Sin and Redemption in sports

Sports fans and sports columnists love to see sports as a morality play. “May the better player win” is an idea that takes sports out of the realm of play and drops it squarely into the arena of metaphysics. Better does not mean “more skilled” or “more able”; it means “more pure of heart” or more “noble of intent.” 

The old literary theme of Sin and Redemption is the take that everyone is putting on Virginia’s 85 to 77 win over Texas Tech in the NCAA men’s final. Last year, substantially the same team, also ranked number 1, lost in the first round to a number 16 team, the first time in tournament history such an upset had taken place. That was Virginia’s Sin.

This entire season was seen as the agony necessary to redeem that sin, and when the team succeeded in winning the crown, Redemption was complete.

As a motivational tool, Sin has few equals, but losing a basketball game? It makes for a nice theme, but last year’s result is last year’s result. No amount of sweat and effort will change that score; it will be there forever.

The better way, I think, to see disaster is to ask the players, “OK, what did we learn?” The answer? Never sit back, never relax, never assume anything. Every possession requires one’s utmost attention, one’s deepest effort of will and one’s full mind. Nothing else will do. That is a life lesson worth learning and should be what sports is all about.

A hard lesson in the opposite direction was learned by both the Notre Dame women’s team and the Texas Tech men’s team. If one gets in a hole early, it is not enough to climb back to even, one must continue on to winning.

If one is down by a significant margin in any situation, the temptation is to mentally define success as overcoming the deficit. Once that is achieved, there is a strong mental reaction, with the mind saying, “Well done. You have succeeded. You can relax now.” 

I have seen this tendency at every level and in every sport. It comes down to the coach to make sure his players define success as winning — not just getting even. 

The best example is the New England Patriot’s win in Super Bowl LI. Down by 25 points, they didn’t just even the score; they won the overtime and the game.

That is the best lesson in sports: never slow down, never give up, never settle for less than your best. If one fails, as one inevitably will, get up off the ground and do it all over again. 

It’s how the game is played.

Theodore Kneeland is a retired teacher and coach.