Losing

With 2 kids in football and 2 kids in soccer, we've been to lots of games this fall.  And for whatever reason, the teams- all of them- have lost.  A lot!  Even in the games where score isn't 'kept', anyone with half a mind could still 'tell' the outcome (and while score may not officially be kept, everyone- kids, parents, coaches- IS keeping score!).  Winning is fun.  Losing is not fun.  Typing those words seems almost too simplistic, and yet they are true.  As much as we try to de-emphasize winning and making sure everyone has fun, the truth is, most people have more fun when they are winning (even my notoriously non-competitive wife has the rule that we can't stop playing Uno until she wins a hand!).

That being said, there are some benefits to losing:

• Losses reveal areas of improvement- no team wins every game, and when a team loses a game, it shows you where you need to make improvements.  If you never had the feedback of a loss, you might be tempted to never improve.
• Losses reveal your darksides- maybe it's just my darksides(!), but when I am losing, I begin to question the other team's motives, I argue with officials, I challenge calls.  I am much less likely to do these things when I am winning, so when I am losing, I come face to face with the less-desirable parts of my personality.
•  Losses make you appreciate the wins- doesn't matter if youth sports, professional sports, grades in school, elections, whatever the contest- when you've lost at it, it makes you appreciate the wins all the more.