I hate losing

Winning and losing. It is the great dichotomy of sports. One without the other makes a game essentially worthless. Last week I blogged about winning, my elation evident in the aftermath of the Cardinals World Series victory. But the theme of Week 7, at least in my book, was the exact opposite, losing.

For Cal Poly, this time of year marks the end of the regular season for the fall sports and the renewal of winter athletics. While hope sprung eternal at the beginning of the men’s soccer season, following their dramatic victory in Alex G. Spanos Stadium over UC Santa Barbara on a last-minute penalty kick, the Mustangs scored just one goal in their final five games, failing to win any.

Having been eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday, the team came out flat in front of 13,000 fans at Harder Stadium in Santa Barbara and went down quietly to the Gauchos.

Mustang football enjoyed a four-game winning streak, including two fourth quarter come from behind victories that kept their playoff hopes alive. But the little-team-that-could faltered against rival UC Davis, falling behind 21-3 early in the game, while a late surge couldn’t save the Mustangs again. Although the team will at least tie for the Great West title in its final year of existence, due to the conference’s small size, a playoff berth will not await the Mustangs.

Women’s sports fared no better. The volleyball team, although deadly at home, lost to UC Irvine in a five-set match on Saturday and were mathematically eliminated from Big West title contention.

Women’s soccer, vying for a playoff spot during it’s final game against the Gauchos, fell 2-1 on the road ending their season.

I don’t mean to make Cal Poly athletics out to be failures, but it reflects the nature of sports. Every team’s season comes to an end, all but one emerge as the ultimate victor. Therefore, it is up to the teams who don’t come out on top, like the Mustangs, to reflect on their season, their losses and their wins to find the moments that made them better. Failing to improve is the only failure.

Losing is never fun, but it’s acceptable as a process for improvement in the short run. Losing over long periods of time is the quickest way to lose fans and enthusiasm.

My favorite team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, also lost this weekend in disappointing fashion and for reasons I can’t explain, I always feel like I’ve been punched in the stomach after a loss.

This applied when I ran track and cross-country in high school in addition to wrestling for a couple of years. Losing or not, performing my best left me downtrodden until I could retake the mat, the course or the track and prove to myself that I was better.

Losing, and that empty feeling that comes after, is the worst part of sports, but also what makes victory so great. It is a difficult realization to come to and it won’t dull the pain, but it does give one hope.

So for what it’s worth, if you are a fan of Cal Poly or any team on I can guarantee you one thing. One day one of your teams will be great, even a champion.

That is, unless you’re a Cubs fan.