But You Did Win Silver

I am not much of a sports person. I can get caught up with a larger experience, however. I love the Olympics. I swell with country pride, I cheer alongside my fellow locals when my city does well in the playoffs, etc. I don't think that I am a fair weather fan, it's just that what I love about sports is the communal experience.I remember listening to the 1980 Miracle Hockey team live on the radio. I barely turned away from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. And I screamed out loud in public when the U.S. Women's Soccer Team won the World Cup in 1999.So of course, I got pretty excited when this year, the women of US Soccer wound their way through the playoffs again. A series of amazing wins had brought them to the finals. And sure, I would have loved for them to win but I was impressed by how they lost.It was not their best game. They missed opportunities. They missed goals. But they played with  heart and lost with a graciousness not often seen these days. And what country needed that win more than Japan? Can't really think of one. So congrats, ladies of Japan -- you deserved that win.I saw a t-shirt two days ago that made a little sad. It said, "Good is the enemy of Great". It was worn by an eight year old boy. Is that really what we want to teach children? That if you're not the best, if you're "good", you're not good enough?I flashed back to those '96 Olympics. I remembered that Nike had an ad campaign stating "Because you don't win silver, you lose gold". It broke my heart. These people work and train their whole life. They are already the elite of the elite to be in the Olympics to begin with and Nike is telling them that the only winner is the one standing on the center platform. I challenge that thinking.Their work is not for naught. And neither is the work of the US Women's Soccer Team. Sports are about more than a Win-Loss ratio. They are about bringing out the best in people -- both the players and the fans. They don't always live up to it but yesterday those ladies did. So congrats to the US team, as well, you did us proud.