Dec 2012
Everything and everyone seems to be against you,
just pick your head up and smile.
Don't let them know that they've gotten to you,
because once you let them get to you,
they've won.
Even if you lose,
hold your head high,
because you fought hard,
you didn't give up,
even when you heard the opponent's side cheering,
you kept fighting,
you didn't say die.
This was your final battle,
your last match,
and I watched you fight
so hard.
You were angry,
but you channeled that anger into power,
to help you fight your battle,
on the mat.
I watched,
cheering you on,
I could taste the intensity,
that filled the room.
Your opponent had you,
I knew it,
you knew it,
and sure enough,
the other team knew it.
But you didn't stop fighting,
like most people would,
you kept trying to turn the tide,
even though it wasn't working,
you kept at it,
with such will power
that for a minute,
just one minute,
I thought you could do it.
But the buzzer beeped,
and the match was over,
and you lost,
you looked over at me,
with such sadness in your eyes,
but all I did was lock eyes with you,
and gave you a stern look,
and you understood.
You head instantly shot up,
your eyes lost their sad look,
they were replaced with a look of pride.
You never gave up,
even though the odds were
against you,
and that my brother,
was absolutely amazing to watch.
just pick your head up and smile.
Don't let them know that they've gotten to you,
because once you let them get to you,
they've won.
Even if you lose,
hold your head high,
because you fought hard,
you didn't give up,
even when you heard the opponent's side cheering,
you kept fighting,
you didn't say die.
This was your final battle,
your last match,
and I watched you fight
so hard.
You were angry,
but you channeled that anger into power,
to help you fight your battle,
on the mat.
I watched,
cheering you on,
I could taste the intensity,
that filled the room.
Your opponent had you,
I knew it,
you knew it,
and sure enough,
the other team knew it.
But you didn't stop fighting,
like most people would,
you kept trying to turn the tide,
even though it wasn't working,
you kept at it,
with such will power
that for a minute,
just one minute,
I thought you could do it.
But the buzzer beeped,
and the match was over,
and you lost,
you looked over at me,
with such sadness in your eyes,
but all I did was lock eyes with you,
and gave you a stern look,
and you understood.
You head instantly shot up,
your eyes lost their sad look,
they were replaced with a look of pride.
You never gave up,
even though the odds were
against you,
and that my brother,
was absolutely amazing to watch.
My brother is almost two years younger than me and he wrestles and plays soccer. Every time he lost he would get super angry or sad and his head would hang and I kept telling him for several years now that if you lost you should keep your head held high because you don't want the other team to know that they have gotten to you and because you fought hard, and you kept trying, knowing that eventually you should be able to make something work. My brother also used to let his anger get the better of him and it would hinder his performance, but this time I knew he channeled it into his wrestling match, he got it out of his head and used it as fuel, and I was so proud of him. After he lost today and looked at me and I sternly looked at him, his head snapped up, somehow I made him understand in one look that he should not be upset because he did the best he could, he did everything right, sometimes you just get bested by someone else. I guess my lesson in this is it doesn't matter what the score is, if you work hard or play hard and then lose, your keep your head high because you know you did everything you could have done.
