Boy oh boy. When I was a little bit younger, I used to be about as competitive as they came.
I am pretty sure this was sparked… the first time I went into the church at Our Lady of Mercy… and I saw a bunch of the statues giving the “We’re #1” Sign.
I still have a little whiff of this competitive zealousness in me. But not like back in the day.
When it came to sports, I was cutthroat. No hold bars. I used to sacrifice m body just for the sake of the game.
It started when I was a little chimp. Or chump. I used to play softball for North Riverdale Little League. It all started when I was about 8 years old… maybe 7.
Part of the Little League Motto was “I will Play Fair, and Strive to Win. But Win or Lose, I will ALWAYS Do My Best.”
Play fair. Check.
Strive to win. Check.
DO MY BEST. All caps and bold letters… CHECK.
Around tournament time is when I really got a taste for it. Holy smokes, how I would want to win. I could taste it.
But it made me nervous too. Sometimes, I get such a case of nerves, I would throw up before a game. One of my coaches, Bev Johnson, sat me down one day. She said… “Polly. Those girls on the other team are the same as you. Everybody puts their pants on the same way.”
I didn’t know what the hell she meant…. which was okay. BUT…. it was the WAY she said that made ALL the difference in the world to me. I would go on that field, and play my little heart out.
Bev Johnson was my all-time favorite coach. It was the WAY she made us feel about ourselves, and playing ball… even as very young girls. We knew we were strong and smart, and able. We knew we were good enough to win….. but at the same time… JUST like everybody else.
Bev died some years back. I heard about it long after the fact. It is one of those times in life, that I wish I had told someone just how much they meant to me.
I’ll try not to let those times slip by me again. I’m competitive…like that.
And if there is a heaven… Bev is probably there. With the Angles all around her…. giving the #1 Sign.
“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.” – Oscar Wilde quote