Lakers will deal with shot to the heart A James Johnson column...
Star Beacon
KIRTLAND - - I thought maybe I'd write about the old adage, "All good things must come to an end," in regards to Pymatuning Valley's undefeated dream season drawing to a close in Tuesday night's 57-54 Division III district semifinal loss to Berkshire.
Nope. Not gonna do it.
I could try to sugarcoat the loss for the PV faithful, players and coaches, but no matter how positive I am and no matter how much I try to put what PV accomplished this season into perspective, there's still going to be a sick feeling in everyone's stomach's Wednesday when people read this.
It stings.
It really stings.
After all, Berkshire's Kelly Blair in 4.4 seconds ended a year's worth of hard work, dedication and effort with his game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Most fans would say they would have rather lost by 30 than lose in that manner, especially an undefeated season.
So let's talk about that disappointment. It stings. It really stings. PV fans were left stunned. Laker players were left in tears. Coaches were left to ponder what went wrong. Everyone was left to watch Berkshire celebrate and advance to play top-seeded VASJ instead of watching the Lakers do so.
I won't try to make it sunny.
It stings.
So why am I writing this, you ask?
You see, disappointment is a powerful word. Getting disappointed has a way of making people much, much stronger. It has a knack for turning great teams into legendary ones. It has a way of creating something far greater than an undefeated season.
Disappointment breeds excellence. How many times have you seen a team somewhere lose a heartbreaker in the tournament, then a year later use that pain as an advantage to create something truly special the following season?
Like say, a state-tournament run?
Despite the fact the Lakers must feel horrible this morning with the realization their undefeated season is over, they must know in the back of their minds that the whole experience was worth risking the pain they must feel.
The Lakers will take this loss and use it to their advantage. Of course, it will make them stronger as a team next season (PV returns all but two players in 2007-08), but every player on that roster will have learned something from this loss.
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