WHEN UNFAIRNESS ARRIVES
Despite the occasional marquee matchup, most of the early college football season schedule consists of powerhouse teams beating up on inferior opponents. And while every David marches into battle believing they’re gonna take down Goliath, the reality of almost all these games follows the same script. Goliath a lot, David a little. Especially in football, there’s typically a wide gap in talent and resources. That’s what makes pulling off an upset so great, and what makes what happened to Western Michigan last weekend so painful.
The Broncos opened their season in the storied “Big House” against perennial football power and in-state big brother Michigan, who was undefeated all-time against Western - including 47-14 and 49-3 victories in their last two matchups. But Western showed up last Saturday and competed from the opening kickoff until the clock hit zeroes, and when Michigan’s last-second Hail Mary pass fell incomplete, the Broncos - 28 point underdogs coming in - had pulled off a historic 12-7 win. That is, of course…until they didn’t.
Despite both the game and TV clocks showing what clearly looked like time expiring on the final play, officials huddled and determined that there was somehow still a second remaining. Gifted another chance, Michigan once again heaved one final pass into the end zone. This time is it was miraculously hauled in as time expired, giving the Wolverines an improbable 13-12 victory. Western’s players and staff - who were celebrating their historic win only seconds before - now stood stunned as Michigan’s fans stormed the field to celebrate. Debates continue online about how and why the officials decided to put that second back on the clock, but there’s no debating that the outcome feels as unfair to the losing team as any in recent memory. Western Michigan’s players, coaches, and fans had to have felt like they’d been cheated.
I’m writing about this agonizing football ending this week not to underscore the unfairness of Western Michigan’s experience, but to highlight their leader’s impressive response. We talk regularly here about the resilience and fortitude that defines the champion, on the playing field and in life beyond it. Choosing that winning response isn’t always easy, especially when it feels like we’ve been cheated out of something we both really want and have rightfully earned. Imagine preparing that much, competing that hard, and achieving something historic for yourself and those you care about, and then having it taken away. How do you think you’d choose to handle it?
Most of us would probably have a hard time doing what champions do. It’s way easier, way more comfortable, and way more convenient, of course, to take the loser’s approach. Find someone or something to blame. Focus on the unfairness. Adopt and embrace the victim mentality. Dwell in the discouragement, and allow it to cripple you and your performance moving forward. All those choices were available to Western Michigan coach Lance Taylor, and each of them probably would have made him feel better in the moment. Instead, though, he chose the more productive path.
“When you complain about what happened to you, or a call, you take your focus off the solution,” Taylor explained the day after the Michigan loss. “How could we have been better? What are the things we need to get better at? And ultimately, what are the things that we can control and things we can’t control? I think for young people - and for all people - it’s important to identify the differences in both.”
That’s the answer from someone who recognizes clearly that dwelling on the unfairness of his situation won’t change the past, and that responding the right way has the power to change the future. It’s a masterclass in winning behavior when unfairness arrives. Take ownership. Control the controllables. Use what happened today to help you win tomorrow.
I don’t know how much winning Western Michigan will do this season, but I am certain that their coach is worthy of all the winning that comes his way. How he handled his team’s opening week loss at Michigan proves it. His example offers a lesson each of us who say we want to win should be working to learn, and a question each of us - including you here today - should be preparing to answer. When unfairness arrives, how will you choose to respond?
