Being Beaten vs. “Losing”
I’m Chuck Wilson with an ESPN Radio Extra Point.
The one drawback to college football’s bowl set-up is that teams wait so many weeks from the end of the regular season until their bowl game.
It’s not easy to stay sharp.
You hope both teams will play the way they did during the regular season.
But often, the great match-up on paper doesn’t materialize.
Take last night’s Orange Bowl.
Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer and the USC Trojans played better and better as the game progressed, but the Iowa Hawkeyes never got untracked despite returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
Heisman runner-up Brad Banks was out of sync all night and it ended-up being a blowout…a tough way for Iowa to end the season.
As an athlete, you accept that wins and losses are not directly under your control.
What you can control is how you perform —- the effort and attitude you bring to the game.
That’s why it’s easier for teams to deal with the hurt when they play well and lose than when they play poorly and don’t give themselves a chance to win.
It’s the difference between being “beaten” and “losing”.
And to an athlete, it makes all the difference in the world.
Founder & Executive Director
Chuck Wilson is an award-winning host, interviewer, and commentator. He was an original host on ESPN Radio and was with the network for close to 17-years. In 2007, Wilson was named one of the 100 Most Influential Sports Educators in America by the Institute for International Sport. He is the founder of Even Field.