Is it really Tebow Magic?

I watch sports, I watch all kinds of sports. Championship season for any sport brings out the best in everyone. Watching the playoffs this weekend reminded me of why I love being an athlete. There is nothing better than watching people compete for something they worked so hard for. You have highly competitive athletes who work all year for a shot at holding that Lombardi trophy at the end of the season. Players that were playing injured, players that were playing with doubters, and players that were playing with high expectations. You just knew it wasn't going to be boring. It  definitely lived up to the billing, was the hobbled former champion going to bring his team back or was the chosen one going to bring his team to another unexpected upset when everyone lost faith in him. Well on this day Tebow quieted his doubters once again and pulled off another miracle. You know Hollywood is praying the Broncos make it to the Superbowl, I mean it would be the easiest scrip ever written. Hollywood likes easy but as an athlete I know a Steelers win would have been just as fitting for a Hollywood story in this battle. They had very real obstacles on their own to overcome but it just wasn’t as easy of a sell.

As an athlete I was not surprised that the Broncos won. I know firsthand how far self confidence and self belief can go. At the elite level physical dominance is minimal to success. Mental dominance on the other hand is a major part of success. So while on paper the Steelers looked like they had the upper hand the Broncos really had the mental upper hand. The Steelers were the ones with the high expectations, the ones that no one wanted to make excuses for, the ones that had the experience and the ones that couldn’t lose. You see as an athlete that is the equivalent of having everything to lose, if you win you were expected to win if you lose you failed. The Broncos on the other hand the Broncos were the ones that had nothing to prove, they were the ones that were expected to lose, and they were the ones that no one expected much from. As an athlete when you are the underdog you are below the radar no one is watching so all you have to do is work your butt off and give it all you’ve got, but the best effort you have because you got absolutely nothing to lose.

So was it Tebow magic, was it divine intervention? No it was simply a group of athletes who believed when no one else did that they deserved to win. You see Tebow believes in his faith, his teammates believe in his leadership, that is enough to give them the extra edge they needed today. Every athlete relishes the opportunity to prove doubters wrong. Spectators, commentators love to pick winners based on what’s on paper and what happened in the past. The problem, in sports history is not the best indicator. When you get to the top they tell you not to rest on your laurels. Have you ever wondered why? It’s because your success yesterday counts for very little in determining what success tomorrow. So all you athletes and non athletes take it as a lesson, you may fail 99 times but it doesn’t mean you will fail 100. By the same token you may succeed 99 times but it doesn't guarantee you will succeed 100. With belief in yourself, your abilities and most importantly your preparation you always have a chance to change the predetermined outcome. When everyone else counts you out count yourself in, you will surely find your own magic.