CROWDCTRL

An interesting thing tonight, watching the Rose Bowl (and you wondered why no recent articles? football every night since last post.. ). Matt Leinart sat confused and almost speachless as reporters swarmed him after the Longhorn’s amazing win Wednesday night just a few miles from the Trojan’s home stadium.

The few words he did offer were tinged with sarcasm, dejection, and denial. After the game, he said, “I still think we’re a better football team, they just made the plays in the end.”

He even called Vince Young a “freakish athlete”—a far cry from the proper compliments given by ESPN’s team, who questioned if Young’s 400+ personal yards wasn’t the best performance by a QB ever.

It was obvious Leinart didn’t have much experience losing. First time he’s lost in over 3 years of football. Well so what? What good is losing?

Losing gives you perspective. Losing gives you tools to deal with defeat, and the skills to come back stronger next time. Just a few weeks ago, Vince Young lost the Heisman trophy by a landslide. This time last year they lost to USC. Losing gave them the chance to come back stronger and better, and it fueled their development and drive to get to this point today—National Champions.

Thomas Edison has a famous quote in reference to his invention of the electric light bulb. After 10,000 failed attempts, he finally succeeded. Afterward, he remarked,

I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.

You can bet Leinart and Reggie Bush will be better NFL stars for this loss, and Young himself better for this victory and comeback from his own recent losses.