April 30, 2021

When Sports Imitate Life

By Lizzie Insoft

I’ve always been a sports fan. Being born in Boston made this easy. While my parents grew up in a generation where Boston sports were the joke of almost every league, I was raised following the Red Sox, Bruins, and of course, the Patriots throughout their greatest eras. Sports were exciting because morale was always particularly high. Football seemed to have me on the edge of my seat, and I could watch baseball for hours into extra innings; basketball was never my favorite, but watching the fans was even enticing. I couldn’t quite grasp exactly why the intensity and celebration around sports resonate so deeply with me. That was until I watched the March Madness tournament. March Madness represented exactly what I loved about sports, and enlightened me as to why the artistry of athleticism was a true embodiment of the human spirit. In the NCAA tournament, everything was high stakes. Every point, every play, every basket, they all mattered. The mindset that watching sports gave me was a reminder of how I want to live my life: open-minded, optimistic, and opportunistic.

The nature of elimination sports specifically, whether it be pro or college, serves as a reminder that giving things anything other than everything isn’t enough. In sports, the “go big or go home” mentality is recited almost like scripture, but bringing this mindset to everyday life should be seen just as vital. The purity of sports takes the competitive nature of everyday life and simplifies it. Success is about pride, will, and drive as it always should be. Even further, it provides a chance to be noticed and make an impact. All of these opportunities are laid on the line every time the ball is in play.

As a college student, watching Michigan play in this year’s NCAA tournament was exhilarating because the severity of the game felt surreal. So desperately did my friends and I want to see the team succeed, and you could see in every play they made just how much they (and we) wanted the win. Maybe the reason I had this awakening through college sports is that their game is about dreaming. While winning a championship in the NBA is nothing short of a big deal, the journey to making it there in the first place is the greatest accomplishment. March Madness provides college kids, who are now my peers, an opportunity to chase their dreams. Whether or not Lebron or Steph Curry wins another championship doesn’t take away from the fact that they are already the greats. But the point guard on the Oregon State, Houston, and every other men’s team is chasing that very dream, and it’s evident. As a college student, I’ve learned that on the road to achieving your goals, you have to put in the work and give your dreams everything you’ve got. That is the Sports Mindset.

Beyond laying it on the line, sports are also an exhibition of surprises. In college sports, every single year without fail, there is a major upset early on and a team that no one had truly bet on all of a sudden becomes the center of the public eye. This serves as a reminder that no one can ever be counted out. While one can call it cliche to take life lessons away from college basketball, no one can deny that when they sat there googling Oral Roberts University, it was a reminder of how the most unpredicted of people or things can surprise you in life.

Sports have excitement and gravitas to them that are all-encompassing of human nature. They’re poetic and often represent more than just a game. To me, watching college kids play basketball is where I recognized this beauty. There’s a certain heart that athlete’s possess on the court that reverberates into the stands, through the TV, and into our minds, echoing a mentality of greatness. Life is like a sporting game, not in a means of winning or getting enough goals, baskets, or runs, but in the way we all drive to the finish with everything we have. Games are an embodiment of how we should approach everything we do: with our all. Watching sports live or on television serves as an inspiration to chase my dreams and not discount anyone or anything from their influence in my life. Upsets, major losses, and lowered morale all come with playing the game, whether the game be that of sports or life. But, so do huge wins, success, and dreams come true. Sports are energy, one that I wish to receive, and hope to spread.

Edited By Carolyn Berryman