Championship Ways

I have had the good fortune to be on championship teams in a few sports during my amateur playing days. I’ve also been on the losing end of championship games. In a strange way, those emotions cut deeper than the lift experienced by the joys of winning. Perhaps there are more lessons in a loss.

But whether you win or lose, there’s a level of humility that comes with the end of that championship game. Because you realize that if you’ve lost, it’s an opportunity that escaped you. And you wonder if the chance to be a champion will come your way again.

If you’ve won, it’s the byproduct of extreme effort, not only your own, but mostly the culmination of a team effort. The achievement isn’t yours, it’s ours. When it finally dawns on you that you are the champion, all the work, the sweat, the pain, the frustration, the exhilaration, the achievement. You’ve reached the summit and there’s room for only one.

But then the reality hits you, and that reality is that it’s over. The pinnacle is yours.

But now what?

The finality of a championship is exhilarating and humbling all at once. The accolades pour in, the congratulatory greetings consume you. These are days, to remember. But still, there’s a slight hint of melancholy in the air because the quest is over. The camaraderie with teammates; the tutelage and bond with coaches – suddenly, in a flash, it all becomes just a sweet memory.

There’s a good chance that many from the team that is yours, the individuals that make it a team, will go their separate ways, and in some cases, you never reconvene as a group again. Whether it’s in sports or in life achievement, like a championship, like a graduation, like leaving one company for a new opportunity with another, these are all red-letter days. Yet those moments in time represent both a beginning and an end.

You then turn your attention towards the achievement of that next great moment.

That’s how life works.

Today, Jim Harbaugh is basking in the glow of glory. Tomorrow plans for his next journey will be set in motion. His players will prepare for their next chapter – the NFL for some, graduation for others, returning to defend their championship for even more.

What a moment for the Harbaugh family. pic.twitter.com/ISG8LtZooc

— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) January 9, 2024

Life goes on.

The world continues to turn.

Congratulations to Jim Harbaugh and the Michigan Wolverines.

John Harbaugh, it’s now your turn.

Super Bowl 58 is in 33 days.

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