Overwhelming need to win infects us all

If there's one thing about history that is truly ironic, it's that heroes can turn into villains without changing anything about themselves.

In fact, it happens for many of them long after their deaths.

I'm not talking about Founding Fathers who owned slaves. The case I have in mind is far more recent.

Take Vince Lombardi, probably the most legendary of NFL coaches. He had amazing success in the 1960s and was the winning coach in the first two Super Bowls.

His most famous quote was the one in the box to the right, and while Lombardi never suggested cheating to win, he later realized that when you say there is nothing other than winning, stuff happens.


Stuff like a quote attributed to NASCAR legend Richard Petty among others:

If you ain't cheatin', you ain't tryin'."

Vince Lombardi

And 50 years later, look at us.

The Houston Astros won baseball's World Series in 2017 by developing a system of stealing signs that gave them an unfair advantage.

The Boston Red Six did the same thing in a lesser scale the next year.

Other teams in other sports, such as the NFL New England Patriots, have been accused numerous times.

It isn't just sports, either. Politics has become a swamp of unethical behavior, and businesses have done everything they can to gain market share and/or reduce expenses.

Dang Vince Lombardi anyway.

Actually, he knew he had misspoken and said numerous times late in his life that he regretted ever saying it. What he should have said, he said, was this:

"Winning isn't everything. Wanting to win is."

Better, but still not great. It has been a hundred years since legendary sportswriter Grantland Rice spoke to our better angels with his thoughts on the subject.

A different world, huh?

No question, and in many ways a better one.