Emotionally Drained

When I watch regular season games I see disappointment from the losing team and depending on if there was an upset, controlled elation from the winners.

But when it comes to the playoffs for high school and college teams, a loss can be devastating.

Athletes give everything for victory and there isn’t a lot of preparation in how to deal with a loss because no one wants to have negative thoughts when it is win or go home.

I’m not sure who said it first but I’ve said it on numerous occasions especially during the NCAA tournament. The saying is: “Losing hurts worse than winning feels good.”

Let those words sink in for a while and think about some of the gut punch blows that you’ve witnessed as a fan of your favorite team.

Winning calls for celebration while accepting a loss means, “What could I have done differently? If I’d only made that free throw or not turned the ball over, or fouled that guy, or blocked the guy out and got the rebound, or not fumbled the ball, or missed that tackle, or... Fill in the blank.”

People beat themselves up after a loss and mistakes are ignored after victory. It is the nature of the beast so to speak.

Former Eastern Washington University football coach said something that I will always remember after he was questioned after a difficult loss two seasons ago.

The interviewer asked Baldwin if he was disappointed that his team lost a late lead to a team that his Eagles were supposed to beat, according to the “experts”.

Baldwin said, “People don’t realize how difficult winning is. Do you realize that half of the teams in the country are going to lose today?”

If that isn’t putting things into perspective I don’t know what does.

Coaches do everything possible to prepare their teams to win. Coaches need to be honest and make sure that to beat some teams will take everything they have and then some.

I know there are coaches that tell their teams that they are the best team on the field of play no matter have much talent lies in the uniforms across the way.

Think about the 16 seed versus the one seed in the NCAA tournament. A few of these 16 seeded teams hung with the one seed for a half. But talent wins over and has for a long, long time.

The longer a lesser opponent hangs in there the better chance an upset can happen. But the coaches prepare these 16 seeds to win not to lose.

As the tournament goes on and the opponents are more talented each game becomes more difficult and there were several upsets in the third and fourth rounds.

As much as the coaches prepare their teams for victory the one thing they can’t or won’t prepare their teams for his how to deal with a loss because each player may handle a loss differently.

Several years ago Gonzaga was knocked out of the NCAA tournament by a late, physical rally by UCLA. You may remember seeing the Zags’ Adam Morrison crying his eyes out on the court.

I remember just how much flack he received as a ‘cry baby.’ Most of the reason for those snide remarks of course was because a lot of people didn’t like Morrison for a variety of reasons.

Fast forward to 2017 and you see that the emotions of these games are real and just about every player on a losing team is crying in the locker room or during the postgame press conference.

Even coaches couldn’t help it and were breaking down when asked how much their team meant to them.

Coaches care about the kids they have been working with and have been a big part of their lives it is tough to see that emotional side when they see them enjoying life and laughing.

Losing hurts.

I know that in some areas of the country sports for little ones have been played without the use of a scoreboard. That way no one loses.

At the end of the season everyone wins a trophy paid for by the parents of the kids because everyone is a winner.

Oddly enough the kids know who wins and who loses. We’ve been good enough to teach them how to do math in their heads.

I don’t think it is a bad thing for a kid to hate to lose at a young age but they should congratulate the victors to show good sportsmanship.

And if they are the victors; show respect for the opponent, which is also a sign of good sportsmanship.

Sporting events can be emotionally draining but great lessons can be learned through team competition win or lose.