If you know me or listen to our show you know that I am a Tiger fan to the core. I am. I went to school there, I teach there, and my children go there. I am a season ticket holder, Alumni member (former board member), my kids have all been Pouncer Pals, I went to Football by Fuente and hope for another next year. I love my Tigers. Last night's loss was coming. It was. We all knew one day we were going to have to see the L in the standings.
Last night when we returned home, my daughter went to get the marker to put the W on the schedule that hangs on the fridge. She is 5, she didn't realize when we left it was a loss. She said time to put the W on. I responded, "no we have to put a L on there. We didn't win." With that came the waterworks. She cried and cried. You would have thought she played and lost. For the last 15 games she has been able to put the W on and today I explained loss.
We talked about losing and what that meant. In fact, we cannot win them all. In life there are winners and their are losers. In a sporting competition there has to be someone who will not be victorious. In life, there will be folks who get the scholarship, the job, the home, the guy, the girl, the _______ you fill in the blank, and some who won't. That's how all this works. It just does. It is harsh, but it is reality.
My daughter and I had a long talk about what it means to lose. It doesn't mean the end, it means that this week in practice the Tigers will work a little harder, Coach Fuente will be a little tougher, it means that like the rest of us, they will get up dust themselves off and start over again because that is life. Those of us who love the Tigers will be there to cheer them on no matter what like we always have. True Blue fans don't let the L stop us. We never have and we are thankful for the time we have had in the W column and we are thankful for the L column because that means we still have a team.
We as a team and as a society have to learn to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again. We will not always win, that's life. But, it how we handle the loss that makes us who we are. No matter what your L is, a football game, a job, a relationship. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and let the L make you stronger. You are not defeated. We, Tiger Nation, are not defeated. We have basked in the sunlight of the W and we need to work to find it again. It is not over, there is always tomorrow or in our case Houston.
Last night when we returned home, my daughter went to get the marker to put the W on the schedule that hangs on the fridge. She is 5, she didn't realize when we left it was a loss. She said time to put the W on. I responded, "no we have to put a L on there. We didn't win." With that came the waterworks. She cried and cried. You would have thought she played and lost. For the last 15 games she has been able to put the W on and today I explained loss.
We talked about losing and what that meant. In fact, we cannot win them all. In life there are winners and their are losers. In a sporting competition there has to be someone who will not be victorious. In life, there will be folks who get the scholarship, the job, the home, the guy, the girl, the _______ you fill in the blank, and some who won't. That's how all this works. It just does. It is harsh, but it is reality.
My daughter and I had a long talk about what it means to lose. It doesn't mean the end, it means that this week in practice the Tigers will work a little harder, Coach Fuente will be a little tougher, it means that like the rest of us, they will get up dust themselves off and start over again because that is life. Those of us who love the Tigers will be there to cheer them on no matter what like we always have. True Blue fans don't let the L stop us. We never have and we are thankful for the time we have had in the W column and we are thankful for the L column because that means we still have a team.
We as a team and as a society have to learn to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and start all over again. We will not always win, that's life. But, it how we handle the loss that makes us who we are. No matter what your L is, a football game, a job, a relationship. Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and let the L make you stronger. You are not defeated. We, Tiger Nation, are not defeated. We have basked in the sunlight of the W and we need to work to find it again. It is not over, there is always tomorrow or in our case Houston.
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