The NCAA Championship: As Good As It Gets?
My husband and I sometimes engage in talks -- part humorous, part tragic -- about the things we did and believed when we were younger.
As cringeworthy as some of these tales are, we always come back to our happiness today -- with each other, with our life -- and how those long-ago experiences must have had something to do with it.
Yes, stuff (like finances) could always be better; I could certainly be a better cook, and my husband could probably learn a bit more about plumbing. Still, life is good. We feel we also have lots to look forward to, but if this is the top, that's okay, too.
What does this have to do with tonight's game between the University of Kentucky and Kansas University?
Well, when I watch these games (and any high stakes sporting event, actually), I occasionally feel a hint of sadness. I can't help but wonder: Is this game that I'm watching, this tournament, this three-week experience, the highlight of somebody's life out there on the court? A player, a coach, a student manager?
I hope and pray these young people go on to bigger and better things, whether that's in or out of the spotlight. Maybe they'll find true happiness as an insurance salesman or an IT manager. Maybe their kids will fill their hearts and souls. Maybe a predictable daily routine in a magnificent locale will give them true peace. Whatever.
It's just that I sure hope they aren't 40, like I am, and looking back at this March Madness as the best life had to offer, the time when things were the sunniest, the most fulfilling, the most soul-feeding. At age 20.
Am I being too cynical? Life can be wonderful and romantic for folks in their teens and twenties. Some of the world's greatest things and greatest thoughts have come from history's 20-somethings. Who am I to judge if that's when people feel they were at their peak? What do you guys think?
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Re: The NCAA Championship: As Good As It Gets?
James Of England
Right, and I think that you're right that it makes one happier to have goals like "raise a handful of great kids" than "win X", even if you do win "X". I don't think that you generally get to the pinnacle of a popular sport without being seriously and passionately dedicated to it. There are exceptions, of course; I loved Chad Hennings' autobiography, and he's a heck of a guy. All too often, though, if you're passionate enough to drive yourself to those heights, you're not going to be dispassionate enough to have a great perspective on it. · 11 hours ago
Great point.
Re: The NCAA Championship: As Good As It Gets?
Casey:"Maybe they'll find true happiness as an insurance salesman or an IT manager."
heh
heh heh heh
hee hee hee hee hee
Ha Ha Ha
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!
Oh that was a good one... thanks Ursula :) · 18 minutes ago
Glad I gave you a laugh! But actually, the happiest, wisest, most fulfilled -- and whip smartest, I might add -- fellow I know is my 60-something handyman. And, some of my fave people in previous jobs have been the folks who work in the big computer dungeons who only came out to fix my network problems. IT folks -- I love 'em, and the ones I knew sure seemed happy, fulfilled, and peaceful.
Dec '10
Re: The NCAA Championship: As Good As It Gets?
Is this the silver lining of being miserable in high school? The future has to be better.
Edited on April 3, 2012 at 6:46pmApr '11
Re: The NCAA Championship: As Good As It Gets?
I read a few years ago that college athletes (especially big time sports), had a negative correlation with success when compared to peers. For men, the negative correlation had been true for several decades and for women, the negative correlation was just starting to show up from previously having been positive.
The article advanced the theory that today top athletes start getting special treatment as early as 5 and 6 grade and it continues all through college. So the benefits of learning hard work and perseverance are outweighed by the years of being treated as special and allowed to get away with things academically and socially. The rise of women's sports has led to more of women receiving the same special treatment and therefore sports being negatively correlated for them as well.
So, if they learn the positive parts of sports - great. If they learn they are special and they don't make the NBA......good luck.
Mar '11
Re: The NCAA Championship: As Good As It Gets?
Ursula Hennessey
Casey:"Maybe they'll find true happiness as an insurance salesman or an IT manager."
heh
heh heh heh
hee hee hee hee hee
Ha Ha Ha
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!!
Oh that was a good one... thanks Ursula :) · 18 minutes ago
Glad I gave you a laugh! But actually, the happiest, wisest, most fulfilled -- and whip smartest, I might add -- fellow I know is my 60-something handyman. And, some of my fave people in previous jobs have been the folks who work in the big computer dungeons who only came out to fix my network problems. IT folks -- I love 'em, and the ones I knew sure seemed happy, fulfilled, and peaceful. · 4 hours ago
Actually, the 60-something handyman is someone I am incredibly jealous of... the feeling of ownership and accomplishment, the freedom of choosing what work to do and how to do it...
Oh, if I had a hammer...