I have long believed that the lessons you learn playing sports can serve you very well in life – even (perhaps especially) when those lessons are painful. This was driven home to me Friday, when the UT Austin Men’s Basketball team lost – on a half-court shot at the buzzer – to the University of Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA tournament. 

If you were glued to the hoops action this weekend like I was, you know that the Longhorns game was just one of many heart-stopping – and for several teams, heartbreaking – finishes. 

The unpredictability of March Madness helps explain its appeal.  You never know what’s going to happen, and that makes for great TV.  But to me, the appeal of intercollegiate sports has more to do with what we do know about the young men and women competing, and what they knew awaited them when they began their athletic careers.

...sports teaches you humility, because no matter how good you are, sooner or later someone is going to come along who is better 

They knew they would have to work hard and sacrifice, that they would frequently be exhausted – physically, mentally, and emotionally.

They knew that to have any shot at eventual success, they would first have to fail in front of their peers – repeatedly and sometimes spectacularly.

We all know the stereotype of the arrogant, over-confident athlete – and to be sure, there are some athletes who fit that bill.  But the reality is, sports teaches you humility, because no matter how good you are, sooner or later someone is going to come along who is better.

Like few other pursuits, sports teaches you how to handle failure and adversity. 

Team sports require that you learn to work with different kinds of people, with different strengths, playing a variety of roles.

Perhaps best of all, sports is a meritocracy in which the same rules apply to everyone.  It doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you look like.  Your success depends on you, and if you’re good enough, you’ll get your chance.

I’m old enough to remember when that wasn’t the case.  Saturday marked the 50 ^th anniversary of what is, to me, one of the most important events in UT System history – Texas Western’s upset of Kentucky in the 1966 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (Texas Western is now known as University of Texas El Paso).  This was a watershed moment for sports and society.  In the middle of the Civil Rights Movement, Texas Western was the first team featuring an all African-American starting lineup to win the National Championship.  Like many teams of the era, heavily-favored Kentucky was all white.  Some of you have probably read the book or seen the movie Glory Road , about the obstacles and travails the team encountered on their way to the championship.  I highly recommend both.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej4bKopkD7A[width=650,height=324]

Let me close by congratulating all of you who are pushing through obstacles and testing your limits every day.  Your performances – whether on the athletic fields, the classroom, the lab, or anywhere else – may never be televised, but rest assured they have my utmost appreciation and respect.

Thanks as always for reading.  I’ll write again soon.