My Two Cents: Play
"We stayed in the game and when we finally saw a glint of light, we knew we could win" --
said the soccer player who was speaking to reporters during a post game interview describing when the shift in the game occurred, which allowed his team to go on to victory.
The player was attributing the surprising win to his teams' ability to maintain focus and to continue to play despite how bad it looked, and to their willingness to take full advantage of the opportunity that they knew would present itself.
A glint of light had miraculously appeared out of a dark chasm of hopelessness and loss, but in order to see it and wrap their arms around it, they had to be on the field and willing to play all out.
Watching this college soccer game on T.V., I felt sorry for the kids on the losing team. They couldn't seem to do anything right, all while the other team moved steadily forward, totally dominating every aspect of the game.
What kept me watching the game was the courage displayed by the kids on the losing team. No matter what went wrong they continued to compete. They refused to give up.
With ten minutes remaining, here comes the glint of light -
A turnover, a shot on goal, and -
SCORE!
The shift in the game was immediate.
The team that was losing had just found new life.
In sports or in everyday life, sometimes you have to play like you could win even when it looks like there is no way that you can.
The game is going badly for your team. Nothing seems to be going right. The plays which you've routinely ran are no longer being effectively executed. Loose balls are taking bad bounces and continue to end up in the possession of your opponent. A couple of key players on your team unexpectedly sustain debilitating injuries and have to be removed from the game.
Poor judgment and bad timing inexplicably and unfairly seem to plague your side ONLY and the outcome appears doomed...
Then out of nowhere -
A glint of light and the opportunity hoped for...
That’s my two cent’s (for whatever it’s worth),
Auguste Roc
auguste@danaroc.com
