind the grips our spirit. We all like to associate or identify with winners. NHRA Gatornationals is run every year in Gainesville, FL. If you like speed then this is one of the drag car events that really should make it onto your “bucket list.” Just to be present when cars are reaching 280-plus miles per hour in an eighth of a mile is breathtaking. No matter how hard you try you do end up choosing sides as you try to pick a winner. You want to identify with a winner … if by name only!

We all like winners! We all want to be winners! Even us spectators like to be a winner and when our team, car, individual player wins … well, so do we … at least emotionally. That is a good thing … that sense that for a split second we can share in the victory as witnessed by the various celebrations in the streets of the cities of the winning team or national pride when a person from your country wins a tennis or golf championship. We become winners. Yeah, team! Yeah, God?

Well, why not … Yeah, God? We all cannot reach the level of professional sports nor, as I painfully experienced, even a level good enough to be picked in a local pick-up game at the neighborhood park. But, whatever we do – from playing the sport or by sitting in the stands to cheer our favorite team or individual on – we can do it with enthusiasm and commitment. And, isn’t that all that is really required of us … from those on the field of play or running the race or cheering in the stands … to do it with gusto, acting from the heart, putting our entire energy at the disposal of our commitment. Yeah, God – thank you for your Spirit who frees my spirit to be enthusiastically spirit filled!

Quote for today: A winner works harder than a loser and has more time; a loser is always "too busy" to do what is necessary. Source Unknown