Gold
Great stories are coming out of the Olympics. The US Women’s hockey team got gold! That was a huge upset, no doubt, but the one that caught my attention was the medal we got for Curling.
John Shuster and the Americans who won gold had competed in four prior Olympics and seemed to struggle in each of them. Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel if you trained for years, you go to the Olympics four times and the best you came away with was one bronze medal? On top of that, at the last two Olympics the Americans were at the bottom of contention back to back. It had to be a terrible blow to their ego.
Here is the lesson they taught me. Each loss was their lesson, not their legacy. They were determined not just to win, but to win the Gold. Just a week ago it looked like they were going to be knocked out of contention once again after a loss to Norway. After that loss, however, they did not lose again. They had five consecutive victories culminating in the win over Sweden 10-7 for the Gold medal. Sweden was the top ranked team in the world. They beat them so bad that Sweden actually conceded the match before it was actually over.
Shuster and his four teammates, Tyler George, Matt Hamilton, John Landsteiner, and Joe Polo will not be remembered for all the losses they suffered over the years. They will go down in history as the first American Curling team to bring home the gold. They will not be remembered for falling down but for rising up and never quitting.
Congratulations to all the American medal winners! To those who did not medal, don’t lose heart. The loss is just a lesson if you don’t give up. Your legacy has yet to be written.
Shalom!
Dan Skognes