My bracket is in shambles, and this March is the maddest I can remember. My beloved number one ‘Hoos have earned the spotlight once again, this time for a historic loss after a historically successful season. They are the only number one seed to lose in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament. 🙁
As Tony Bennett, head coach for the Virginia Cavaliers, pointed out in a press conference after the loss, “Good basketball knows no divisions, no limits. If you play this game, and you step into the arena, this stuff can happen.” And that’s what I love about competition: it shows us, with stark and sometimes painful clarity, what we have mastered and what we still need to work on. If you have the guts to compete, you’d better be prepared to fail, but a good competitor doesn’t let one game or race or match define him or her. A wise competitor embraces every success and failure as a chance to get better.
So, what are the lessons Virginia, UNC, and the other upset teams have learned at the hands of schools like UMBC and Buffalo? Things every good competitor knows: believe in the impossible, show up to play every time, and never give up, no matter how many seconds are on the clock. Sometimes, even the best competitors forget those things, or fail to execute, and get burned. There are lessons in those burns.
Especially during exciting sports events like the NCAA Tournament, people use “battle language” to discuss competition, choosing verbs like beat, destroy, and clobber to describe how athletes perform. But the word “compete” comes from a very different place. Compete derives from the Latin competere, to seek together, which comes from the Latin com- + petere to come together, agree, to go to. Competition in any arena, be it the basketball court or the classroom or the office, affords us the opportunity to strive together, with our teammates and opponents, to become better.
My daughter’s swim coach once told a roomful of parents, “Success and failure in athletics are fleeting, but habits and attitudes last a lifetime.” Our society is obsessed with success and shies away from failure, but in the end, losses teach us much more than wins, and we shouldn’t dwell on either outcome too long. A good competitor, and coach, always thinks about the next thing to work on, the next challenge to overcome. I’m sure Tony Bennett is doing that right now.
Yes, the Madness has been extra crazy this year, but quite frankly, it’s more fun to watch. So, forget the brackets and enjoy the spectacle of the arena, where perseverance is rewarded, adulation is tempered with humility, and everyone strives together toward something better. Let’s go Loyola!
Are you caught up in March Madness? What have you learned this year?
Thanks for getting nerdy with me!
Okay, my Butler Bulldogs lost in the second round BUT Loyola Chicago (my brother and daughter’s alma mater) has us all believing in the underdog. Go Ramblers! It is a fun time to see everyone following and supporting the teams.
I’m so excited about Loyola! Pulling hard for them this weekend.