Thrill of victory, agony of defeat

To the editor,

The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat were words coined by the great Jim McKay and hall-of-fame (Wide World of Sports) announcer who did Summer and Winter Olympic games for many years.

Anna-Jonesboro's volleyball team felt the agony of defeat in a first round regional tournament loss to Carterville, a team they had defeated three times during the conference and regular season.

Anyone associated with coaching over time has had these same experiences.

I, for one, had the experience with my 1974 team that went 20-1 during the regular season.

My Jonesboro Bulldogs had defeated the Cobden Appleknockers three times in the regular season and lost to Cobden in the first round of the regional.

The Anna-Jonesboro Lady Wildcats can be proud of their accomplishments.

They played in one of the toughest conferences in Southern Illinois and took first place over some strong opponents.

They defeated Nashville, a perennial power, and Sparta, who has always been a strong opponent in volleyball.

They defeated several large school opponents and played O'Fallon and Benton in very close games before falling.

It has been a great year!. In fact, it has been without a doubt one of the best teams in the history at Anna-Jonesboro.

The ultimate danger of being victorious is sometimes losing sight of how you got there.

It's easier to become number one than it is to stay number one. Why? Because it takes an extra measure of resolve to stay on top. Everyone is out to prove a point, and that is to defeat the one on top.

It is hard to beat a good team four times as would have been the case if Anna-Jonesboro had defeated Carterville.

The ultimate danger of being victorious is sometimes losing sight of how you got there. This happens at all levels up through the professional ranks.

There is also the ebb and flow of a game that can bring a team down. In most contests, there are good and bad moments; the flow of a game is inevitable.

Sometimes it's the bad break, or a bad call, that can deteriorate a team. This is just the way organized sports programs can be.

No one particular school can say they never had these things happen. Du Quoin is a good example of what can eventually happen in one of the greatest football programs in the history of Southern Illinois. Du Quoin's long reign of 27 straight state playoff appearances came to an end with a 5-4 record this year.

Look at the come from behind victories by the St. Louis Cardinals. On paper it looked like the Texas Rangers all the way!

Imagine one strike from World Champions not once but twice. Inconceivable, no we all saw it happen!

The great Yogi Berra always said it "ain't over till it's over."

Congratulations to the Anna-Jonesboro Lady Wildcats. Good luck to the graduating seniors and best wishes to them in the future.

Anna-Jonesboro returns a nucleus of fine players for next season. The future looks bright!

Signed, Coach Ron Fulenwider