If Winning Isn’t Everything, Why Is It The Only Thing?

The old saying goes, “winning isn’t everything.” According to famous football coaches, Henry Russell Sanders, and later Vince Lombardi who popularized the quote however, “winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”

This quote has long been scrutinized, but is it true? Is winning all that matters in sports? Or is it truly “how you play the game” that matters?

Over the last few months, the Chatham-Kent Sports Network has been collecting interviews in our Five Questions feature, and an interesting trend surfaced.

When asked what each athlete’s end goal, or an accomplishment they wished to achieve was, more than half replied by saying they wanted to win a championship.

“I believe the pinnacle of my sports career is going to be winning the Vanier Cup,” said Carleton Ravens football player Tanner Emery of Chatham. “It would be to win the Schmaltz Cup,” stated Wheatley’s Brett Bowman of the Wheatley Sharks.

A change occurred however, when asked why these same athletes loved sports. When it came to this question, the final in our interviews, most replied with statements about building friendships, being part of a team, enjoying competition, achieving goals, and plain old fun. Almost no one mentioned winning.

“The thing I love most about playing sports is competing. I love being on a team and everyone having the same goal in mind and working together to achieve the goal,” said Chatham basketball player Bridget Carleton. “What I love most about playing sports is being a part of a team, as well as the friendships you make throughout your career,” stated Junior hockey player Bryan Boersma of Ridgetown.

So what is it? What’s more important? Perhaps winning is more important to coaches and fans, but less important to athletes? We’re sure all athletes love winning, but is it really what the game is all about? Is it the only thing?