IN the United States, college football is one of the most watched sporting events. The second oldest rivalry in college football is between the two military service academies, West Point and Annapolis. Around the world, servicemen in the United States military are tuned into their TV sets every first week of December to watch the Army-Navy game, live via satellite. Incidentally, the oldest rivalry in US college football is between Harvard and Yale.
In the Philippines, the fierce rivalry between Ateneo University and De La Salle University perhaps matches the intensity of the Army-Navy game. Every time these two schools meet, students, teachers, parents and alumni engage in frolicking trash talk, in the spirit of gamesmanship. While playing the game, student-athletes will definitely display grit, hustle, teamwork and, hopefully, respect for other players in their quest for victory. For some coaches and players, victory is never measured by the statistics in the “win-loss” column. Victory is attained whenever the game is played with dignity. And how you win in sports will likely dictate how you win in life.
General Douglas MacArthur once said, “On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days, on other fields will bear the fruits of victory.”
How a student-athlete plays on the court is reflective of how he behaves off the court. And such principle also applies to the fans of these teams. I have seen supporters who are magnanimous in victory as much as I have seen those who are degenerate in defeat.
In the ongoing 81st UAAP Men’s Basketball tournament, the entry to the finals of the surprising team from the University of the Philippines has generated a lot of banter in keeping with the school spirit. Whatever the outcome of the UP-Ateneo Finals and of the Army-Navy game on December 8, I am confident that players from both sides will exhibit their love for the game by playing their hearts out. Hopefully, the athletes, coaches and fans will stand united at the end of the friendly yet competitive series.
However, what is exciting in the UP-Ateneo Finals is the fact that what was once a seemingly impossible event for UP has the potential of becoming a reality. In recent years, the UP men’s basketball team has been perennial cellar dwellers in the tournament. This time around, it can actually win a championship by beating the formidable team from Ateneo, twice. The task is difficult but never impossible.
When athletes face adversity, they usually seek solace in the powerful Bible verse found in Philippians 4:31, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” I have seen professional athletes in the United States who have openly declared how their faith turned impossibility into reality. For instance, NBA players and teammates Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant of the Golden State Warriors, Super Bowl winning NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, and Russell Wilson, and professional golfer Bubba Watson have all attributed their successes to Him.
While some athletes think that the outcome of the competition depends on their abilities, there are some who will always acknowledge that victory is always at hand whenever the game is played with respect to the other competitor. After all, in the fields of friendly strife, even the Greatest of All Time, Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan and Roger Federer, for instance, cannot win all the time. In the game called life, we will not have our way all the time, no matter how hard we try. It has been said many times, we just have to do our best and let God do the rest.
In the Bible, Proverbs 3:6 tells us, “In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” I believe that those who acknowledge Him in every single task, whether in sports or otherwise, are all winners in whatever they do. For athletes, they are blessed to have the opportunity to compete. For all of us, we are blessed to have the opportunity to live each day with a rivalry between good and evil. Fighting evil is difficult, but victory over it is never impossible.
For questions and comments, please e-mail me at sbmison@gmail.com.