By Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr.
In recent years, there have been a few death declarations, and a funeral for a few things that for better or worse, will not go away. In 2006, Nas declared “Hip-Hop is Dead”. A year later, the NAACP had a funeral for the N-word. Two years after that, Jay-Z wanted the “Death of Autotune”. Here we are in the fourth quarter of 2012, and for better or worse, tose are still prevalent. Armed with the knowledge that like those things it will probably never go away, I desire to imagine a world without the word “if”.
Sports and life meet at an intersection often times. There are a lot of lessons in sports that can help you in life. People who did not play may not appreciate or understand it, but it is a fact. One thing that people lean on a lot in both is the biggest two letter word in the English language. The word if. This is an intervention for sports fans, and life in general to get that word out of your language.
When I was a freshman in high school, my homeboy John Ruiz told a someone, ”If, if were a fifth, we’d all be drunk.” At the time, I just laughed it off because of who said it (a notorious jokester), but there is a ton of truth in that statement. There are many things that I could throw “if” at and my life would be different. If I would have taken college more seriously at eighteen, I may be further ahead in my writing career possibly writing for a national publication, instead of blogging to get my name out at thirty. If I did not drink as much pop and eat fast food, I would not need to lose weight. Those are just a couple of things that I could throw “if” at to make myself feel better about them. However, those are things that are/were in my control. Things that with a simple adjustment here or there would be better and not need an “if” in front of them.
Sports fans are the same way. They toss around the word “if” more than they view the facts of what happened in a game. In a NFL, there are an average of 12 possessions for each team. In a NBA game, there are an average of 95 possessions for each team. There are going to be good and bad plays within each of those possessions. Yet, at the end of each game there you hear the familiar refrain of “if”. “If he would have caught that pass we would have won”. “If the coach would have ran a different play, we might have scored”. Those are things that sports fans throw “if” at to make themselves feel better about their team losing. Things that with a simple adjustment here or there would not need an “if” in front of them.
My goal for this article has been for us to look at the word “if” for what it really is. It is a crutch that we have leaned on for far too long. In life, and as a sports fan, I have used it through the years. Recently, I have made a conscientious effort to avoid it. For far too long, I allowed myself to lean on that crutch. It was easy to look at things in that hue and to keep myself from facing reality. When I made a mistake, I would say “if”…and act like that made it right. When my favorite team lost, I would say “if”…and act like one play or decision caused them to lose. Fact is sports and life are full of decisions that we have to decide to accept the consequences of.
Next time you make a mistake in life or your team loses a game, don’t look at the “if”. Instead, think about the things that could have been done differently. In life, you can make the necessary adjustments so that problem doesn’t occur again. As a sports fan, you have to hope that the coaches and players of the team you cheer for make those necessary adjustments. Doing this will free you from excuses, and trying to sooth something instead of changing it. Your world will be a better place once you do that.
Well there you have it. This was my attempt to kill “if”. However, I know for a fact, that next time a game is on, I will log onto facebook, and see fans explaining losses with “if”. People will lament mistakes they made, with “if”. I just hope that this does a little to make you look at things different. Put the crutch down, enjoy your life and the teams you root for.
If I could kill “if” I swear I would.
I’m Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr. and I approve this message.
Jimmy L. Wilson, Jr. is a writer that enjoys watching, playing, and talking about sports. He coaches basketball at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. You can visit his blog at
mrwilson42.blogspot.com for thoughts on current sports events. Follow him on twitter @JimmyLWilsonJr, and feel free to email any feedback to him at jimmyl.wilsonjr@gmail.com.
This was printed in the October 7, 2012 – October 20, 2012 Edition
