The Hardest Skill

     The great thing about athletes is how quickly they learn things.  Natural athletes pick up skills, not even necessarily in their chosen sport, a lot faster than normal people.  There is one, though, that some athletes, even some of the world's best cannot seem to pick up.  That skill is called losing gracefully.

Admission of Weakness = Revelation of Strength

    Rafael Nadal has emerged as one of history's greatest tennis players and reaching yet another Grand Slam final at Wimbeldon recently, he carried with him a winning streak of 20 matches at the All-England Club.  This year, though, he ran into a buzzsaw named Novak Djokovic, who has only lost once the entire year.  As Djokovic exercised his recent domination of Nadal to defeat him yet again, Nadal nevertheless showed his strength.

     "I had to play better to win, and I didn't today.  He (Djokovic) played better than me. For that reason he is the champion here," admitted Nadal.

     That statement alone credits Nadal's character, but put into consideration that he was injured and he didn't let it even come up in the discussion, makes him one of the most admirable athletes in the world.

Bringing Up Excuses = Bringing Down the Legacy

     In complete contrast, David "Hayemaker" Haye made a complete fool of himself last Saturday.  I'm not even talking about the fight itself.  After insulting the Klitschko brothers, calling Wladimir a fraud and a robot, and promising the world he would destroy them, Haye basically ran and flopped inside the ring.  Losing to Klitschko via unanimous decision (judges' scores were 117-109, 118-108 and 116-110), Haye then proceeded to bring up an excuse for his pathetic performance.

     "I broke my toe three weeks ago. As it turned out, I was unable to explode off that back foot and throw that right hand," babbled Haye.

     Rightfully so, former boxers and writers crucified him after that.  Boxing promoter Frank Warren said it best, "He shouldn't be in the fight if he broke his toe.  Why be a crybaby after the event? It’s ridiculous.”  The worst part of all that is, Haye himself claimed he hates, "when boxers make excuses after the fight."  After all that trash talk, all that preening and all that bravado, the final image Haye left for sports fans over the weekend was of an excuse-making coward who's only interested in the money.

     Sometimes, athletes and fans alike forget about what sports really mean.  Every sport may become a competition, but they all start out as games people play to bring fun and friendship in their lives.  Sports may have opponents to conquer but it always starts as a means of conquering and improving oneself.  Sometimes, the best way to show one's strength and win is to lose properly. 

photos courtesy of Getty Images and quotes courtesy of Yahoo! Sports