I have said to so many people this week that I feel so fortunate. I have been asked by many what my connection to the Women's National Team is, and why am I here...
It's not an easy thing to explain, and it is a difficult story for me to tell, but one by one, each time I have been asked, I answer.
It is a sad, yet beautiful story.
And I will continue to tell it.
I let all the things that make me sad run straight through me. I can't see a way to the other side of this without leaning into the suck. This is my story, this is what happened, and this is how I deal with the bitterest of disappointment.
The Women's National Team has taught me so much, so it's only fair that I give something back, and maybe, just maybe, that's why I'm here.
These athletes taught me that each point, played at the maximum amount of effort, is a valuable game all its own. I have done this with days since Ellen's passing. Yeah, that day sucked, but I get another, and it's my choice to reset, regroup, and chose to play hard again.
I have also found value in the way they deal with each other, no one player is more important than the other. 12 interchangeable parts, each having worth to the machine as a whole. Each prepared to do battle should the other struggle or become injured. The Ultimate Trust, from one of my earlier blog posts.
I have on days struggled, and each time I have found someone to prop me up, a friend, a coworker, or a family member.
Today was a bad day for my team. The Serbian Team was ready. The Americans made too many errors, and at the highest level of this great game, errors are going to come back to haunt you. Today was that day.
So what is the cost, really. Many of these women have put their lives on hold, some for a decade, to make playing for a gold medal a reality. This evening they are left with a very bitter pill to swallow. Playing in a bronze medal match wasn't ever going to be enough, yet that is what they are left with.
So here is my lesson.
What is gone is gone for good. The past leaves us no control over it. You have control over how you act and react in the wake of this bitter disappointment. That is what I expect to see on Saturday. I know you know this, and I'm hoping I'm the right person to remind you.
I have the deepest admiration for this team.
I know what unbelievable athletes they are.
If you've been paying attention the last week you know this too. That is not why I came to Rio. These are my friends. I came to support them. I'll be in the seats in the Maracanazhino Arena again on Saturday, cheering my ass off for them. The medal is not the color we had hoped for, but it's the one we still can play for and win.
This is not where I expected my life to go, but this is what I am left with too, and I am going to make the best out of what I have left.
And that's what I expect will happen in the Bronze medal match.
Champions rise.
These women are champions.
One more time gang, one more time.
How to Deal with the Deepest of Sorrows