Isms: Original views on life from rural America

One of my favorite movie lines I've been known utter to my children and grandkids originates from the movie "A League of Their Own," when Tom Hanks' character, Jimmy Dugan, tells a woman's league player, "There's no crying in baseball."

Wait a minute. There is crying in baseball. Softball, too. Even football and boxing and basketball and volleyball can cause tears to flow down athletes' faces.

Emotions, when it comes to sports, often run high. For the past couple of weeks, crying in sports has been in the forefront of news in this state, especially pertaining to Nebraska high school girls' athletics. This column is not about that topic. It is, however, about a natural reaction to activity that many pour their hearts and souls into.

Truth be told, tears may spill anytime there's a release of endorphins and hormones, which occurs often at the conclusion of a game or match, as the body lets down and relaxes. Athletes may cry because of exhaustion or out of joy or frustration.

I'll share two examples I've captured on film (well, digital camera). In 2019, I snapped a photo of a relay team runner at state track. After passing the baton, the runner - from a school I was not covering - plopped down on the track, knees bent, a look of frustration clouding his face. Then, a tear streamed down his cheek. What I noticed was the look of defeat. The smidgen of sadness, the disbelief. What I wanted to tell the student athlete was this is one race, less than 60 seconds. It' doesn't define you or determine your future.

Last Friday at district girls' wrestling, I was watching a semifinal match and noticed a young woman kneeling beside the coaches. While she watched her teammate, she displayed a gamut of emotions: calmness, yelling encouragement, wincing at a takedown. In the final 10 seconds of the third round, the girl swept tears from the corners of her eyes as her teammate secured a win. I quickly snapped a photograph, memorializing what undoubtedly was a result of hard work during practice and what it means to be a teammate.

The human element of sports is simple: it's about emotion. We get pumped up for a big game, we cheer loudly for our favorite teams, we (perhaps secretly) hope our least favorite players have an off day, we thrive on the drama associated with sports. We, as fans, celebrate the successes and shortcomings of the teams and those athletes we embrace. Why would we expect any less of those who are competing?

I still remember the last volley of Cassie's senior year, the missed block attempt at the net, the ball smacking the court between two players. The heartbreak of knowing that team gave it their all and it ended in a district finale, not at state, where everyone imagined they would end up. Plenty of tears were shed that evening, contemplating the "what ifs."

That's the beauty of competition. It's a universal moment, captured in time. Someone wins, someone is defeated. Learn from the moment, share those reactions.

Then, queue the tears.