Long Live Athletics

Lovett High School overcomes 11 losses to win the state title.

The Fall is soon upon us and I can't wait. We'll have crisp weather, pumpkins, and sports. This week the NCAA football season kicks off. Just as soon as football is in full swing, the MLB playoffs are in motion. Athletes at universities across the country are in season or heavy off-season preparation. It is the best time of the year. Our young athletes take to the field, and we loyally support our team.

A team leaves a lasting impression on us. Our desire to belong to something greater than ourselves serves a natural need in our created being. Whether you're a Georgia Bulldog, a Tennessee Vol, or a Florida Gator, the commitment, loyalty, and competition drives our nature as Americans. Americans more than anyone else understand the value contained in athletics. We are competitors. We are winners. No matter what level of competition we made it to in our own lives we all remember the life long lessons we learned in physical competition. I still remember standing on the mound in Little League championships. In my young world I might as well have been pitching game 7 of the World Series. We wear it, talk about it, and sometimes we fight about it. For me, athletics provided the necessary experiences to graduate from an elite military unit. For others, they take their lessons straight into the business environment and excel.

We love rooting for the underdog, and we respect dominance. The underdog gives us the hope to keep chasing our dreams and the dominant team is what we strive to be. My old college teammate once said, "You know the thing I miss the most about playing ball is the opportunity to get after somebody." We feed our soul with competition. We learn from failure, we learn the power of teamwork, and once in awhile...we're the team that gets the dog pile. We experience incredible reward earned in hard work and commitment to each other. We can't give all of the kids trophies. They need to learn how the world works, but most of all, we cannot degrade the value and joy contained in the experience of winning a championship. We don't play to experience a fair, controlled environment. We play to compete. We play to win. We learn valuable lessons and gain relationships along the way that cannot be experienced or retained the same way in a classroom environment...and that is why we miss it so much. The dog pile is a phenomenon only found in athletics. Our relentless desire to win is as American as apple pie. Whether it's Roll Tide Roll or War Eagle...We're all Americans. Our relentless desire to win is the spirit that took Omaha Beach, stood in defiance at the Alamo, held the line for all men to be equal, and gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. God bless you and God bless America. It Pays To Be A Winner.

-Jason Kuhn