What have we learned this year from sports
From a young age we are taught to learn from the world around us, and apply those lessons to our lives. With 2008 ending I decided that we should look back at some pivitol moments in the sporting world and see how we could connct them into our own lives. I personally believe that sports can teach us many things that will help better ourelves as people.
Strive for Perfection
This archived article was written by: David Osborne Jr.
From a young age we are taught to learn from the world around us, and apply those lessons to our lives. With 2008 ending I decided that we should look back at some pivitol moments in the sporting world and see how we could connct them into our own lives. I personally believe that sports can teach us many things that will help better ourelves as people.
Strive for Perfection
During 2008, we learned that settling for one loss is something we shouldn’t do. Michael Phelps showed us that we should all “go for the gold.” Phelps showed us that we should never accept one loss. We should mentally win everything we set out to do.
We also watched the University of Utah Runnin’ Utes complete their second undefeated season. They are the only college football team to ever have more than one undefeated season during the BCS era. Looking at these two examples, we can see that striving for perfection is something we should do.
Never Give Up
In 2008 there were many Cinderella stories that showed giving up was not an option. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays had never been a powerhouse baseball club, yet in 2008 they did the unexpected. The Rays beat out the White Sox and Red Sox before heading into the World Series. The Rays almost gave up the series against the Red Sox but pulled out an incredible win. Although the Rays lost to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2008 World Series, they turned heads and showed they were a force to be reckoned with.
Also in 2008 the Fresno State Bulldogs shocked the world by winning the College World Series. Although the heavy underdogs in the final games match up, Fresno State came out and thwarted Georgia with a final score of six to one.
Expect the Unexpected
We can look at almost any sport during 2008 and realize that we can always expect one thing: expect the unexpected. In 2008 we watched Tiger Woods come back and force a playoff first and then end up winning in the 2008 US Open. Not to mention he made several clutch putts and did it all while seriously injured. His injury ended up taking him out of the rest of the golf season.
The other example of this was the disastrous season of the Detroit Lions. There had never been a season in the NFL where one team lost every single game. In 2008 the Detroit Lions lost every single game they played. The 2008 Lions team will always be infamous for losing, and being the first ones ever to do that.
The 2008 Super Bowl was no exception to this life lesson. The New England Patriots were trying to complete a perfect season, unfortunately for them, the New York Giants had different plans. Although it was a close game, the Giants emerged victorious when they marched down the field completing some rather insane catches and scoring to give just enough of an edge.
Rivalries Live On
The 1980’s was a constant battle between the East Coast and West Coast in the NBA. The poster teams for this rivalry were the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers.
In 2008 we got to relive the rivalry of the ’80s, unfortunately the teams were not lead by Magic Johnson or Larry Bird, we got legends of our own to lead the teams. The Celtics were lead by Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. The Lakers were lead by Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Derek Fisher (all Utah Jazz fans may begin booing and shouting obscenities here.) Luckily for Boston fans and anybody cheering against the Lakers, the Celtics gave the Lakers the beating of a lifetime.
Another rivalry that lived strong during 2008 was the bitter old rivalry of BYU and Utah (BYU fans may begin blaming John Beck, or anybody else they want to here.) The Utes were on their quest to become Mountain West Conference Champions again. The Cougars were looking to make the conference championship a three-way tie. Utah came in and started to dismantle the Cougars slowly but surely. Although not the largest rivalry, it had huge impacts on the BCS.
I always find it somewhat amazing that we can find many of the things we need to learn in life while watching our favorite sports. Hopefully everybody has learned at least something from a sport this year. You can always learn from anything around you and sports should be no exception. So as we begin a new year lets ne better on and off the court.
