When legendary Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi coined the phrase "winning isn't everything, it's the only thing," more than a handful of reasonable adults became overbearing when it came to youth sports.
For that matter, they developed that same boorish mentality when following their favorite college or pro teams. As a University of Nebraska alum, we have always been proud of our passion. However, that zeal can also have a polarizing view. In one circle that passion is great. In another circle, people will bristle, “You guys need to get a life!”
I find the latter view rather comical in that those who are outwardly passionate about their team sometimes automatically seem to get persecuted by some people as being “over the edge” or “win at all costs” or “a fan with no life.” On the other hand, those who are not zealous in an outwardly demonstrative way get labeled as “soft” or “apathetic.”
As if there were no in between.
Anyhow, that classification made me think back to another conversation I had with a former high school assistant football coach. This fellow asked me, “Vince, isn't it easier to cover a winning team than a losing team?” The reason this fellow used the word “cover” is because I have been a sports reporter on a variety of levels (from little league to the NFL) and started this recreational blog about four months ago.
As one who has had the chance to cover everything from little league to the NFL, I would say the answer to that question is “yes and no” but more the former than the latter. If the team I cover is a winning one, my paycheck doesn't increase all of a sudden. In one respect, my job doesn't change whether the team I cover wins or loses. Cover the game. Report on it objectively. Talk to the coach and/or players after the game. Same thing with this blog that focuses primarily on Nebraska football. The only difference is that since I am a fan, I can get away with being less objective.
From my view, however, yes - it is easier to cover a winning team regardless of competition level but is especially true from high school age and younger.
At the pro and college level, media members have an unwritten rule of “no cheering in the pressbox.” That rule sounds good in theory because as media members you are paid by your news organization, not the team or school as the case may be.
On the other hand, I've seen media members go out of their way to be too harsh on the team they cover just to prove they don't play favorites. That approach isn't good either because it comes off as too adversarial.
Covering sports at the younger level (i.e. high school and younger), however, is a different ball of wax. In multiple high school towns, you don't dare show any form of allegiance because the "rival" school is looking for a reason to go to the Bush League "you're against us" card. I use the term Bush League because it typically comes when the individual is on the losing side of the argument and he or she plays that card in a desperate attempt to get even.
In one high school towns, sports reporters have a little more latitude to have a partisan approach. I have somewhat mixed feelings about that procedure because it might lead to having clouded objectivity.
I will admit, however, that covering my local teams when they win is certainly far more pleasurable simply because, in general, athletes under age 18 have a psyche too fragile to want to read about anything construed as negative (i.e. a loss) in the newspaper.
On the other hand, I don't need to worry about that if the team wins or loses but plays well in the process. Plus, the senior year of high school is going to be the pinnacle of most people's athletic career.
In addition, I get asked from time to time, "How do you decide sports coverage or what your main story is?" Well, there's no hard and fast rule because every week presents a different dynamic. In addition, some weeks I might have more stories that are lead material than I know what do with but others might be more of a challenge. The main things I seek are timelines, newsworthiness and, of course, is the team winning. If a team plays well but loses, I'll have no problem making them the lead or going longer on a story.
Some people might say, "Well, do youth sports have to be about winning?" To some degree, I would say yes because people read a community sports section by and large for positive news. After all, there's more than enough negativity to go around by watching newscasts. There's also plenty of unfavorable news on Sportscenter pertaining to pro athletes breaking the law.
If I cover a local team that constantly loses, I'm certainly not going to omit the final score because I've got to draw the line somewhere. If I bury the story, however, it's not because I don't like the players and coaches in question.
Instead, I do it because having been a high school athlete myself of a team that stunk and got little coverage, I felt my hometown paper did the team a favor by not shining the light of us because we got plenty of razzing at school on our own without it.
Again, I think the idea of "winning doesn't matter" is pure nonsense. Notice how those buying into that notion often believe that having fun matters more.
Some folks would even argue that the reason winning is not important is that one out of every 100 high school seniors in America are going to get a scholarship to play a sport beyond high school.
True, however, I would argue that's all the more important reason to preach the importance of winning.
If a young man or woman has only one chance to play youth sports, why not make the most of it?
Having said that, winning and competition are indeed important but it falls on the adults to preach it in a constructive manner.
Contrary to what some may think, there are ways of doing it. Certainly, an occasional
loss can be a useful learning tool, but not preaching the importance of competition gives youngsters a delusional idea of what they will face in the real world.
In my real world, I enjoying covering winners and if the team loses, I focus no more on the negative than necessary.
If the home team plays well but loses a close game, I have no problem delving further because there's no shame attached to that idea. Plus, at least the team had a chance to win.
Just remember, whether you are covering the team as a media member or rooting them on as a fan, it doesn’t suck to win more than you lose. It’s just that there is a right and wrong way to preach the importance of winning.
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