I don’t know how to start a blog. I’ve never written one before. So here it is.
Why sports?
I’ve been a sports enthusiast my whole life (enthusiast is putting it lightly). While never playing sports at a high or elite level, my passion for sports or any type of competition does not change. If I am playing chess, boggle, or poker (I know these are not sports - bear with me here), I love the opportunity to challenge someone else in a competition. It is the mental aspect of those games that appeals to me. There is no luck in those games, it is mind against mind, strategy against strategy, with the better mind and strategist producing the victor.
I like lawn games such as darts, washers, or cornhole. These games are good, in a casual setting. I say, in a casual setting, because, change that setting and these games are a blast! But let’s keep it in a casual setting for now. Any of these games (again - in a casual, backyard BBQ type-setting) require a minimal level of fitness and some level of technique: how is weight transferred, is the follow-through correct, are you able to judge distance or use the appropriate rotation or spin that is required? However, change the casual setting, and my love for competition arises.
“Care to put some money on it?” “What does the loser have to do?” These are the types of phrases that will transform that lawn game at a backyard BBQ, changing it from a casual affair to a competitive match. What has happened? The stakes have been changed. When the stakes are high, people behave differently, and in that difference, you see the true beauty of competition. A beauty that shows that any type of competition is as much mental as it is physical. Yes, you are correct, Connor McDavid is always going to be better than me at hockey, Kamaru Usman will beat me to a pulp in the Octogan, and I will never crack the roster of the Green Bay Packers. However, level the playing competition and you get to see the mental aspect of competition shine through. Put some money on a round of golf, determine a challenge the loser must do, or observe the simple pressure of having someone watch you play, and you will see what I mean. Watch how an individual acts when they are down two goals as opposed to up two goals, and you will further see what I mean. Sports and athletics are as much a mental competition, just like chess, boggle, or poker, as they are physical, and it is this pure blend of mental and physical competition, skill, and resilience that draws me to sports. It is this love that keeps me playing, coaching, teaching, talking, watching, and now, writing.
Why Champion?
There are two songs that I love to listen to at any time of the day. They are, “Champion,” by Billy Alsbrooks and “The Champion,” by Carrie Underwood ft. Ludacris. Both songs have similar themes, that of champions, but are different in style. Champion is hip-hop/rap, a positive self-talk/motivational speech set to a great beat. “The Champion” is country-pop, the draw to it is that it speaks about the story that will be told. Each of these songs is fantastic in its own way and I strongly recommend that you give them a listen!
Champion is positive self-talk. Listening, speaking, singing the lyrics will set you up for success, it will set you up to be a champion. But what is a champion? What defines what a Champion is? That is given to us in the second song. Ludacris’ rap uses the word Champion as an acronym for what being a champion means. Below are the lyrics:
The C is for the courage I possess through the trauma
H is for the hurt, but it's all for the honour
A is for my attitude working through the patience
Money comes and goes, so the M is for motivation
Gotta stay consistent, the P is for persevere
The I is for integrity, innovative career
The O is optimistic, open and never shut
And the N is necessary 'cause I'm never givin' up
Let’s make that clearer. The acronym is below:
C - Courage
H - Honour
A - Attitude
M - Motivation
P - Persevere
I - Integrity
O - Optimism
N - Never Give Up
I love this! I love everything about this! Listening to Billy Alsbrooks’, Champion, while thinking of this acronym is fantastic! I am a big advocator of positive self-talk. Look up any article, Ted Talk, or research about positive self-talk, they all say the same thing. It sets you up for success! Approach your life with these eight principles, and you will be a champion! Whether you apply them to your job, your family, your faith, athletics, or something as ordinary as a blog, you will be a champion! Apply them in your daily tasks and in the fulfillment of your long-term goals. Apply those eight principles and, as Billy Alsbrooks says, on your headstone, they will write Champion.
I am going to discuss and explore values, lessons, and ideas surrounding sports and athletics. Why? Because I enjoy it. I enjoy talking about sports, I enjoy looking at the lessons we can learn from sports, I enjoy hearing stories about how sports changed peoples lives, I enjoy exploring topics surrounding sports psychology, the ability to learn and develop new skills, theories surrounding topics such as the pursuit of excellence, not focusing on what we can’t control, the use of participation awards, what teamwork means, and more. I enjoy it, and I will write this blog until I stop enjoying it.
For now, be a champion!
Patrick
i would like to be a champion, so I am following this blog
Glad to subscribe fella. I would enjoy a paragraph on when I made you a champion back in Church league in that shoot-out.