It's All About the W

This past summer, I got the chance to eat in the Patron Platinum Lounge at the Q Arena and hear Coach Byron Scott talk. He said many things. But one thing he talked about that stuck....

Winning

The man knows how to win. He's got NBA championship rings, he's coached in the Finals, etc. He talked about how winning is an attitude, an approach, a lifestyle. Winning is an expectation. Not just improvement, not getting better, but complete winning. 


He confidently told listeners that as Coach of the Cavs, he expects to win. Because he is a winner. That's how he described himself...as a winner. 


I remember my last at bat of my High School baseball years. Playing our cross-town rivals, their ace had worked all the way into the last inning. They were up by a couple runs, there were two outs, we had a couple guys on base, and we were down to our last out. Who comes up to bat? You know it. I walked into the batters box confidently. A fan of theirs yelled out, "I'd hate to be you 47!" That was my number. And I thought to myself, I'll make you eat your words with one swing. Then...........Strike one. Strike two. Strike three. Game over, season over, baseball over. 


That was not supposed to happen.


Winning never came easy for whatever team I competed on. The only championship I remember winning was with my 4th grade basketball team. We were the Seven Hills Cavs, and we finished #1. That's it. To this date, I haven't experienced a trophy since. 


(Being a fan of a city that hasn't celebrated a championship since 1964 doesn't help either)



The other day, I watched a group of kids crowded together asking for a football from a Browns player. The player threw a bunch of balls into the crowd of kids. Only about half of the kids were able to catch and keep a ball. It may not seem like much, but it's tough for a kid not to have a ball when everyone else does. At first I'm thinking, c'mon and find a way to get all the kids a ball man. Then I figured, guess some of them kids got to know what it's like not to have one. 



I want my son - and possible future children - to be winners. I want them to walk around with the attitude of winning. I want them to expect to win and succeed at what they do. But I also want them to fail. I want 'em to fall hard and not get what they were working for. 


He's got to know what it's like to not have, so he know's what it's like to have. He's gotta hurt in losing so experiencing a win will be even more appreciated. Eventually, he'll be able to see what it takes to win, to succeed, and to excel wherever he puts his efforts. The losses will be a learning experience. He'll learn how to respond when he doesn't get a football tossed into a crowd, or strikes out to end a game, or bricks a last second shot, or fails a spelling test, or doesn't get into the college he wanted to.


How we respond in our losses reveals who we are on the inside. And I hope he can be proud of the way he responds in the loss, so he can learn how to win.