Character Counts!

What an amazing match!! If you are a tennis fan or not, the Wimbledon championship between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal should go down as one of, if not the most exciting tennis match ever played. These two players battled in the longest match, both in time and games, in Wimbledon finals history. Federer had won 5 straight titles at Wimbledon. Nadal had one 4 of the last 5 against Federer. These two clearly are athletes that may go down as the two best players ever!!!

I found myself glued watching each stroke for a couple reasons:
First, the shear focus of each of these players is phenomenal. I can only imagine the things going through their mind as they played this match. But, to me, what was more apparent was the CHARACTER of these two professionals both during and after the match. There was no taunting, trash talking, or prideful outburst from either player. As they continued to each hold serve for nearly the entire match, they simply kept playing. After the match, Federer called Nadal a deserving champion and was humble in defeat. Nadal referred to Federer as a great champion and was happy to be on the same court. I pointed this out to my children as well as we watched. Neither of these players threw their racket when they lost a point. They didn't scream at the official if they felt there was a bad call. THEY JUST PLAYED THE MATCH.

These displays of Character were resounding to me. These two are champions on and off the court and are leaders in their sport that I will continue to watch into the future.

Watch others celebrate. Does their true character come out? Do they make you want to continue to 'play' with them, or do they make you wish you weren't even in the same building? Are you happy they are on your team? AND...What is YOUR character in Victory? I can learn from these two players... Character Counts...in Defeat AND Victory.