Ask Bo Ryan and the Wisconsin Badgers basketball team that went to the NCAA's Final Four last week. Despite having one of the best years in Wisconsin basketball history -- and Bo's first trip to the Final Four -- many fans were left with a sense of failure. We lost. Forget the 30 wins throughout an extra-long season, including wins over some of the best teams in the nation. We lost. All we can think about is how we fell to the Kentucky Wildcats on a last second shot by Traevon Jackson that rimmed out as time expired in a 74-73 loss.
Celebrating failure has never been so popular.
It almost makes you want to ban winning to save the loser the pain and humiliation of going home -- all right, I'm just kidding. But every few weeks I hear another story about some children's game being changed, because someone complains about the harm it is doing to those who lose.
If you want an extreme example take Idaho (please). Apparently in that state it is now politically incorrect to cheer for your kids at a sporting event because someone might get their feelings hurt. According to a CBS news story, parents were penalized for cheering on "Silent Cheer Day," a day designated by the Rathdrum, Idaho Parks and Recreation Department in an effort to get spectators to not shout negative remarks to players or referees. So in typical leftist fashion, someone thought it best to ban all cheering, not just the negative comments, from the game. I guess now they just flap their arms or flex their fingers open and shut to show approval.
That's crazy, you say. Maybe, but it's not the first time it's happened. I remember when our boys were in show choir -- on a trip to Iowa we were treated to a silent cheer when we saw parents opening and closing their hands. Their reason? To allow participants to hear the remaining singers rather than a raucous crowd cheering for a soloist. There were a lot of things that happened in show choir that made me question my sanity and that was one of them. Can you imagine a Rolling Stones concert where someone complained about the "noise" following a guitar solo by Keith Richards?
Before you get down on our neighbors to the West, know that Iowa show choir fans weren't the first to ban loud cheers. Apparently the Taliban have been banning vocal cheering at sporting events for years. And no, I'm not kidding.
Of course Tim Allen will have none of it.
He usually expresses his political opinions through a video blog at work, which emphasizes the show's weekly theme. Allen's blog's are always based on family values, pride in what makes the USA great and constitutional principles of our founding fathers.
So, as part of this week's theme -- which was about failure -- Tim used his daughter as one example of what's wrong with our educational system. A system that promotes high self esteem over excellence in reading, math and science is cause for concern. It's really disappointing to see higher dropout rates, failing grades in worldwide assessments and an increase in the numbers of unemployed youth. How anyone can feel good about how our students are doing is beyond me.
Obviously, there are many complicated factors involved in preparing our children for life after high school and college, but giving students an easy "A" or "B" doesn't do the child or our country any favors when it results in these kinds of numbers:
Results from 2012's Program for International Student Assessment shows the U.S. slipping since 2009 from 25th to 31st in math; from 20th to 24th in science; and from 11th to 21st in reading. It's unbelievable that a country with so much going for it can't make it into the top ten. We have more opportunity and more resources to throw at students than probably anyone, and yet many students struggle to simply read or write. Countries like China, Japan and Korea are kicking our ass and it's easy to see why. Our foreign students at UW-L (from Asia) spend much more time studying than we do, and the fear of failure drives many of them to study all the time.
As ironic as it sounds, our struggles math, science and reading leads to more sympathy for those who are falling behind -- completely ignoring the reason for our school's continued slide.
I heard the other day that we are leading the world in one important category -- self esteem.
I experience failure everyday.
Not surprising, people are not interested in talking about insurance. The television show "Fargo" had a painful bit about Martin Freeman (Bilbo Baggins from the movie "The Hobbit") trying to sell a young couple life insurance. They promptly got up and walked out of his office.
I have been in this business too long to remember what it was like before my first day at Beadle-Ewing Insurance. But I'm sure I was like most people -- insurance either meant 1) I had to spend a lot of money or 2) thought insurance was something I would never use. So I realize it's going to be a tough sell. Even though it is essential to a good life.
So what have I learned by failing everyday? Maybe the same things that Thomas Edison, Colonel Sanders and Walt Disney learned.
Thomas Edison was once asked if he should quit after failing 9,000 times trying to create a light bulb. His answer? "Why would I think or feel like a failure? And why would I ever consider giving up? I now know over 9,000 ways that an electric light bulb will not work. Success is almost within my grasp!" And shortly after that, and over 10,000 attempts later, Edison invented the light bulb.
And finally Walt Disney -- turned down 302 time for the financing he needed for building Disneyland. Earlier in his career, he experienced bankruptcy, lost ownership of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (to be replaced by a mouse called Mickey Mouse), and failed in his attempt to be an actor in Hollywood. Hardly the recipe for the creation of more than 81 feature films, 48 Academy Awards and the founding of the California Institute of the Arts.
A NO to Thomas Edison, Colonel Sanders and Walt Disney was not a sign of failure.
Failure is an event that can provide energy to fuel us or drain us depending on how we allow ourselves to view it. My guess is that Bo Ryan is a good enough coach that he didn't dwell on the loss to Kentucky, but rather the 30 successes that came before it. Instead of the "ONE" loss experienced in Dallas, perhaps he mentioned the "ONE" championship banner hanging from the Kohl Center rafters from the 1941 basketball team that won it all.
That means it's been seventy-three years since our last championship. So it's been a long, long time. If a typical Wisconsin team plays somewhere between 30 to 35 games each year, it has played a total of 2,190 to 2,555 games since it last won a national title. Will next year be the one that ends this long stretch of failure?
I think I hear Thomas Edison saying we're that much closer to success.
This past week, award-winning American actor, Mickey Rooney died in his sleep at the age of 93. Beginning as a child actor, his career extended over 90 years. He appeared in more than 200 films and was one of the last surviving stars of the silent film era, having one of the longest careers in the medium's history. It was said that Mr. Rooney had earned and lost fortunes many times over his movie career. He is credited with saying, "You always pass failure on your way to success."
In the end, our own success is defined not by opportunity, but in our persistence in defeat. I am choosing to remember the 2013 Badger basketball team's vision, courage and hard work in reaching the Final Four. Surely these are the ingredients of all championship teams.
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