The benefits of knowing how to win

The high school fall sports season is about to begin and with it come high expectations, expectations that often are, well, unrealistic.

Winning games is hard. Winning a championship is excruciatingly so. The talent has to be in place, the work-ethic has to be top-shelf, the coaching has to be very good and, yeah, there has to be some luck. But there’s more. I am a believer in the notion that ‘knowing how to win’ is crucial if a team is actually going to win championships.

Is there empirical evidence for this? No.

Can I quantify this idea? No.

But I have seen a lot of sport in my day and you can take it to the bank that knowing how to win, having that innate confidence that breeds winning, and the belief in winning every day is real and decisive.

I further believe that knowing how to win is crucial at every level, from high school, to college to the pros. Again and again I have seen teams with superior talent lose to less talented teams precisely because those less talented teams had a history of winning and expected to win. And they usually did. Oh, I know, a winning team has to have talent. Can’t make chicken salad out of, well, you know. Truly bad teams at every level won’t win. Bad teams don’t have enough good players. It’s a rule

But the teams that may not be the most talented, but know how to win, take home trophies. Examples. When the high school football playoffs started in the 1970s, Xavier already had established a great football reputation. The place was known as a football school, had a 34-game winning streak and proclaimed itself to be state champion in 1974, although there was no such thing in those days.

Here’s the interesting part. When the playoffs started, in the first few years, Xavier qualified twice. Lost both times. Lost badly to Fairfield Prep and Naugatuck.

Two more times the Falcons qualified in the expanded playoffs. Again, no championship. The playoffs were Brave New World. It wasn’t until 2005, after four tries, that Xavier won a title. Didn’t know how. Once the Falcons won one, they won four more, including the LL small title four seasons ago, a title former coach Sean Marinan admitted winning was a surprise.

Except they had learned how to win and expected to win. Let’s go across town. The late John Skubel took his Woodrow Wilson team to two title games. Lost badly to Ansonia and St. Joseph.

But once he won at Middletown High in 1984, his team won three of five. And had a player not been ruled ineligible causing two forfeits in 1988, it would’ve been four of six.

The Blue Dragons knew how to win.

But then came a series of not very talented teams and there was only one playoff appearance under coach Eric Marszalek, a bad loss to New Canaan.

But here’s the crusher. Under Sal Morello MHS has been a perennial playoff team, but more often than not, an agonizing loser of very winnable games.

MHS blew a 14-0 second half lead to Mazuk and lost 21-14. Outgained Notre Dame more than 2-1, had 350 yards offense — which in high school usually means five or six touchdowns — and lost 13-10.

Lost to Darien by a touchdown despite a significant statistical edge. Lost to Windsor last Thanksgiving Eve despite running more than twice as many plays.

I know, this knowinghow-to-win thing is abstract, but it’s very real. Sounds like a knock, but it’s not: learning how is tough.

Take the Yankees’ bullpen. It’s the team’s strength. But aside from Aroldis Chapman with the Cubs last season and David Robertson was back in 2009, haven’t won a thing in their lives. Makes a difference, no matter how talented.

How long did it take the Red Sox? Despite having marvelously talented teams, they won nothing year after year. But once they finally won — or maybe more accurately the Yankees lost — in 2004 the Sox won two more. They learned how to win. Bottom line: talent alone doesn’t get a team to a championship — which is why every team plays — there is this abstract, can’t be reduced to numbers, required ability called knowing how to win,

Those that know win. Those that don’t lose. Oh, they may knock on the door, but it rarely opens.

So take it easy mom and dad this school year. This winning stuff is not only hard physically, it’s very hard mentally. Wait and see.

Legion final

Henderson, Nevada, won the National Legion World Series title. It had the opportunity only because of the silly pool play format.

Nevada lost two of its first three games. Its only win was 1-0 over Shrewsbury, Mass. But in its four team division, three teams were 1-2. By some tiebreaker — I dunno, maybe it was number of bubble gums chewed — Henderson advanced to the semifinal round.

The top two teams from each division — named Stars and Stripes, of course — then played single elimination. So it made no difference if a team went 3-0. One loss and they were done.

But wait, it does make sense, if sense is pronounced television. ESPNU — or X, Y or Z — wanted a date and time certain, so there you are. It’s not fair to kids, but the Legion didn’t let that stand in the way.

Oh, the announced attendance for the title game was 8,200 which it also was for the semifinals, too. Of course, the semis were played as a doubleheader so the Legion counted the crowd twice. So that was 16,400. Legion magic.

It’s pretty amazing the crowd was 8,200 in the first place, especially since there are just 2,600 seats. But then, I confess I’m not very good at Legion/North Carolina math.

Skubel’s Kids

The fundraiser for the Skubel’s Kids Foundation will be held this Friday, Aug. 25, from 6 to 10 p.m. It’s at Falcon Grove. It’s an adults only buffet dinner to raise money for MHS football scholarships and attendant activities. For information, contact skubelskids@gmail.com.

Tough schedules

Xavier has a tough outof-league Class LL football schedule what with Norwich Free Academy, Newtown and Greenwich.

Middletown has its own toughies in Class L with games at Wethersfield, where it is 0-2, Newington, which beat MHS last fall, Platt and league and state power Windsor.

At the college level, Wesleyan ought to be very good. It will be MHS alum Dario Highsmith’s sophomore year, which very often is the breakout year for college stars. Ought to be an interesting fall on The Hill.

Wesleyan will play a nine-game schedule after playing just eight since forever. The Cardinals open at Middlebury Sept. 16 and are home with Tufts on Sept. 23 at 6 p.m.

Bad fans in the Bronx

A few weeks back, I blasted Red Sox fans who sat near us at a Yankee vs. Sox game at Fenway Park for vile language and generally lousy behavior.

I said that sort of thing is rare at Yankee Stadium and security is better there. I was wrong. I sold my tickets to the Sox vs. Yanks Sunday night game last week to a friend who took his 67-year old dad to the game. Both are Sox fans, which the last time I checked was not a crime.

I am ashamed to say that some Yankee fans made their night miserable with game-long verbal abuse. This is disgusting.

It’s a game, nothing more. It is not life or death. It’s supposed to be fun. That these Yankee fan idiots wrecked my friend’s and his dad’s night is inexcusable. What pond scum.

Nice thing? I emailed the Yankees and told them what happened. I was contacted the next day and the Yankees apologized and invited the three of us to a game free of charge.

Speaking of the Yanks, allow me to name drop. I had a nice phone chat with John Sterling, the long-time radio voice of the Yankees.

Obviously the content is off the record, but trust me, he is one of the nicest humans on the planet. Oh, he has never missed a game.

Here and there

The Yankees sold out all five games on their last home stand ... for documentation purposes, the Mets are hideous.

The Red Sox and Yankees are positioning themselves to be very good for a long time ... this season is just a tease.

I took a break from live baseball and sat on Virginia Beach for four days ... got to see dolphins showing off every day, although the jets from the air base nearby are annoying.

At Disney World now ... weather has been great ... yeah it’s hot, but Florida comes with oceans and lots of pools ... food is great; diet looms upon my return.

I will catch the Rays and Blue Jays at the curiosity that is the Tropicana Dome ... tomorrow if I feel so inspired.

Into my sixth book on my August wanderings ... have to read folks, it’s the best way to learn ... sitting on a beach with a good book ... doesn’t get much better than that.