Lesson 2 Sports and Life
Winning is Not Everything
The world of sports is full of both dramatic victories and heartbreaking defeats.
Players constantly try to be fitter, stronger, and faster, performing their hardest for the masses of cheering spectators who come to support their favorite teams or players.
It seems that their ultimate goal is to win.
However, it’s important to remember that some of the greatest moments in sports have nothing to do with wins or losses.
The following two stories illustrate how good sportsmanship can touch our hearts more than a goal or a home run ever could.
“It’s not about winning and losing so much. She deserved a home run.” - Mallory Holtman
Sara Tucholsky was a softball player for Western Oregon University in the United States.
In 2008, while her team was playing a rival school, a display of sportsmanship took place that attracted admiration from people all around the world.
In the second inning, Tucholsky hit the first home run of her career.
As she watched the ball soar through the air, she mistakenly forgot to step on first base.
Realizing her error, she stopped short and quickly turned to touch the base.
Unfortunately, her right knee gave out, causing her to fall to the ground.
She managed to crawl back to first base but was in too much pain to go any further.
The umpire explained that the rules prohibited any of Sara’s teammates from helping her around the bases.
A new player could take Sara’s place, but the hit would be ruled a single rather than a home run.
While the Western Oregon coaches and players tried to decide what to do, the first baseman from the other team, Mallory Holtman, made a surprising request.
In a show of great sportsmanship, she found a solution for her opponent.
Mallory asked the umpire if she and her teammate could help Sara around the bases.
The umpire thought for a while and decided that there was no rule against it.
So Mallory and her team member, Liz Wallace, carefully lifted Sara from the ground.
Supporting her in their arms, they slowly made their way around the bases, allowing her to touch each base with her good leg.
“Thank you so much,” Sara said with tears in her eyes.
By the time they reached second base, the three young women were laughing together.
But the crowd wasn’t laughing.
The sight of the two women carrying a player from the opposing team lifted the spectators’ hearts, and they rose up to give the trio a big hand as they crossed home plate.
Sara’s team won the game by a score of 4 to 2, ending any chances Mallory’s team had of making the playoffs.
But that didn’t bother Mallory.
“In the end, it’s not about winning and losing so much,” she said. “It was about this girl. She hit it over the fence and was in pain, and she deserved a home run.”
By helping Sara touch home plate, Mallory and Liz touched the hearts of millions of people.
“I have never in my life taken advantage of someone who has crashed. That’s not the way I race.” - Jan Ullrich
Every July, millions of cycling fans eagerly watch the Tour de France, a three-week long, 3,607-kilometer bicycle race across the country of France.
The winner of the race is awarded with a yellow jersey, a 400,000 Euro prize, and the honor of being considered the best cyclist in the world.
In 2003, the award was presented to Lance Armstrong, as it had been every year since 1999.
The legendary American cyclist was praised as a hero for his triumph over cancer.
But there was another hero of that year, a German cyclist named Jan Ullrich.
For four straight years, Ullrich had finished second in the Tour de France behind Armstrong.
Ullrich was only 15 seconds out of the lead in the 12th stage of the 2003 race when Armstrong collided with a spectator’s bag and tumbled to the ground.
Only 9.56km from the finish line, it was a golden opportunity for Ullrich to take advantage of Armstrong’s misfortune and put an end to the previous four years’ defeats.
All he had to do to win was simply continue along without stopping.
Spectators around the world were sure that Ullrich had finally turned the tables on Armstrong and would win the Tour de France.
But instead, something totally unexpected happened.
Ullrich showed his respect for Armstrong.
He looked back several times, pulled over to the side of the racecourse and slowed down.
Other cyclists did the same, and they all waited for Armstrong to get back on his bicycle.
Ullrich didn’t speed up until Armstrong was back in the race; he took the lead for a while but eventually had to settle for second place once again, losing by only 61 seconds.
The next day, some German media criticized his behavior, but most of the mass media around the world praised Ullrich’s sportsmanship.
After the race, Ullrich said “I have never in my life taken advantage of someone who has crashed. That’s not the way I race.”
By sticking to his principles rather than yielding to the temptation of winning, Ullrich taught the sports world a lesson about honor and sacrifice.
Soon after, the Germans selected him as their “Sports Person of the Year.”
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