It has been five years since we have made the playoffs, and
even longer since we were ranked in the top ten.
So, it
was time for the state tournament. Here we were ranked nine out of thirty-two
teams who progressed this far. We all looked at the stats and the rankings, and
c’mon man these guys were 8-17 this should have been a cake walk. I personally
never take any team lightly, but I was pretty confident going into this game.
Some of my teammates on the other hand were, to say it mildly, big headed. We
had talked of going into the game ten-run ruling these guys, there was no worry
of us coming out of this game the losers. That’s where we went wrong.
Never
go into a sports competition just expecting to get a win handed to you. No
matter what, never take an opponent lightly, like we did. Everyone seemed to be
talking about the next game, no one was focused on the task at hand, and that
was actually making it to the next game, which we didn’t.
The
first time through the order, it felt like every single person struck out. I
doubt everybody did but it seemed like it. No one was into the game, our bench
was quieter than it had been all year long, and this was state! There were quite
a bit of errors and everyone who committed one seemed to point their finger to
blame another. I guess this was our way of coping with what was going on. Even
though it was the fourth inning, tied 0-0 it felt like we were getting blown
out. No one was expecting this, especially not us, the players. Well, everyone
except the unexpected victors, Gila River.
Baseball
is a great representation of everyday life, anything can happen. The worst team
in division one college baseball can upset the number one ranked team in the
country, and same with the MLB, the worst team could beat the best team. Even
the worst of us have our good days, and the best have their worst. Any given
baseball game could be a team’s best or worst day. This day just happened to be
one of our worst of the season.
You can’t
go into it big headed. Never go into anything big headed, because chances are,
you’re going to lose. Always stay focused on the task at hand and never
overlook an obstacle in the way of reaching your goal. If we followed these
rules, we’d still be playing for a state championship.
As a fellow athlete I know your pain. Cockiness can destroy talent. It is through humility that we are able to be successful and happy. I have been apart of sports teams that did not understand that and like in your situation, lost a game that we should have undoubtedly won. I love how to relate baseball to everyday life. What you said is so true and I absolutely loved it when you said to "Always stay focused on the task at hand and never overlook an obstacle". Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThat loss sounds rough. I know exactly what you mean. For me, it was wrestling. This year at state, I had a very similar experience. I had a close ranking to my first match, but I was overly confident that I could beat him. And if I did, I would move on to face an opponent that looked much stronger stat-wise. So instead of taking it one match at a time, I prepared for my round 2 match, assuming that I could handle my first opponent easily. The match came and I didn't come out on top. I think your story is a very powerful example of why we should always be humble and take life one step at a time. Again, I'm sorry that you lost, bud, but thank you for sharing it in a such a meaningful post.
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