Tenacity Over Talent

Upset. For a sideline follower of the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, it seems the word "upset" could have been used for about half of the first two rounds.  I receive a text with the final score of every game in the tournament.  The service also sends me a text if the underdog is ahead or very close to the score of the favored team with less than five minutes.  From what I remember, as mentioned above, there were a good number of upsets (lower seeds beating the higher seeds).

One of the most shocking was the Northern Iowa Panthers defeating the Kansas Jayhawks, 69-67. Ouch!  Residing in Kansas, several of the people I knew were in heartache.  The Kansas State fans weren't hurting too much, as they had been defeated three times by Kansas.

What made the University of Northern Iowa win? Lots of people would come up with answers.  However, it probably wasn't talent.  It may have been talent that "showed up" at the right time, but, even not a KU fan, I think that KU was the better team.  That brings us to this week's quote...

Basketball may not be my favorite sport, but I am a sucker for watching "Hoosiers" or "Coach Carter" and wanting to go play basketball.  Wanting that feeling of shooting the 15+ foot shot and getting "nothing but net".  It is a pretty "sweet" feeling!

The will must be stronger than the skill.  ~ Muhammad Ali

You may not be the greatest in your field, your team, or your family.  However, as the "madness of March" will show you, not always does the best "on paper" win.  Those that have a will to win can overtake those that have the skill to win.  The Northern Iowa and Kansas University is one example.

Don't think you have to be the most talented to make an impact on life, just have a will to make it happen and the "sweet" feeling of "nothing but net" will follow!