Sports are fun, man, let’s stick with it – The Dickinson Press

Hettinger County head football coach Nate Zachmann recently said something irrefutably true and worth repeating: “I tell our boys that you never base your identity on winning or losing football games, but that you express your identity as a teammate “This is a business and that’s what you’re going to be remembered for,” he reflected after the Huskies defeated the Huskies in their 9-team first-round playoff game on Saturday, Oct. 19 had lost 22:8 at the end of their 2024 season.

Now, as I’ve traveled through southwest North Dakota, it’s been said (repeatedly) how passionate the Hettinger County supporters are and that Zachmann’s players would “run through a wall for him” (and that’s a direct quote). Maybe it’s because of statements like that… but it’s a trait that’s not unique to the Huskies, and I’ve now seen it in the eyes of hundreds of young people in winning and losing situations in various sports.

It’s somewhat unusual these days to see the emotions that come from loss, but it’s not uncommon to react this way when you know “it’s all over,” and it’s certainly not a bad thing, like that being very involved in the situation with your teammates and feeling the added pressure of not achieving your goals. I have said in the past that tears are just the body’s reaction to feelings that can no longer be suppressed, and my feelings remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, there are different reactions from young men than young women in these scenarios, as Trinity coach Jacob Odermann noted on the Dickinson Press Sports Show a few weeks ago: “Boys have to win to have fun, and girls have to.” “It’s fun to win,” a brilliant observation that bears repeating here.

So what I’m referring to in my original statement, “Sports are fun, man, let’s keep it that way,” is neither a criticism of running through walls, nor an outpouring of emotion, nor the way in which fun is found on the sports field instead of. It’s more about being able to strip it all off at the end of the day.

I destroy mementos, sulk for a week, internalize my feelings, and react in all sorts of unhealthy ways than I was bullied through a defeat, regardless of whether I played or not. I actually stopped playing competitive sports for a few years because these reaction patterns were so detrimental that predicting a brain aneurysm or cardiopulmonary event was not out of the question. Only when I was having fun again could I return to the field or other areas of competition with a clear conscience.

I just took things too seriously and sometimes people are just better or luckier than me at certain things. Seriously, it’s so easy and no problem. I made a deal with The Almighty that I wouldn’t ask for another win or be upset about a defeat, assuming Liverpool win a Premiership title one day. This trade was made around 2000-2001 after the My Beloved Reds finished second in the title race, and was not implemented until 2019-20 when the team won its first title after a nearly 30-year drought.

I kept my word, and even though Florida State is enduring one of the worst seasons in my now 40-year fan base, I will not break my promise. At least FSU HAS three NCAA titles, and I’m not greedy. I feel the same way about my Florida Marlins and everyone else I support: I’m overjoyed with a win and – if my team loses – I’ll just be happy the next time we win (yes, I know it sounds childish say, “we,” but when you put decades of support into a team…believe me: it’s “WE).”

I do NOT share the silly sentiment – not at all – that “it’s just a game”, but I do believe that the period of sullen sadness should last minutes, not months… and the same goes for the period of celebration . That’s why I buy the t-shirts as a reminder of the occasion(s): that way I’m reminded of them and can think about them without thinking about them.

How Gert B. Fröbe (played by Christopher Walken with a great James Bond reference) said in “Joe Dirt”: “The past is the past; The future lies in the now.”

And the reason we can move on to basketball season, then baseball season, softball season, track season, and then summer is because the whole experience is fun, character building, and hopefully the athletes everything left on the field while they were doing it. Athletics is a reflection of life and not a reason to distract from it; They are an opportunity to push your limits with teammates and grow while working toward a goal, both literally and figuratively.

Win or lose, that’s it never the end of the world…where’s the fun in that?

Gaylon is a sports journalist originally from Jensen Beach, Florida, and his column appears weekly. He can be reached at

[email protected]

and/or 701-456-1213.

Gaylon is a sports journalist from Jensen Beach, Florida, but has lived all over the world. Growing up with a sports background, he developed a love for sports that led him to a journalism career since 1998 in places such as Enid, Oklahoma, Alamogordo, NM, Pascagoula, Mississippi and Viera, Florida. His greatest passion is small town community sports, particularly baseball and soccer.