Failure is Good

             I noted that Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski was on the cover of SPORTS ILLUSTRATED last week (along with Pat Summit.) It reminded me of an earlier story in the magazine that appeared back in 1992.

             “Coach K” knew only failure in his early years at Duke. Then, after his program began to win, he experienced consistent failure at the Final 4, culminating with an epic loss to UNLV in the 1990 championship game (103-73.)

            Rather than despair, Krzyzewski sought to learn from each failure. As SI put it, "It's an article of faith with Krzyzewski that failure and success are connected like cause and effect. ‘That's why losing at the Final Four has never been a bother to me,’ he says. ‘There was a bigger thing there.’”

            That attitude has paid off a number of times, including the Final 4 in 1991. Duke accomplished what may have been basketball’s greatest upset, defeating an undefeated UNLV team that some were calling the greatest of all time.

            The Bible offers a consistent message of hope and even redemption after failure. Another reason people often refer to it as “the Good News.”

The Clank

(Photo by ABNCPARTIES.COM)

I, along with my wife and my two oldest children, joined millions of others in watching the Duke vs. Butler NCAA Men’s Championship basketball game. It was a great game, in doubt to the very end.

We held our breath as Gordon Hayward (who looks like an old friend of mine named Joe Don Ridgell) launched a mid-court shot. The shot banked off the square on the glass… and bounced off the rim—making an incredibly loud sound of “CLANK”.

Victory was so close! So much so, CBS replayed the last shot several times.

Had Hayward’s shot gone in, Butler would have pulled off one of the greatest upsets in history, winning by the score of 62-61. Had the shot gone in, it would have conceivably become the greatest shot in basketball history. Unfortunately (unless you were pulling for Duke), the shot clanked.

Reflecting this morning, I could not help but think Hayward represents the majority of us. For most of us, the best we will experience in our respective fields is getting close enough to clank. Very few of us win the "National Championship”—see Colt McCoy.

What do we do with the clank? One response would be to choose to live our entire lives in misery or sadness, thinking we can only really enjoy our lives the day we win the "Championship." But I wonder, could it be that God places higher value on other experiences available to us all?

I dare to believe the answer is—yes.