Today, I will share billboard to me number 41—play to the end to win. Don’t worry if you don’t know what a billboard to me is. I explained the concept in a previous blog. I am about to tell one of the greatest comeback stories in sports history: the UVA men’s basketball 2019 Championship.
I graduated from the University of Virginia, UVA.
Let me start with a little context. I grew up in Northern Virginia. After completing high school, I was lucky to be accepted into the University of Virginia. Why do I say lucky? Since I graduated back in 1990, UVA has become one of the top public universities in the entire country. It is super hard to get into these days. I am not sure I would make it in. The other thing worth noting is that I’m a huge sports fan. I have two degrees from UVA, so you better believe there’s only one school I root for for college sports…UVA.
The worst day in UVA sports history
If you were to ask any University of Virginia sports fan what the worst day in the history of UVA Sports is, I think most would point to this day, March 16th, 2018. At that time, the men’s basketball team was flying high. They were ranked number one in the country and entered the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, AKA March Madness, as the overall number one seed. Many were predicting they would win the national championship. The team was that good. When you’re ranked number one, your first game is against the worst team in the bracket, number 16. In this case, it is a college most people have never heard of, UMBC, which is out of the University of Maryland school system. What happened next was inconceivable. UVA lost to UMBC. This was the worst loss in that tournament’s history, a dark day for UVA sports fans.
The biggest UVA sports redemption story
Fast forward a year to 2019. Once again, the University of Virginia men’s basketball team was in the March Madness tournament. This time, though, expectations were lower, and the team was not as good. Many pundits predicted they would get flushed out quickly. They were wrong. The Cavaliers showed up and went on a winning streak, beating some great teams and eventually winning the national championship. This is the biggest redemption story in UVA sports history and one of the best in sports in general. They went from the worst loss to being the Champions within one year. UVA has many national championships. This one is considered the most special by alumni because it is so hard to win, and it is the only time my school has won this trophy.
BB2ME #41 – play well in the final minutes to win the game
Inspired by the UVA men’s basketball team winning the national championship, I wrote BB2ME #41. You must play well in the final minutes to win a game and be even better in overtime for the championship.
Why I wrote this BB2ME
Getting caught up in the hoopla and celebration after UVA won this trophy was easy. I thought about the road they traveled to get to the top. It was a fantastic story of grit, determination, and teamwork. Consider the demons they had to exercise from the year before. UVA had to beat some great teams. It was a combination of luck, grit, and some incredible plays by some of their best players. Don’t forget they needed overtime in the championship game to pull it all off. I think that’s worth considering when it comes to my life regarding what it takes to win.
How I incorporated this billboard into my life
It will be hard if I want to achieve great things and win in life. I will have to play to the end and sometimes be willing to go into overtime. One game during their tournament comes to mind where UVA was down by several points with little time on the clock. They easily could have come together as a group and said today’s not our day. We’re going to lose. They didn’t. Instead, they stuck to and pulled off what many believed was a miracle win. That’s the way I want to think about my life, too.
What about you?
Let me wrap up this blog by asking what about you. Have you had a significant setback? I think all of us do at some point in our life. Have you come back from it? Are you willing to play to the end and work overtime, if necessary, to achieve great things, return to glory, and raise the trophy?
I am Doug Keating, and this is my letter to my sons.