Volume CXXXII, Number 6 October 25, 2002 f

Football's game within a game
BOBBY DESAULNIERS
COLUMNIST

The Polar Bears gather in a practice to receive instruction. (Evan S. Kohn, Bowdoin Orient)

Five games into the season, the Polar Bears have taken steps forward in improving their play but many back as well. Due to a 1-4 record, one might deduce that, aggregately, more steps have been taken in the negative direction. Those close to the Bowdoin Men's Football Team bear a differing opinion.

The team is currently making strides that it did not in the past. In talking to some alumni football players this weekend, conversations to the tone of, "You guys are playing much better than the team has in years" were quite common. Statistically speaking, yes, they have been. That is a main reason why the losses this year have been particularly painful.

Coaches talk to their teams about the game within a game. This is the battle that each player has with the player of a different team. The Bears, almost all the way across the board, feel that they are winning the game within the game.

For the most part, their work ethic and emotional connection to the game grants them the strength to win their own personal battles. But in reality, the game within the game stems deeper.

Vince Lombardi said, "In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail." Each member of the team will concur that the Bears have put forth incredible attempts this season. Therefore, some glory and sense of satisfaction comes with these attempts. But, the ups and downs of the game within the player is more important than that. To retain the will of a champion is difficult on a team with a losing record.

This resilience is why every player on the Bowdoin Football team is so admirable. In times of loss, the team still shows up on Monday with a desire to improve. It is an internal battle fought between resilience and surrender.

The will of the Bears always chooses the prior. Therefore, the battle is not being fought against the other team. The real game is in the mind of the player. First Year Bryan Duggan spoke on the issue and said, "The pure resentment of losing inspires us to improve."

These are times that try men's souls. To be repeatedly knocked down and to always get up is a quality that exists in every player on the team. The Bears are uniquely tested in ways consistently winning teams are not. Players on winning teams never need to dig for the power to compete. The Bears do this on a daily basis.

As each player consistently wins more and more internal battles, the wins will come. I have no doubt that every member of the team will pursue the ever-sweeter taste of victory with an intensity that augments by the minute. The wins will come, as the foundation is in place.