LLOYD: Losing always hurts, playoff losses even more … and that’s OK
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- Timpview players react after losing the 5A semifinal against Roy at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Friday, Nov. 15, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players celebrate with junior Gage Christensen (center) after he intercepted a pass during the 4A semifinal game against Ridgeline at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Lone Peak’s Kepa Niumeitolu (12) greets Lone Peak’s De’Shawn Toilolo after the 6A state semifinals, won by Lone Peak 28-21, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Lehi players react after losing the 6A semifinal game against Corner Canyon at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024.
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- Spanish Fork players react after losing the 4A championship game against Crimson Cliffs at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024.
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- Lone Peak players react after losing the 6A championship game against Corner Canyon at Rice-Eccles Stadium on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024.
In the past two weeks, I’ve covered eight football games and — as crazy as it sounds — every single one has come down to the final minute of regulation or overtime.
Two of those involved BYU, including the last-second 22-21 win at Utah and the last-second 17-13 home loss to Kansas. Those showcased extreme highs and lows for Cougar fans (as well as Ute and Jayhawk supporters) but were somewhat tempered by the fact that they were regular-season contests and the season continued.
The other six games, however, were in the high school playoffs with much greater relative stakes.
Let me just say that it’s quite the experience to be on the sidelines for four semifinals and two state championship games where the outcomes are in doubt all the way to the end.
When that final whistle blew each time, one team erupted in unrestrained elation while the other … didn’t.
My photographer responsibilities gave me an up-close view of both ends of the spectrum.
It’s easy to get photos of the winning team as they jump around and shout in excitement. Sometimes they celebrate by dump a bucket of water on the coach or spraying water bottles. Frequently they look for the cameras to pose with friends to commemorate the moment.
Capturing images of the defeated team, however, is much harder.
There are hugs and not a few tears. Sometimes players throw helmets or yell in frustration, but many just stand or sit or kneel or collapse on the turf in stunned disappointment.
Losing is always hard.
Losing in the playoffs and seeing a season end is harder.
Losing in the state championship, with that goal just out of reach, is probably the hardest thing for a high school athlete to deal with in sports.
Sometimes as I walk past despondent players and coaches I’ve gotten to know, I get caught up in the emotion as well and feel the sorrow at the pain and disappointment they are feeling in that moment.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
You see, the absolute best thing about high school sports is the heart of the athletes.
It’s something that gets overshadowed to some extent in college sports and even more so at the professional level, clouded by money and fame and hype.
There are places where those things are beginning to infest prep sports as well, as evidenced by rampant transfers and “super teams,” but that’s not the case at most schools.
No, most of the young men and women who put on the jersey to represent themselves, their peers and their communities are just doing it because they love it.
And they put themselves through a lot in terms of time and effort and dedication and pain and stress and anxiety to be the best they can be.
Just about every time I’ve talked to an athlete after they’ve won a state title, they’ve said something about how it feels amazing to see all their hard work pay off. It’s an acknowledgement of the investment that got that success for them and their team.
But guess what?
The losing team worked hard too.
I hope those athletes who came up short realize that their investment is what earned them that opportunity and despite the outcome, they deserved to get their shot.
I love seeing the athletes that I saw in the last two weeks from the Lehi, Skyridge, Timpview, Lone Peak and Spanish Fork football teams who — after their team suffered defeat — stood with heads held high and tears streaming down their faces, who sought out distraught teammates and cried together.
I wanted to tell each of them to be proud of the ache that evoked such strong emotion because it symbolizes just how much you cared, how much of yourself you put into the game and the team and their goals.
Sometimes it’s said that winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing (a quote made famous by UCLA football coach Henry “Red” Sanders in the 1950s).
On one level, I couldn’t disagree more. The goal should always be to win but someone has to lose. Sometimes another team will be better and that doesn’t nullify the effort and diligence of the team that didn’t come out victorious.
But I like a different way of looking at it.
In Queen’s iconic song, “We are the Champions,” the real message is in the second line: “We’ll keep on fighting ’til the end.” When it says “no time for losers,” it’s talking about having no quitters.
That’s what I love to see from high school athletes day after day, game after game, championship after championship.
So my message to all of the Pioneers, Falcons, Thunderbirds, Knights and Dons is that I loved seeing you keep fighting to the end in those semifinal and championship games. That makes you winners, even though your team lost.
And I hope you will bring that same mentality to every challenge life throws at you because if you do, you will always be champions.
