If hunting is a sport, you’re looking at an athlete
- Bob Hanna: Someday
- February 23, 2018
- 1641
Many of you know on my desk at Millersburg Tire there is a mug that was given to me as a gift that reads, “If hunting is a sport, you’re looking at an athlete.” I don’t know if that’s true, but these past two weeks I have been watching the Winter Olympics from PyeongChang, South Korea and have noticed some similarities.
First and foremost is their total dedication to the sport. If you follow some of the biographies of these Olympic athletes, you will find lifelong commitments to training for a chance to stand on that podium and receive a medallion.
Yes, I know that fame and notoriety also accompanies this, which leads to endorsements and income. But just consider doing the same thing every day, every week, every month for four years or more just for the chance to represent your country.
In hunting we also have many dedicated “athletes” who train to become wildlife officers, even putting their lives on the line to combat poaching and face dangerous, unpredictable animals.
Our partners at the Natural Resources Department work tirelessly every day to secure our rivers, streams, forests and mountains for us to enjoy as well as future generations. Many of the hunters themselves train for months to prepare for climbing in the mountains, sometimes at elevations where the air is thin and requires the body to adapt.
Have you ever tried carrying a backpack with 100 pounds or more cross country for several miles? It definitely takes an athlete.
Another comparison comes to mind as part of an Olympic slogan that says, “The agony of defeat.” You’ve seen it: the falls, the crashes, the misses, the less than stellar performances. All that work to come up short of the gold is absolute devastation, but someone ends up with the silver or the bronze or nothing.
In the hunting world we spend hours practicing, hiking, dieting, waiting for that moment of truth when our target is in sight, and we miss or it runs away or “are you kidding me?” the weapon won’t shoot.
No one truly enjoys defeat, but in either scenario, the fact we failed isn’t as important as what we do with it. Some use failure as a motivation. Of all the ice skaters at the Olympics, the one I will remember is Nathan Chen of the U.S. After all the hype of being the favorite for the gold, his first two appearances in team competition and short program on Olympic ice were not good.
In his interviews he was disappointed but vowed to put it behind him. In the long program Nathan Chen became the first Olympic skater to attempt six quad jumps in one performance.
He landed five cleanly and finished with the highest score in the men’s long program, moving him from 17th place to fifth. The gold, silver and bronze medalists will go in the history books, but Nathan’s comeback is what we’ll remember.
Teamwork is a big attribute to the Olympic spirit: each individual member doing their part for the good of the team, together as one representing their country.
I saw skiers hugging their teammates even when their score knocked them out of medal contention. In hunting or in any sport, even in life itself, it’s not what I can do, but what I can contribute.
Whether it’s trying to go faster or farther, go higher or longer, we’ve seen amazing things accomplished when we set our goals, focus on the vision, and follow through with teamwork and dedication.
On a final thought, the athletes that caught my eye at the Olympics were the bobsled teams. No, not the driver, but the other guy, or in the case of the four-man team, the other three.
Their job was to get the sled moving and then jump in, put their heads down and blindly travel at more than 80 mph down that narrow channel, trusting the driver to do his job and keep them safe.
Isn’t that exactly what God asks us to do: to face our challenges, jump into his arms, remain humble, trust his will to guide our lives and he will bring us home safely?
God bless.