Letter to the Editor

In today's Bradenton Herald...

To the Editor

It happened in 2003, but I can still see that little old lady's face as she sat there in Yankee Stadium with tears in her eyes after the Florida Marlins had won the World Series. She asked, "Who are they? Where did they come from?"

The Yankees had individual players who had salaries, in many ways, equal to the entire Florida Marlins' pay roll. So then, if baseball champions were about money, the Yankees would never lose. If it was based on organization, the L.A. Dodges would never lose. If it was just about putting the best players on the field, there would be no need to play! It is a team sport, which means that just being good enough is not always good enough. A winner is the one with "oomph."

Oomph is that internal force that pushes the individual beyond the outer limits of self. It is the the extra steps, the longer stretch that says oomph. It is the throw or that swing in the clutch that says oomph.

Oomph is the maker of a winner. It is where ability is coupled with desire and determination. It allows the individual to reach beyond self. It is where all forces converge in that split second to make a winner. If you do not believe me, ask the Williams (Venus and Serena) sisters. Oomph!

The Tampa Bay Rays are existing on the cutting edge of being a winner but ran out of oomph during their losing streak. The baseball season is lengthy as they travel form town to town, state to state. It is not always the measure of the best but the matter of endurance and peaking at the right time. "Oomph."

Rev. Thomas J. Spikes
Palmetto