Letter to the editor
Team’s efforts more important

Some think TCU should celebrate the accomplishments of the women’s basketball team because it reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Good idea, wrong success story. Several newspaper articles around town touted the coaching success of Coach Jeff Mittie and the starting five of Amy Porter, Tricia Payne, Kati Safaritova, Jill Sutton and Janice Thomas. This is a correct observation but an incomplete message.

Focusing on the NCAA victory portion of the accomplishments greatly cheapens the real story, slants an institution to narrow in on an incomplete immature value system and greatly underestimates the role of other players, coaches and support groups. The real celebration story, here, is not the outcome. It has nothing to do with the NCAA Tournament. Not because this team was incapable of reaching this milestone athletically, but because the journey was filled with other more significant lessons we could all learn from. It was a journey you could’ve witnessed for only $5 a game.

The real story was about this team’s ability to overcome challenges and make an outstanding effort — as a first class team. The story is not what was accomplished but how it was accomplished.

We are so tainted by professional and some college programs, where we are brainwashed to think “victory at all costs.”

We are told to ignore process concerns like athletes missing practices, athletes not graduating, drug use, individual accomplishment over team results and giving up on people, young people, who are trying to cope in a very complicated world. The real story here was a program that represented the TCU institution every day, not just during the 40-minute game situation. TCU should celebrate the commitment of an assorted group of players and non-players, who worked on a common goal, in an unselfish manner.

The players. It is not the number of points that was staggering but the staggering team defense. It is not the individual accomplishments, but the unselfish team play, which rotated a dozen players. It is not their individual stardom, but about any player, first or second string, which lead the team on any given night. It is not about special rules for certain players, but about any player allowed shooting the ball from any spot. It is not about players who don’t care, but about players with heart as exemplified by TCU freshman Ebony Shaw in Tulsa, Okla., who, while on defense, outran an opponent point guard by making up 10 yards, jumped, rotated 180 degrees and blocked the basketball in the most athletic move of the season. It is about a team of players who care more about each other than they do about themselves.

The coaches. Led by a head coach who teaches more than coaches, it is refreshing to witness a coaching staff that is part of a process where the athletes are the center of attention. Like good referees, you don’t notice them during the game.

The families. Parents of basketball players have the same surface area as regular people. It is just six inches taller and six inches thinner. It was often the case that parents would talk with parents of other teams encouraging all to a successful contest. The pride of the families was easily observed.

The band, cheerleaders and Showgirls. Athletes in their own right always synchronized within each group. The pleasure was to see the teamwork among the three groups integrating music, dance and cheers. There was unselfish teamwork here as well.

The producers and organizers. Great work all year long, especially in the Tennessee game, University of Texas game at the Convention Center and tournament assistance.

The fans. What a great opportunity to witness this success. The intensity of that defense, the depth of the bench, the commitment to each other and the unselfish play are standout results that all fans could observe. Remember Shaw plays for three more years.

The Olympic Creed states, “The most important thing in the Olympic games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph, but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered, but to have fought well.”

It is important to remember this critical value system within amateur athletics. These are the same values for regular working life. The women’s basketball team showed us these values — regularly, brilliantly and confidently. This is what we should celebrate.

— Michael Morris
TCU parent

Editorial policy: The content of the Opinion page does not necessarily represent the views of Texas Christian University. Unsigned editorials represent the view of the TCU Daily Skiff editorial board. Signed letters, columns and cartoons represent the opinion of the writers and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board.

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