Sports: Dealing with team’s defeat makes for good life lesson

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • JBER PAO
JONIT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska --  As the clock ran out on the season for my New England Patriots when they lost in the NFL playoffs, I glanced over at my 8-year-old son and saw the glimmer of tears in his eyes.

I must admit that was three times more heart breaking than watching my favorite team lose. We had a blast sharing high-fives throughout the game and cheering on our favorite team in our matching jerseys.

I was recently deployed from June to December. Besides my 11-year-old daughter growing what seemed like five inches, the biggest surprise for me on my return was how dedicated of a sports fan my son has become.

Cartoon Network was replaced by the NFL Network on his TV. He became very inquisitive and practically drove my wife, who doesn't care for sports, nuts with questions she couldn't answer.

Our favorite team gave him a pretty positive viewing experience throughout the season notching an impressive 14-2 record. I'm pretty sure my son felt they were guaranteed to go all the way to the Super Bowl and win a championship.

The loss hit him hard and it was my job to make him feel better.

I explained to him that when one team wins, one has to lose. Yes it is preferable to win, but you still have to know how to deal with defeat. As long as you tried your best you have no reason to be ashamed.

In that regard, sports provide a great parallel to life. For everybody who received good news during a promotion release, there are many more who didn't.

It is tempting to just dwell on the positives with our children, but we have to prepare them for when life kicks them in the teeth. We need to somehow instill in them the determination and confidence to get through the valleys in life.

The loss gave me a great teaching moment with my son. After explaining all of this to him, I was able to share one of the best things about sports. Nothing is really over forever and there is always next year!