In sports and in life, when you’re winning it’s easy to get along with everyone. There are plenty of accolades to go around. Everyone is patting each other on the back. Everyone is happy.
When you’re losing, usually the exact opposite happens. There is plenty of blame to go around. Everyone is pointing fingers. Someone is going to get benched or cut or fired, and teammates begin to throw each other under the bus.
Not so with the Butler men’s basketball team which lost the championship game for the second straight year on Monday night.
Dan Wetzel wrote an awesome article capturing what went down in Butler’s locker room after the loss:
Butler blew it and that’s when fingers tend to get pointed and playing time gets questioned and selfishness can rise up. If only he had made that lay-up. If only he had knocked down that open jumper.
“It’s very easy to just think about yourself and be frustrated in the situation,” Howard said.
Instead, the Bulldogs showed all the talk was real. They did it one hug after the next. One whispered “I love you” after another. One pat on the back and look into the eye and honest bit of concern. The harder some cried, the harder the rest worked to ease the pain.
Stevens stood in that locker room, took it all in and saw the kind of miracle for which coaches strive – collective support in the lowest and rawest of moments. Kids caring about kids. Perspective and purpose on display. It may not get you a clipped net, but that’s some kind of championship in itself.
Even if you’re not a sports fan, you don’t want to pass on this moving article.
We all love to win, but isn’t it when the chips are down that you find out who really loves you? And they find out whether you really love them?
It’s easy to be married in heath… good times… and in joy. But you gain a whole new appreciation for your spouse when you stick together in sickness… bad times… and in sorrow.
It’s easy to be a friend with someone who always there for you and makes you feel appreciated. But you find out who your true friends are when you mess up, hurt someone, and are in need of help and forgiveness.
It’s in the tough times we learn that good friends are more important than good circumstances.
Agree or disagree? Can you cite an example from your own experiences?
Paul, thank you so much for the post. As a board member of the Butler University Alumni Association, the campus and alumni could not be prouder of what the team accomplished. And their reaction after the loss shows the true character of this team. Of course we all wanted them to win, but we’re amazed at how these young men handled themselves in defeat.
Thanks Chuck! I appreciate the comment. You guys have a lot to be proud of at Butler!