Saturday, February 16, 2008
What It Means To Be A Champion
What does it mean to be a champion?
I've been thinking about that lately, especially with the excitement surrounding the Valley Center Jaguars and their quest for a third CIF title in four years.
For the record, since I'm the hometown sports writer, I don't have a problem admitting that I root for the Jags. We in the media are supposed to "be objective" and "not pick sides" and all of that, but when you're on the sidelines with the team every week, it's hard not to get caught up in the emotion of the game. I was really thrilled to see them beat La Jolla after the heartbreaker they had down there earlier this season, and I can't wait for the championship game.
But even if (excuse me... when) the Jaguars take the title, what will make them champions? Will it simply be that they were the best team in Division IV this year? In this specific case, yes... that's pretty much it.
Still though, there must be something more to being a true champion. As Freddie Mercury so poetically postulated, a champion seems to be someone who, A) keeps on fighting to the end, and B) has no time for losing. Evidently by following this simple formula, Queen was able to achieve some sort of world championship. Which seems pretty impressive.
But in the discussion of sports heroes and their legendary battles, Lance Armstrong immediately comes to mind. When you face something as scary and oppressive as cancer, then not only live to tell the tale but go on to dominate a sport at its highest level of competition, there's something special there. And no, I'm not referring to any sort of performance enhancements, but the mere fact that I have to make mention of such a thing here means that there are more issues to examine.
So another name that comes up is Muhammed Ali, perhaps the greatest boxer of all time. He broke down racial, social, religious, and even comfort barriers (Howard Cosell sure didn't look at ease in most of those interviews) and somehow still had time to win title bout after title bout. He certainly set an example, although if one really wanted to teach young athletes how to win graciously and humbly, without calling attention to oneself, there may be other examples better served for such lessons.
Hank Aaron certainly enters the discussion, having established the all-time home run record that stood for nearly 40 years and playing the game of baseball like a true gentleman no matter the circumstances.
And what about Jim Brown, who is widely considered the greatest football player ever, despite an early retirement that left fans wondering what limitless heights he could have achieved?
As more and more examples come up, like Jim Thorpe, Willie Mays, Wilt Chamberlain, Bobby Orr, Reggie Jackson, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Jerry Rice, one common bond links the greats and separates them from the mediocre -- true champions are at their best in the biggest moments.
Think about Ali beating Joe Frazier, or Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo in the finals, or even Jesse Owens sticking it to the Nazis in the 1936 Olympics. When the stakes are the highest, the great ones shine the brightest.
So as the Jaguars get ready to take on Mission Bay on Saturday, amidst all the game film, strategy and endless repetition of the game plan, I know the coaches will all be instilling one final bit of encouragement:
Champions are made in games like this.
Good luck, Jags!
I've been thinking about that lately, especially with the excitement surrounding the Valley Center Jaguars and their quest for a third CIF title in four years.
For the record, since I'm the hometown sports writer, I don't have a problem admitting that I root for the Jags. We in the media are supposed to "be objective" and "not pick sides" and all of that, but when you're on the sidelines with the team every week, it's hard not to get caught up in the emotion of the game. I was really thrilled to see them beat La Jolla after the heartbreaker they had down there earlier this season, and I can't wait for the championship game.
But even if (excuse me... when) the Jaguars take the title, what will make them champions? Will it simply be that they were the best team in Division IV this year? In this specific case, yes... that's pretty much it.
Still though, there must be something more to being a true champion. As Freddie Mercury so poetically postulated, a champion seems to be someone who, A) keeps on fighting to the end, and B) has no time for losing. Evidently by following this simple formula, Queen was able to achieve some sort of world championship. Which seems pretty impressive.
But in the discussion of sports heroes and their legendary battles, Lance Armstrong immediately comes to mind. When you face something as scary and oppressive as cancer, then not only live to tell the tale but go on to dominate a sport at its highest level of competition, there's something special there. And no, I'm not referring to any sort of performance enhancements, but the mere fact that I have to make mention of such a thing here means that there are more issues to examine.
So another name that comes up is Muhammed Ali, perhaps the greatest boxer of all time. He broke down racial, social, religious, and even comfort barriers (Howard Cosell sure didn't look at ease in most of those interviews) and somehow still had time to win title bout after title bout. He certainly set an example, although if one really wanted to teach young athletes how to win graciously and humbly, without calling attention to oneself, there may be other examples better served for such lessons.
Hank Aaron certainly enters the discussion, having established the all-time home run record that stood for nearly 40 years and playing the game of baseball like a true gentleman no matter the circumstances.
And what about Jim Brown, who is widely considered the greatest football player ever, despite an early retirement that left fans wondering what limitless heights he could have achieved?
As more and more examples come up, like Jim Thorpe, Willie Mays, Wilt Chamberlain, Bobby Orr, Reggie Jackson, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Jerry Rice, one common bond links the greats and separates them from the mediocre -- true champions are at their best in the biggest moments.
Think about Ali beating Joe Frazier, or Jordan's shot over Craig Ehlo in the finals, or even Jesse Owens sticking it to the Nazis in the 1936 Olympics. When the stakes are the highest, the great ones shine the brightest.
So as the Jaguars get ready to take on Mission Bay on Saturday, amidst all the game film, strategy and endless repetition of the game plan, I know the coaches will all be instilling one final bit of encouragement:
Champions are made in games like this.
Good luck, Jags!
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