As the game came to a conclusion, I began to examine the one thing that’s always intrigued me (and sometimes bothered me) about sports athletes and fans: The Character of Winning and Losing. I observed how the coaches and athletes on television reacted to the result, as well as the reaction among the fans both in the media and where I was actually watching the game. I wanted to see if there were any good losers or poor winners. And I was certainly surprised by what I observed.

I saw Randy Moss, who would have been the hero had the Patriots won, exhibit the character of a good winner. Here’s a person who everybody labeled a bad character, but ended up having the best career year of anyone in football history who has played his position. Yet what I admired about him was the manner in which he handled the lost. He was not only congratulatory towards the Giants, he was complimentary as well. For me, that interview may have been one of his finest moments, but nobody will remember it because his team lost the game.

On the other hand, I’ve observed fans and media in the Boston area to be what I call: Poor Winners. It’s an attitude that says “We’re the best and you stink!” It’s not simply a warped sense of appreciation regarding how good the Patriots are, it also involves a depreciation or verbal put-down of others. On far too many occasions, there was even gloating, especially during the beginning of the season when the Patriots were simply destroying their opponents.

This can also happen in life. With our job going great, a wonderful marriage, fantastic grades in school, marvelous children, or a church growing by leaps and bounds there can be an attitude that not only says, “God’s been good to me!” but also says, “And obviously you’re doing something wrong!” It’s at these times when a painful loss in any of these areas tends to bring us back to what we really are: imperfect.

Losing something that really matters can be extremely painful but also beneficially humbling. Jesus sent His Spirit to work humility (meekness) into our lives (Galatians 5:22) because it was the one characteristic that He explicitly ascribes to Himself (Matthew 11:29). And after all, our goal in life is to be like Him.

It’s my hope that if the Patriots win the Super Bowl next year, our fans will express a little more humility during the season, especially after experiencing the pain of having lost the game last night. Nah, I doubt it! But then again, I invite your thoughts.