Sweet Victory and Bitter Defeat
Malcolm Forbes once said “Victory is sweetest when you've known defeat.” Today we, the Hayward Monks, tasted the bitterness that is defeat. In what will go down in PCAL history as one of the greatest soccer matches of all time, we lost to the San Jose Dragonslayer (awesome name) in overtime with a final score of 4-3 after we had been up 3-1. We played our hearts out. I gave it my best but it just wasn't enough.
We go into the finals by beating San Ramon and we played very well. Our coach is THE BEST. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made the playoffs let alone make it to the finals.
My soccer jersey with "Monks" proudly written on the front now hangs in my closet waiting for next season. Unwashed and putrid it will remain. The stench of defeat will soil the entire off-season till we get our chance at victory again. It will be a reminder of the bitter taste of defeat which will make the sweetness of victory all the more satisfying if we are able to accomplish it.
I still can't say that I played well but I know I played better. I was mauled and beaten but I rose up again. I take pride in the fact that I gave everything that I had and I feel that the rest of our team did the same. We didn't lose. San Jose won. I have to give them their due respect. They earned this victory. We nearly had it won but they pulled off a great comeback. I look forward to matching up with them again.
After the game, I lied on the ground and didn't move. It wasn't because I was angry that we lost. It was more because in the last 3 minutes fo the overtime I chased the ball like it was the greatest treasure in the world that I had to have. I think I touched the ball twice in that period of time but I sure as heck gave it everything that I had. I am sure that when I wake up in the morning, I will be so sore that I can barely move.
I have to mention one of our young fans. He is about 8 years old and he took our loss harder than anyone on the team. He was literally in tears when we lost. He loves our team more than any of us. I was truly amazed to see the emotion pouring out of him even though he wasn't part of the team.
One of our players went down with a knee injury in the game against San Ramon. I didn't see what caused the injury as I had my back turned to the play but it was pretty bad. We had to call for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. I just hope and pray that he'll be okay. Many of our players got hurt this weekend. Most of them were minor injuries that didn't stop them from getting back in the game but it showed me that they were giving everything that they had. One of my teammates says, "If you didn't get hurt, you weren't really playing soccer." We were really playing soccer.
I guess I got spoiled by our basketball team. We had played in the basketball league for 4 years and have not lost a single game in those 4 years. And because of that, we hadn't tasted the bitterness of defeat. Last season, I didn't participate in soccer as much as I did this year and I missed the championship game because I was in Disneyworld visiting Mickey and Goofy, so I didn't feel it when we lost that year but I heard it was very heated. We may not have one the championship but we were the best "team". We helped each other. We had the best strategy and we executed that strategy quite well. Our coach is quite literally the best coach, hands down. To our coach, THANK YOU!
I also have to mention the "Monkettes" and the rest of the fans of our team. They may not have realized it but their moral support helped us greatly. Seeing and hearing them cheer for us made me want to give in that extra effort specifically for them.
I'm reminded of the intro ABC's Wide World of Sports with the line by the late, Jim McKay that said "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition... This is "ABC's Wide World of Sports!" At the point where he mentions the agony of defeat, they show a ski jumper for the Olympics in 1970 that takes a horrible fall. I always used to cringe when I saw that. Now I have a better idea of how he felt, at least emotionally. I never want to know how he felt physically.
We go into the finals by beating San Ramon and we played very well. Our coach is THE BEST. If it weren't for him, we wouldn't have made the playoffs let alone make it to the finals.
My soccer jersey with "Monks" proudly written on the front now hangs in my closet waiting for next season. Unwashed and putrid it will remain. The stench of defeat will soil the entire off-season till we get our chance at victory again. It will be a reminder of the bitter taste of defeat which will make the sweetness of victory all the more satisfying if we are able to accomplish it.
I still can't say that I played well but I know I played better. I was mauled and beaten but I rose up again. I take pride in the fact that I gave everything that I had and I feel that the rest of our team did the same. We didn't lose. San Jose won. I have to give them their due respect. They earned this victory. We nearly had it won but they pulled off a great comeback. I look forward to matching up with them again.
After the game, I lied on the ground and didn't move. It wasn't because I was angry that we lost. It was more because in the last 3 minutes fo the overtime I chased the ball like it was the greatest treasure in the world that I had to have. I think I touched the ball twice in that period of time but I sure as heck gave it everything that I had. I am sure that when I wake up in the morning, I will be so sore that I can barely move.
I have to mention one of our young fans. He is about 8 years old and he took our loss harder than anyone on the team. He was literally in tears when we lost. He loves our team more than any of us. I was truly amazed to see the emotion pouring out of him even though he wasn't part of the team.
One of our players went down with a knee injury in the game against San Ramon. I didn't see what caused the injury as I had my back turned to the play but it was pretty bad. We had to call for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. I just hope and pray that he'll be okay. Many of our players got hurt this weekend. Most of them were minor injuries that didn't stop them from getting back in the game but it showed me that they were giving everything that they had. One of my teammates says, "If you didn't get hurt, you weren't really playing soccer." We were really playing soccer.
I guess I got spoiled by our basketball team. We had played in the basketball league for 4 years and have not lost a single game in those 4 years. And because of that, we hadn't tasted the bitterness of defeat. Last season, I didn't participate in soccer as much as I did this year and I missed the championship game because I was in Disneyworld visiting Mickey and Goofy, so I didn't feel it when we lost that year but I heard it was very heated. We may not have one the championship but we were the best "team". We helped each other. We had the best strategy and we executed that strategy quite well. Our coach is quite literally the best coach, hands down. To our coach, THANK YOU!
I also have to mention the "Monkettes" and the rest of the fans of our team. They may not have realized it but their moral support helped us greatly. Seeing and hearing them cheer for us made me want to give in that extra effort specifically for them.
I'm reminded of the intro ABC's Wide World of Sports with the line by the late, Jim McKay that said "Spanning the globe to bring you the constant variety of sports... the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat... the human drama of athletic competition... This is "ABC's Wide World of Sports!" At the point where he mentions the agony of defeat, they show a ski jumper for the Olympics in 1970 that takes a horrible fall. I always used to cringe when I saw that. Now I have a better idea of how he felt, at least emotionally. I never want to know how he felt physically.
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