During the past few weeks we’ve received a few phone calls and letters regarding the end to another Brandon football season.
And given a rather dismal five wins over 18 games (two seasons) it’s not unreasonable many questions should surface.
For example, comments we’ve received include: players continue to give their all and yet the coaches let them down. Coaches do their part yet players let them down. We were winning at half time yet fall apart in the second half.
Perhaps a meeting between parents, coaches and administrators should be organized to find some solutions’since a team includes many facets, no single problem exists, rather several.
Consider a few other losing seasons.
The 44-game losing streak (lasting from 1983-88) may be Columbia University football’s greatest claim to fame today. Located in New York City, the team was stocked with winners 70 years ago, even winning the 1933 Rose Bowl against Stanford University, 7-0. However since then, only one Ivy League championship (the 1961 team shared the title with Harvard), just 14 seasons at or above .500, and no undefeated years.
Still, Columbia University produces doctors, journalists and lawyers. Five faculty members were elected to the prestigious National Academy of Sciences; two others were named to the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. In addition, five Columbia scholars were elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and four faculty members and alumni were awarded MacArthur Fellowships.
After more than 250 years, Columbia’s football team are losers on the field, but winners in academics.
There are other examples of respected institutions who have suffered on the football field. Northwestern University in Illinois, which, like Columbia, is renowned for its first-rate academics, lost 34 straight games from 1979-82.
More recently, the United States Military Academy in West Point lost 19 straight games before defeating Cincinnati 48-29 on Oct. 9, under the guidance of former Detroit Lions head coach Bobby Ross, now the head coach at Army. While Army has not been a football juggernaut recently, certainly their contributions to fighting the war on terror are more important in the long run.
Brandon sports faithful should take heed.
Competing in athletics is vital to students, yet given that less than 5,000 professional athletes compete in the world today, making a living at it is just about impossible. Players can glean much more than winning or losing at football ? playing as a team, overcoming adversity, and improved health are just a few.
Learning that every team is not a winner is another important aspect, one that parents, players and coaches should consider.
Ask a one time Columbia football player about how to lose and still succeed at life, the answer may be more than just fire the coach.