I recently read Alexander Maxwell’s opinion article titled, “College sports do not foster good feelings,” and as a sports fan, found it to be out of touch and almost insulting.

Throughout the article he argues college sports create more losers than they do winners. I would agree; however, I would argue this is not a problem. My dad is a gym teacher and I have four brothers, so I was surrounded by sports from a young age. Have I lost more games than I ever won? Sure, but did that leave me a broken, disheartened human being? Absolutely not. Do I dislike losing? Of course; I would go so far as to say I hate it. But I’ve learned far more from losing than I ever have from winning.

Losing brought me and my teammates closer, it pushed me to get better. It also taught me to be a realist. It taught me that sometimes, no matter how hard I try, it’s possible that I’m not the best, and that’s okay. There is honor in losing so long as you played the right way. Sure, sports praise winners more than losers, but they are praising their superior skills, not the quality of their character. Losing doesn’t make you a lesser human being; it just means that on that night, you didn’t play as well as the other team.

We can’t ignore that college sports bring about some of the most inspiring stories seen in today’s world. Eric LeGrand from Rutgers lead his team from his wheelchair, and Jack Hoffman, a 7-year-old with cancer, scored a touchdown in the Nebraska spring football game. Yes, sports label one team a winner and one a loser, but if that’s all you can focus on as a sports fan, you’re missing the ball entirely.