All three of these accomplishments are to be recognized and have been. Yet growing up, coaches and parents have always told their junior athletes that it is not about winning as much as it is about having fun. I’ve never heard of a team having fun losing, and although being active during a game might be enjoyable, nothing can take out the bitter taste of a loss better than a win.
In businesses, employees are told to win in their customer service efforts so the customers can go home happy. DJ Khaled emphasizes in his song the fact that all he does is winning no matter what. Apparently, having money on his mind is what helps him through to victories. For athletes, though, winning takes on a different definition, one that seems to take away its importance unless it is a winning streak.
Winning streaks are clearly a way to improve a win/loss record. But they are also important for team morale and the overall success of a team. The UVU men’s basketball team is winning games this season, but because of their inconsistencies, they are failing to have a positive win/loss record on the season and currently sit under .500.
Some may view this column as stating the obvious. To win you must win. But for others, this is still a misconstrued concept. In a sport like professional baseball, with 162 games in a single season, some may view early defeats as nothing to be bothered about because there are still over 100 games to be played. Yet, when August and September roll around and a team is tied for first place in a division, the team and staff start realizing that they need to win more often. They didn’t care in April, but now that the playoffs are on the line, they start to say winning is the most important thing.
The playoffs are always on the line, but why wait until the end of the season to start winning games? It’s like procrastination. Why wait until the end of the school year to do your homework? The time to win is all the time. There isn’t a time when losing is all right. When losing becomes acceptable, the team will fail, and failure shouldn’t be an option.
Alex Rivera is the Sports Editor for the UVU Review. You can contact him at arivera.2011@hotmail.com or through his Twitter account @HashtagginAlex
