Revenge Is The Sweetest Victory:
West Valley College
By Michael Saltzman
From the late 1800's when some of today's great sports were first being thought of to the late 1900's in the age of the mighty dollar, the one constant is that revenge is the sweetest victory.
And I'm not talking about an eye for an eye; I'm talking about winning when the odds are against you and no one gives you a chance. When you have been beaten before and you avenge the loss.
Revenge brings out the true thrill of victory and agony of defeat. Every team in the United States, from baseball to rugby, has won and lost.
They have dominated and been dominated. And they remember every time they fell short as if it was yesterday.
Dreams are never about getting to the championship. They are about winning the championship. And nowhere is this more evident than in the eyes of a veteran.
Veterans are all the same, regardless of their sport. They play to win and win every time. Their will to win is what keeps them in the game.
The first few years of an athlete's career are full of many distractions that take away from the game itself.
Agents, contracts, status, fans, sex, mortagages, family, kids, injuries, and trade rumors. Everything is in chaos and everything is unstable.
Once they have played for seven or eight years, they begin to mature and things slow down. They find a place for their family to live the rest of their lives and decide where to play the remainder of their career.
Now it can be all about winning. They are back to their days of recess, little league, and Pop Warner. They just want to have fun playing the game they love. And in professional sports, winning brings them that elation.
Michael Jordan finished his illustrious career as the greatest basketball player of his time. He won an unprecedented six NBA titles, winning the last three in his final three years.
He retired before the start of the 1999 season and placed a guarantee by retiring that no player in the NBA could get revenge on "his airness."
John Elway has always been considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But up until two years ago, he was always criticized for not winning a Super Bowl.
In 1998, he stopped his critic's talk that he couldn't win a championship by winning Super Bowl XXXI. And after repeating the next year as champion, Elway proved that he was as great a winner as there has ever been.
As hard as it is for a young superstar to admit he signed just for the money, it is even harder for a veteran to admit he wants to shut up his critics who have said, "he can't win the big game."
Revenge is not a pretty issue to discuss, but it should not be disguised with "I just enjoy winning."
Admitting this is not a crime. I would respect Kevin Brown a lot more if he said there were 105 million reasons he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
From Scottie Pippen, who won six titles in Chicago, to Patrick Ewing, who has played 15 years without one, the drive to be the best is just as strong.
But for Ewing, Dan Marino, Tony Gwynn and every other great superstar who hasn't won a championship, that drive has a little stronger fuel in the name of revenge.
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