Congrats to my adopted hometown Clarkston Wolves boys basketball team on winning the state championship yesterday. It was quite run, and they are an excellent team.
As I watched the end of the game yesterday, I was reminded of one of my favorite championship stories.
When the Texas Longhorns won the 2006 Rose Bowl, earning the national championship, Head Coach Mack Brown had an interesting comment for his team.
“Don’t let this be the greatest day of your life,” Brown instructed his troops.
On one hand it almost seemed like he was raining on their parade, but that isn’t Mack Brown’s way. What he was saying is that there is always something more to play for, and the relationships we have in life, the moments we create, have the potential to be as good as we make them.
Weddings, births, graduations, new championships, even simple quiet moments have potential for greatness. Greatness is what we make it.
And the pursuit of greatness….that’s where it’s at. One of the sweetest things about the Clarkston state championship is that it wasn’t just a year-long pursuit for one team. It was a nearly four decade-long pursuit for Coach Dan Fife, his assistants, and a new team each year. This team capped off the win, but the win doesn’t come without the struggle, and all of it matters. Each part adds to the whole, just as each day becomes part of life.
As great as championships are, and as rightfully as we celebrate, never lose sight of one thing. Greatness doesn’t live in championships. It lives in you.
May we all take a championship attitude to our days ahead and make them the greatest days of our lives. That’s the essence of winning it all.
Making the Play 