Tebow Cries, Manning Flies Demonstrating Lack of Emotional Strength

This article was published by Technorati on 8 February 2010. The dream continues . . .

First, Tim Tebow crys after Florida's loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship back in December. Now Indianapolis Colts QB Peyton Manning is too ticked about loosing the Super Bowl to shake hands with his MVP counterpart, QB Drew Brees of the victorious New Orleans Saints.

Is this a demonstration of emotional strength or weakness?

Yahoo! Sports blogger Chris Chase would vote in favor of the former. Chase writes of Manning, "If I care so much, why shouldn't the players?"

First, caring that much as a fan may be misguided (see Over-Identifying with Your Team).

Second, isn't it karma that the Colts should lose, after handing the New York Jets (7-7) and the Buffalo Bills (5-10) unopposed wins in the final two games of the season, opting to rest their starters? The Colts had already secured home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Two additional wins would buy them nothing for their efforts . . .

Nothing except glory!

Chase writes,"The desire to win is what sustains greatness," and then he checks off several well-known names--Jordan, DiMaggio, Bird, Williams, Jabbar-- who supposedly cared too much about winning to shake hands after a game.

But none of these competitors would have stood by while their coach made the boneheaded decision not even to try to run the table, something no team has done in the 16-game era.

Chase complains: "'It's just a job for these guys,' is a familiar refrain." But this failure of their desire to win proves it is just a job for Manning and the Colts.

The Tao te Ching, that pithy little book of Chinese wisdom, says:

The best athlete

wants his opponent at his best.

* * *

[They] embody

the virtue of non-competition.

Not that they don't love to compete,

but they do it in the spirit of play.

In this they are like children

and in harmony with the Tao.

Give me an Andy Roddick or a Phil Mickelson, who no matter how big the title or how much money is on the line, win or lose, child-like in the best sense of the term, they shake the hand of the other guy, look him in the eye and congratulate him on a fine performance.

That's hard to do. That's emotional strength. Crying, pouting and running off the field, well . . . that's child-like in its own way.

Peyton Manning photo courtesy of www.oddjack.com. Tim Tebow photo courtesy of 2secondsfaster.com.