We don’t watch sports because we truly care who is the best at throwing a ball in a hoop, or hitting a ball with a bat, or running in a field with a ball. If you really examine why you love sports, it’s because they tell us about the human condition. Every athletic play is about more than the play itself; it’s about the constant debate between what a human being believes they can accomplish and what they’re actually capable of accomplishing.
The Sacramento Kings’ Baby Race teaches us everything we need to know about the human character
Baby Race is not just a story about babies racing. It’s a story about determination. It’s a story about never giving up. It’s a story about believing in yourself, even when the odds are long.
Never has that been more true than during the Sacramento Kings’ baby race.
Over the 50 seconds of the Sacramento Kings’ baby race, we learned more than which baby was the fastest. We learned about the character of each and every baby in the race.
It’s clear that this is the fastest baby. From the starting gun, she darts out ahead of the field, smoking her competition with raw, untamed speed. But is she the best baby?
Like the hare bolting ahead of the tortoise, or Leon Lett yards from the end zone, this baby believed her natural talent was enough to get her the win. Mere feet away from an easy, thoughtless win.
But at that moment, she stopped. Why, we’ll never know. With the great ones, it’s always hard to tell.
With the fastest baby stopped in her tracks, a pair of contenders emerged:
Victory was there for this baby if they wanted it. But the pressure of the moment grew too much.
Why couldn’t Bill Buckner field that ball like he would’ve any other time? Sometimes, the moment overwhelms the athlete. A task so simple seems suddenly impossible. There’s no greater example of this than this baby, literally breaking down in tears at the prospect of winning the race.
Some babies never left the starting gates.
These babies are dumb.
And now we talk about the hero of the story: Comeback Baby.
The odds were long for Comeback Baby.
Baby Race is not just a story about babies racing. It’s a story about determination. It’s a story about never giving up. It’s a story about believing in yourself.
The Fastest Baby believed she could win based off her sheer athleticism. She believed she could win even if she relaxed, took it easy, hoping to coast by on natural talent alone. The odds were in her favor, but she was wrong.
Comeback Baby believed that she could win even though she had no reason to believe that. There was one baby literally inches from victory. There were two other babies ahead of her. And her only way to victory was slowly, laboriously crawling along the hardwood. A lesser baby would’ve given up. But not Comeback Baby.
Remember this face. It is the face of a true champion.
