I am a proud graduate of West Virginia University (B.S. and M.S.), and love my Mountaineers. Friday WVU was defeated by Oklahoma 59-56 (this is football, not basketball). The offenses both put up very impressive numbers. Despite the scores, neither defense played as poorly as it might seem. It was an exciting game, but WVU came up short. Sometimes, our best just isn’t enough.
We have two options when we come up short: quit or learn. In my opinion, there is only one option—learn. We can only strive to get better.
It is hard to think about how one can get better when they score 56 points in a football game, but of, course, there were countless times when the 11 Mountaineers on the field could have done “better”—or the coaches. Likewise, the Sooners, too, could have done better. After all, the Sooner defense gave up 56 points! But, when two teams go head-to-head, one will always come out on top.
Our personal best is never good enough. That sounds discouraging, but it should not be. There is always room for improvement. Some days more so than others. Over all, as we grow, our improvement will seem increasingly slight—as we approach the asymptote of our “potential”—and it will always seem that someone is bettering us. As it should. We should always work as though we are #2—even when we are on top.
Coach Dana Holgorsen will undoubtedly go to the films and analyze his players’ performances. He will also, undoubtedly congratulate the players on their performances this season. They won’t play for the Big XII Championship this year, but they will go to a bowl game. Seniors will graduate. Some will be drafted into the NFL. Others will take their degrees and do great things. Underclassmen will look to next season. None will dwell on this loss. For if they do, they will be stuck there. Instead, they will look at what they did well, work to improve on what they didn’t do so well, and they will seek to be better at the next opportunity.
This is what champions do—even champions who are not Champions. This is one of the great lessons of sport. Success is not necessarily in winning every time. Success is in doing one’s best today and doing better tomorrow—no matter the outcome.
Carpe momento!