Is winning believing or is it believing is winning?

There is a billboard on I-49 I have noticed the past few days driving back and forth between home and Mercy Hospital in Joplin.

It got me to thinking.

The ad is for a casino proclaiming that "Winning is Believing" and perhaps that may be true for people of the gambling and wagering world. However, for every day life and all that it entails, I would have to think that as a practical matter, a better slogan would be "Believing is Winning."

Belief is an elusive thing to a lot of folks. Just saying you believe isn't the same thing as actually believing.

When I was competing as a prep runner in the 400 meters, my coach once advised me that I likely would never win a race that I couldn't see myself winning beforehand. I asked him "You mean that if I could just imagine myself winning a race, then I would?" When he said "no," I was perplexed, trying to figure out just what he meant in the first place.

It was a long time before what he was saying began to make sense. There are actually two kinds of belief that people indulge in. One is a kind of bravado "I hope so" belief which is more a wish than a belief. Then there is bona fide belief, a belief that is based on something concrete, a belief based on knowledge.

There are a lot of sports movies which draw conclusions that do a disservice to viewers, especially young ones. Those are the movies where the main character of the story is an athlete who doesn't do very well, but at the end, when he really really tries very very hard, his unshakable "belief" in the inevitability of his winning is enough to carry the day.

Former Razorback basketball coach Nolan Richardson once said something that I have never forgotten. At a press conference, he once opined that "You have to be lucky to win college basketball games, but the harder you work, the luckier you get."

I saw the truth of that lesson when I first started coaching in the late 1970s. I had a runner who was 6'3" with extremely long legs for his height. While he wasn't great out of the blocks, his stride exceeded 5 yards per step when he was fully rolling.

He had come from a special education background and would never be an academic scholar. However, I convinced him in his sophomore year that he could become a state champion if, only if, he did the requisite amount of training and ran the race correctly as well.

As a freshman, he ran a 51.6 400 meters at state and claimed a fifth place medal, That was outstanding, especially since he started slow and didn't really get into the race until the second 200 meters. On a state level, especially in Missouri, you can't make that much distance up as he was last at the turn. He did pass three guys in the straightaway but he was gaining on everybody.

He was undefeated as a sophomore but didn't run under 51.0 all season, mostly because he didn't have to. However, we worked for weeks on that first 200 meters at state. I wanted him under 23.0 at that point, because I was convinced he would win if he did. I reminded him how he was last at the curve the previous year, and if he was first at the curve he would win.

The state meet came, he hit the 200 mark at 22.9 then cruised in for a 48.3 clocking, winning the gold medal. After the race, his teammates thought he didn't seem too excited about the gold medal, a first for anyone at that school. His reply to them, "What's to get excited? I knew I was going to win."

The thing was that he knew he had prepared himself properly throughout the season, that he had worked on his race strategy, and that he knew if he could lead the state field at the halfway point, he would win. He believed to the very core of his being that he was going to win -- and he did.

This year's boys' basketball team has had an amazing year. They have probably won more conference games (17) than ever before in school history, and they are poised to have the best overall season in Pea Ridge school season for varsity boys basketball.

They have the experience, they have put in the work, they have the talent, and they have the coaching. But, like in life, nothing is guaranteed.

Last week, the 'Hawks lost an upset game to Prairie Grove by 3 points, a team they whipped by over 30 just a few weeks ago. Then they beat Elkins in a close game to finish the regular season, after demolishing them early in the season.

Basketball is a grueling sport, both mentally and physically, especially mentally. The game last week with Prairie Grove was going to be a dangerous game for Pea Ridge for two very big reasons.

First of all, Pea Ridge had just cinched the conference title, and outside of seeding for the district tournament there wasn't much riding on the game. For Prairie Grove, it was their last home game of the year. They had seniors who desperately wanted to go out on a good note, trying to land a Top 4 seed to enhance their chances of getting into the regional tournament through district play. The 'Hawks played flat, the Tigers played inspired with Prairie Grove winning the game by 3.

Prior to the game with the 'Hawks Tuesday, had the Tigers lost they would have probably played Gravette in the first round, likely ending their season early. But because of their win over the state's second-ranked team (Pea Ridge) their likely sixth seed jumped all the way to fourth, earning a game against Gentry for a semifinal district berth and a ticket to the regional.

Did last week's games shake the 'Hawks' confidence? I'm sure it got them thinking, but with any sporting event, no outcome is guaranteed but usually the better teams win if they play up to their potential.

Going back to the Arkansas Razorback 1994 national championship year, I got to watch a lot of those games, in person and on TV. That team was good, really good, and they were prepared. They were knocked out Kentucky in the SEC tournament but regrouped and didn't lose again, beating Duke in a close final.

I have always believed that the Hogs' championship game against Duke wasn't their best game of the year, or even their best fifth game of that year. Their best game was a an early encounter with Missouri University, who along with Arkansas, became one of the top four seeds in the NCAA tournament. In that early game, Arkansas thrashed the Tigers 120-68,a whopping 52-point loss for Missouri. The Tigers then went on to become the first Big 8 team to go undefeated in conference play. Missouri had the talent and the desire, and they came back from that monumental beating to post their best record in school history.

If you want to win in life, you have to believe. In order to believe, you have to do the things that bolsters that belief. When you have done the things to succeed, and you have properly prepared, then your chances if succeeding are greatly enhanced.

Believing is winning.

District play

While my daughter has been hospitalized in Joplin awaiting brain surgery to remove cancer, I haven't been reading a lot of basketball news. I did see the boys 4A-1 seedings.

The 'Hawks played Berryville last night, with the Bobcats holding the seventh seed. The game was at Berryville, which is always a plus for a home team. Berryville played Huntsville close last week, so they will be fighting hard to keep their season alive, as will the 'Hawks. The winner goes on to play the winner of the Shiloh/Gravette game.

The other bracket has top seeded Huntsville taking on eighth seed Lincoln, with No. 4 Prairie Grove playing No. 5 Gentry.

All first round winners will advance to the regional next week in West Fork.

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Editor's note: John McGee, an award-winning columnist, sports writer and art teacher at Pea Ridge elementary schools, writes a regular sports column for The Times. The opinions expressed are those of the author. He can be contacted through The Times at [email protected].

Sports on 02/15/2017