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Taking Names and Keeping Score
Having been around and involved in sports all my life there are a multitude of things I have learned about them and from them including, the fact that at the end of every contest or competition those who have been competing will leave the contest with totally different perspectives. For example all of us who consider ourselves part of the Thomasville Tiger family were very disappointed at the outcome of the game Tuesday while all of those whose allegiance was on the side of the Northside Rams were ecstatic and full of anticipation about what might be ahead in the next round of the playoffs. In both cases the emotions each group felt were just as expected and part of what makes those who are the competitors in the two groups continue to compete. For it is the thrill of victory saddled with the possibility of the agony of defeat that keeps those who would choose to be a champion working hard to obtain their goal. A man whom I consider to be one of the wisest I have ever known once told me that if you stay involved in sports long enough you will experience every emotion possible from the highest high to the lowest low and all those in between. But in all situations he said, "The thing to remember is, that the sun will still come up tomorrow and if it doesn't what happened the day before won't matter anyway." That man was my father, D. F. Anderson Jr. who in 31 years of coaching climbed the highest peaks and walked in the lowest valleys keeping everything in proper perspective all along the way so he wouldn't lose his way in his journey. Unfortunately, another thing I have discovered over the years is, that when you lose, there are never enough people to cast the blame on and yesterday's heroes magically become today's goats. On the other side of the equation, when you win, all the mistakes and indiscretions that might have cost you a victory earlier in the contest are some how magically forgotten and yesterday's goat is suddenly the best thing since sliced bread. Once again it is a matter of one's perspective being unduly influenced by the emotion of the moment. My father had a take on that as well, often comparing sports to life he noted that a wise sailor when sailing his ship always strived to keep an even keel no matter the conditions on the sea, stormy or calm. In thinking about this situation, I am also reminded of what I heard a little known baseball manager say one time when a writer was asking him some pointed questions about one of his better players who had experienced an absolutely awful day that ultimately contributed to his team losing a very important game. The man- ager in response to the writer's question said; "I learned a long time ago that you never bite the hand that feeds you, because you might want to eat again sometime." That's something we all need to think about, not just in relation to sports but life in general. As I leave you this week there is one other quote I want to share with you that I believe directly relates to the perspective we take on winning and losing. Unfortunately I do not know who I should give credit to for the quote because the first time I became aware of it I heard someone else repeating it who didn't know the root of its origin. It goes like this, "remember, success is not final but neither is failure fatal." I am not sure what the author of the quote was specifically zeroing in on when he first uttered it, but I certainly believe it could have been sports.
Until next time .....be safe!
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