Is losing REALLY a failure in sports?
Lessons from The Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Bruins 1st Round Losses
“Do you view this season a failure?”
Last week NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo made waves in the sporting world responding to this seemingly obvious question.
Giannis’ Milwaukee Bucks were the top seed in the NBA’s eastern conference and became just the 6th team in NBA history to lose their opening round playoff series to the number 8 seed.
In the world of professional sports the answer IS obvious. Of course the season is a failure.
We didn’t have to wait long to see another example of massive ‘failure’ in the North American professional sports playoff;’s spring edition.
In the NHL the Boston Bruins set the NHL record for most wins and points in a regular season. They just got ousted by the 8th seeded Florida Panthers who finished almost 50 points behing them in the regular season standings.
The looks on their faces tell the story. Despondent. Tragic. Failure on an MASSIVE level.
That’s the response most anticipated would come from Giannis’ mouth as well.
But the world of professional sports does a poor job and illuminating the moral value and true purpose of SPORT.
It’s why that question SEEMED obvious.
Giannis’ response was a masterclass in teaching the moral purpose of sport and moving BEYOND the direct outcome of a contest or a season
“It’s not a failure; it’s steps to success”
Giannis was visibly upset by the question and took almost 3 minutes to carefully fire back.
Was he upset at losing? YES
Was he disappointed at not achieving team goals? YES
His objection was the word FAILURE.
“There's no failure in sports. You know, there's good days, bad days, some days you are able to be successful, some days you're not. Some days it’s your turn, some days it’s not your turn. And that's what sports is about. You don't always win; some other team’s gonna win. And this year, somebody else is gonna win. Simple as that.”
He’s right. About it all.
The problem is we see the world of professional sports with its prestige, glamour, and popularity and mistakenly think it represents the best version of sports.
In that case winning and losing is the MOST important because it directly relates to the dollars and cents of sports business.
But sports didn’t beging as businesses and entertainment. They began as religious observances and character building activities.
It’s about Character NOT Outcomes
In the worlds first written account of sports we learn that winning doesn’t matter as much as becoming the best version of yourself. (For a more detailed retelling of this story read a previous article I wrote on it HERE)
In a chariot race between kings, princes, and battle tested generals a young upstart pulls a dirty move to get ahead of a wise old king.
When they both return to the starting line the old king berates the young upstart going after his character. What good are the prizes you just won if you had to destroy your character in order to win them?
The young upstart realizes the error of his ways and offers to give all his prizes and material possessions if the old king will forgive his youthful indiscretion.
The old king accepts because he knows that competition can bring out the worst emotions and knock us of the straight and narrow path of moral righteousness.
When the stakes of competition are so high we lose sight of the true nature of the contest.
To test ourselves and bring all our our talents to bear.
Will the sacrifice, struggle, deterimination, hard work, grit, and desire to achieve be enough for victory today?
Or will we have to learn the lessons of defeat and come back stronger to try again.
That’s the value of sport. Learning how to take adversity and turn it into a teachable moment.
If you take that mindset then there is NO FAILURE IN SPORTS just as Giannis told that reporter
“We’re gonna come back next year, try to be better, try to build good habits, try to play better, not have a 10-day stretch with play bad basketball. You know, and hopefully we can win a championship. So 50 years from 1971 to 2021 that we didn't win a championship, it was 50 years of failure? No, it was not. It was steps to it. You know, and we were able to win one. Hopefully we can win another one.”
Losing is only a failure if you refuse to learn any lessons about yourself in the process.