I want to lighten the mood from the past few weeks and write about a great victory and a great example for everyone.
Anyone who reads my articles knows that I love sports. I played sports in high school and college, and I love all sports, but my three favorites are football, lacrosse, and wrestling. My boys were tennis and lacrosse State Champions, but I never played those sports. Today I want to write about one of the greatest college wrestlers of all time and probably the greatest in the last ten years.
Spencer Lee wrestled his entire career at Iowa under the legendary coaches who are twin brothers Tom and Terry Brands who were themselves multiple times NCAA Champions, World Champions and Olympic Champions. Because of Covid Spencer Lee was completing his 6th year of wrestling. Despite multiple injuries and surgeries during his career he was a three-time NCAA Champion and All American. Going into the NCAA tournament three weeks ago he was undefeated. Then in the round of the quarter finals he not only lost to an opponent that he had previously pinned this year—but he was pinned in the very last second of the match! “THE MIGHTY CASEY HAD JUST STRUCK OUT”! The last time anyone pinned him was apparently when he was in grade school. The wrestling world was shocked. The picture of him going back to the locker room with the Brand brothers with a silent crowd of twenty thousand people was one I will never forget. It will take avid wrestling fans many years to forget that moment.
He was unable to finish the loser out matches, but he did place 6th overall and was again an All American for the fourth time. But here is where the magnanimity of the athlete, his family and his coaches came through. They offered no excuses. Here is what three-time NCAA Champion and Four Time All American Spencer Lee said in his first interview after his devastating loss:
“I saw people say I lost because I was hurt,” Lee told Barstool. “That’s not true. I got beat. I hate when people try to make excuses for me when I got out-wrestled and beat. They’re taking credit away from someone who deserves credit.
“Why not just go give love to Matt Ramos for beating me? The kid deserves the praise for making the NCAA finals. People are too busy finding ways to shove down people and not give him credit.”
Today, and I can be part of the problem myself, “people are finding ways to shove people down” and not give credit where credit is due. It takes a college kid with a broken heart and great character to show the rest of us how to lose and get back up and start the fight all over again. Sometimes people of great character, with help of family, coaches, teachers, and friends, can have their greatest moments in response to their greatest setbacks.
And what did Spencer Lee do when he got back to the Iowa campus. He got back on the mat and started training again. The world championships are coming up and my money is on Mr. Spencer Lee.
I am reminded when I watch great people in any walk of life when they experience a setback of the moment captured in the famous quote from SIR ANDREW’S words as he was dying on the battlefield:
“Fight on my men “, Sir Andrew said, “A little I am hurt but not slain. I will but lie down and bleed awhile, and then I’ll rise to fight again”.
My bet is that Spencer Lee stopped bleeding by the time he left the arena. He is that kind of a person, that was raised by that kind of a Mom and Dad, and he had that kind of coaching. We should all be so lucky.
For 6 years he taught how to WIN, and then how to lose.
Isn’t that kind of what life is all about?
