Michigan’s defeat by 3 points last night had the potential to send me into a depression. Mainly because I am far away from home and the hype surrounding the game made me nostalgic about my 4 years at Michigan. Sort of sad really since my university years are now 10+ years behind me, but still, my Michigan days were some of the best ever.
That said, since their defeat, I can’t stop thinking how true it is “that winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Now I know that a lot of people don’t like the sentiments in this quote as it epitomizes the competitiveness in American sports at all levels, but it’s so true. Years after a major sporting event has happened, except for the true fanatic, most people will forget the loosing side. And if they do remember the loosing team, it’s only in the context of who beat them.
More importantly, let’s face it, losers are hardly ever rewarded. You need to keep winning to maintain your standing a top the leader board. Plus if you are a university sports team, it’s not just about school pride or bragging rights. You need to keep winning so that your games continue to be broadcast which in turn helps bring in the revenue but also plays a role in recruiting future players and even regular students. As whenever a school wins a national championship in say football or basketball, the following years, student applications usually increase. This in turn helps to make the school more selective and may even help them climb up the academic ranking charts. More importantly, it reminds alums like myself about the good times we had at the school which in turn makes us more receptive to fundraising drives to increase the school’s endowment.
So my friend’s you see – winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing! So maybe, just maybe, we’ll get a rematch for the National Championship. Ohio State and Michigan are definitely the two top teams in the country and deserve to play for the title. So what they are in the same conference.