Cheap Seats: Losing

By Les Barnhart | November 13th, 2002

Losing sucks. There is really no other way to put it. Some people will say that winning isn’t everything. This is usually said by losers or the parents of kids who just lost. I work with several of these people and I am sick of hearing it.

I mean, what kind of attitude is that? Just look at that mantra of “winning isn’t everything” for a minute. What that means to me, is that it is okay to lose, because winning isn’t that big of a deal. What??? Are you kidding me? Unfortunately not, my friends. This is happening not just in sports, but everywhere else it seems. So, if you are getting ready to go for the big job interview or perhaps going for that house loan, just remember that winning isn’t everything. Ridiculous thinking, eh? Well, that’s my point exactly. This mantra is especially ridiculous when it comes to the world of sports. The last time I checked, most important sports (other than NASCAR) were using a winner and loser outcome. Other than the occasional tie in the NFL, the outcome of most sporting events have a winner and a loser. And I always thought that it was encouraged to not be the former rather than the latter.

While on the subject of the NFL and ties, what is up with that? I watched the Steelers-Falcons tie game on Sunday and I was left scratching my head. The reason for my bewilderment was the overtime system that is used by the NFL. Why hasn’t that been changed (like the system in the NCAA)? I felt cheated after the Steelers game because this season I have watched Penn State as well as other teams play in intense overtime. Watching the Steelers and Falcons play in overtime was almost like watching college wrestling as the teams appeared content to work the time off the clock and earn…. A fulfilling TIE! I am not obsessed with winning (being a Redskin fan isn’t conducive to having such an obsession) but I think that games should have a winner and a loser. No ties, draws or pushes should be allowed.

So is being a loser becoming more attractive? Is that where this came from? We have all heard stories of a “loveable loser”. In sports, you have all kinds of stories about losing and losers. Most notably you have the Buffalo Bills in football and my very own Atlanta Braves in baseball. I don’t know why this mentality has manifested itself and become the mantra of so many, but I know that I have never and will never buy into it. I think that the minute a person, team or organization accepts this train of thought, then you have accepted losing and by definition are a loser. Thank goodness our country’s leaders haven’t adopted this thinking.

As far as the current state of affairs in Redskin Park, there is no way that the Ole Ballcoach or Mr. Snyder will ever adopt the loser mentality. They are born winners I leave you with this, break it out every time you sit down to watch the beloved Redskins play…
“Nothing worth having ever comes easy, if it was, everybody would have it” and…
“Winning isn’t everything…but losing sure sucks”

See you all next week, right here in the Cheap Seats.

The Wingman

Edit: This blog was archived in May of 2016 from our original articles database.It was originally posted by Les Barnhart