GRIT and the College World Series

I've been attending the CWS since 1989 and have been a season ticket holder for over 20 years. It's my favorite sporting event. Eight of the best college baseball teams in the nation meeting for 12 days in Omaha, NE. Each of them there with the dream of leaving as the National Champions. Each of the players will tell you, just being there fulfills a dream they've had since little league.

Over the years I've seen amazing seen amazing plays, huge fan support, players that are now playing in the MLB, and made friends for life. I've also seen, as ABC Sports said, "The agony of defeat". As was the case on Wednesday and Thursday night this week for the Arkansas Hogs.

Arkansas vs. Oregon for the National Championship. The format is double elimination until the Championship. What was on the line? Arkansas's 1st National Championship. The Beavers had lost their 1st round and had to play four more games with the pressure of win or go home hanging over their head, to reach the finals.

The championship format is the best 2 out of 3. Monday was a rainout....the suspense was building. Tuesday's night it was time to "play ball"! Arkansas won Tuesday night's game 4-1 in 9 innings.

Wednesday night, Day 2 of the championship and a chance for the HOGS to clinch their 1st ever CWS Championship. Arkansas took an early lead in the 2nd by scoring their 1st run. The Beavers answered in the 4th with a run of their own. The 5th inning saw another run by Oregon and 2 more from the HOGS. 3-2 Hogs. The excitement was building for Arkansas. No runs were scored in the 6th, 7th or 8th.

Enter the 9th inning. Oregon is the visiting team. The HOGS are just 3 outs away from their CWS dreams coming true. The HOGS walk the 1st batter. The 2nd batter hits a sacrifice fly- 1 OUT. The 3rd batter grounds out to 1st base- 2 OUTS. The HOGS are 1 out from being national champs!

This is when the heartbreak begins. The next batter up hits a fly ball on the right field side in foul territory. It's a catchable ball. The right-fielder, 1st and 2nd basemen are all charging towards the ball. The 2nd basemen calls for it. Everyone is on their feet. Arkansas is about to win the College World Series! And then it happens, the 2nd basemen overruns the ball and it falls to the ground between 3 stunned players. You could feel the air leave the 24,000 fans at TD Ameritrade. A catchable balls sits motionless on the ground.

The Beavers will go on to score 2 runs in the top of the 9th and win game two 5-3.

Thursday night- Game 3. The winner of tonights game will be the Champions. The HOGS are behind the psychological 8 ball. I'm sure very few of those players got any sleep the night before. Oregon has new life.

The HOGS never got out of the staring gate. The Beavers win 5-0 and are the 2018 National Champions! My heart went out to Arkansas. 1 out away from the biggest win of their life.

So, what's this have to do with GRIT? Earlier this year I read the book GRIT, by Angela Duckworth. It had a big impact on me. I discussed it with anyone who would listen. I bought copies for friends and family. The book uses research to support the fact that grittier people are more successful and are less likely to quit when the going gets tough. I fascinated by why some people were gritty and others weren't and what events in their lives "created" their grittiness. Duckworth does a good job of helping her readers to understand what events help to create GRIT. If you want to learn more, here's a link to her TED Talk on GRIT.

You could argue that the fact that Arkansas' loss Thursday night shows that as a team, they aren't gritty. I'll argue that Wednesday night's game made each player on Arkansas's team more gritty, we just haven't seen the results of that life changing moment yet.

It will take days, weeks, and maybe months to get over a loss like the one the HOGS experienced. But, I believe they will not only be stronger for the experience, they'll be grittier.

I bet if Angela Duckworth followed the players of the Arkansas HOGS over the next 10-20 years, she'd find that this team of players will go on to go great things! I bet in 20 years when asked about what has made them so successful, they'll mention the 2018 Championship and share the strength it took to move forward with their lives carrying the disappointment still heavy in their hearts.

It's these defining events that made people Gritty. The death of a friend at an early age, growing up in poverty, a career ending injury and yes, the loss of the National Championship.

I want to congratulation the Oregon Beavers for doing what only 11 other schools have done in 72 years- won the Championship after losing their 1st round.

But it's Arkansas that I believe will be the real winners down the road. They'll use this experience to get them through the rest of life's challenges.

GRIT- it's an intangible trait, but I guarantee you know it when you see it.