In Case You Missed It

Getting caught up on a few things after vacation. To start with, here’s a column I wrote a couple weeks ago about the nature of winning.

It played off the Tim Tebow phenomenon when that was in full swing, but I hope it went beyond that. My favorite part was the ending:

So as we search for the words to define what makes a champion and what makes a good teammate, we come back to something that Bill Russell — the greatest winner in American team sports — said a few years ago during an appearance in Vancouver.

“I was thought of as an unselfish player,” Russell said. “That was absolutely, unequivocally untrue. I was completely self-absorbed. But I played a team game. If I can take my skills, my talent, my attitude, even my arrogance, and make my team the best there is, then my ego is satisfied.”

Not all athletes find ego gratification in the success of their teams. And that, in the end, is what makes all the difference.