A Sportman's Prayer


A Sportsman's Prayer

We are reminded.

Successful athletes, as well as successful people, know that this prayer gets to the essence of success.

Why? Because to be successful requires having a definite major purpose, otherwise we would stop cold every time we lose, wouldn’t we?

But we keep going.  And here’s why.

Remembering to “smile, and be a sportsman still,” that is, be a “good sport,” means that we are following one of the great principles of the universe, the Law of Polarity.

It means that everything in the universe has a polar opposite — day/night, hot/cold, sun/rain, negative/positive, and so on. And that they exist at the same exact time.

Stay with us on this. You get it, right?

So, doesn’t this mean that for everything that seems terrible at first, there’s always something really great about it?

True winners know there’s something to be learned — something great — even from the worst defeat. What we learn, if we choose to do it, usually leads to rapid improvement and success.

Don’t believe it? Ask someone who’s a winner. Ask someone who’s truly successful.

What you’ll find is that they never, ever complain. They find fortunes in what other people complain about, because they know there’s something really great hiding there.

Unless you’re the Knicks. Or rather, even if you’re the Knicks.

To find out more about this kind of thinking, check out this guy’s book.

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On another note, we’ll mention that in the old days, today, the first Thursday after Thanksgiving, was the traditional opening day of basketball season in New York City, usually with a night game at a place called the Manhattan Casino (more on the Manhattan Casino some other time).

That’s because Negro newspapers like the Amsterdam News, Chicago Defender, and Pittsburgh Courier only hit newsstands once a week, usually on Thursday mornings.

So, right up until the opening tip, basketball promoters could place one last advertisement, and sports columnists could make one last prediction.

The Amsterdam News still comes out only on Thursdays.

“A Sportsman’s Prayer” appeared in the New York Amsterdam News in 1932 in Romeo Dougherty’s “Sportopics” column, along with a nod to the New York Morning Post.

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16 years ago

I agree.

Annie V.
16 years ago

The sentiments expressed in this entry impacted me tremendously and remind me that there are blessings and optimisim in even what can be considered a “dark” day or time.

Thanks for the reminder to keep a positive perspective as well as the sentiment that each one of us possess the empowerment for success!