"Teachable Moment"

I have often wondered what is it about major sporting events that make me cry. The Superbowl, the Olympics, my daughter’s cross country meets…I had the opportunity to really reflect on this over the weekend when I took my daughter to Columbus to watch her classmates play for their fourth consecutive state basketball championship. Of course, I cried there as well. Now for you men that are reading this…I am not some emotional “chick”…I am a competitor and can be a very fierce one…thank you very much. I think it is actually because I am a competitor in just about every area of my life is the reason I cry. For example, I understand that the 3 young ladies on the Mt. Notre Dame basketball team that are seniors sacrificed much to be able to obtain that honor. They had to give up other extracurriculars. They had to keep their grades up to be able to play. They had to miss many parties. They had to work out year-round. They sacrificed much and their win was not just for them. Their win brought happiness to an entire community of students and parents. I sometimes feel sorry for athletes and entertainers because they have this label of role model put on them that they may not have asked for but by the virtue of their talent that is what they become to so many. That is a lot of pressure on a young person. I talk to my daughter about this all the time. She is a great athlete and puts very little into it and she is a singer worthy of any reality show and does not practice nearly enough for someone that wants to make that her career. After Saturdays game, the ride home was a great teachable moment about hard work, sacrifice, making good choices and the ultimate payoff. Of course, I had to get all that in before the allotted 15 minute attention span expired. And to think, we almost did not go to the game. Next year with hope and a prayer of good choices made, grades at an acceptable level, and hard work MND will make another run for State. But, just as important my daughter witnessed what it takes to be a champion and at this very moment is getting her six miles in. GO MND! Definitely worth the tears.