Worth The Repost

One of my favorite parts of athletics is seeing normal red-blooded human beings achieve what seems impossible. LeBron’s 50 point game, Curt Schilling’s amazing game against the Yankees in the 2004 World Series with his hurt ankle, Michael Jordan’s “Flu Game” in the 1997 NBA Championship. These are all examples of amazing performances that, before they were performed, seemed impossible. This past weekend I saw one of those exact performances. For those of you who don’t know who Michael Winchester is, I’m going to give you a little insight. He is easily the foundation and the glue that holds the CrossFit Central superteam together. His icy cold veins and seemingly consistent mindset is exactly what you would expect to find in the captain of such a good CrossFit team. Having worked and coached alongside Winchester, it is easy for me to say that he is one of the greatest athletes and best leaders I have ever met.
That’s why when he took the floor on Sunday with Jessica Estrada to perform event six I remember talking to Jeremy Thiel and expressing my confidence in his ability. He’s a veteran. He is the anchor for the team and is known for his consistent performance. I had no doubt he would show up and lead the team in good position to go to the Games. I think it was this exact mindset that created the situation publicized on the Games website. Michael was willing to sacrifice life and limb for his team’s success and found himself in a situation where ironically it took his other team member to get him across the finish line. Watching this performance is one of the more inspiring and fearless performances I have ever seen in person. I would try to explain what I saw that he seems to do it best on his blog. I saw the expression on his face, the obvious pain he was in, and his unshakable perseverance. Check out his blog here and furthermore look at the Games video on this event here for a closer look at what I’m talking about.
A while back, Adidas published a marketing series based on the word impossible. I leave you with a long quote from that series especially as we head into the Southwest regional this weekend.
If you are competing this weekend in anything regardless of the type of sport, this type of mentality has to consume your play or likely you will find yourself on the opposite end of the winners column.
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”