What Defines a Champion?

What now for the Mahopac High School baseball team?

There’s no denying the Wolf Pack suffered a devastating loss to Rye in the Section 1, Class AA championship game. There’s no doubt this loss will linger for a long time… So now what?

They walk with their heads held high.

Why?

Because they got there.

This is no consolation, but few teams can say that. ’Pac had a magical season and made it to the finals. For that alone, they should be proud. And after an appropriate amount of time to deal with the loss and the way it happened, they will be.

They will realize that their diligence, dedication, and hard work was still all worth it. Some teams were knocked out of the tournament early; some didn’t even make it. The Wolf Pack did. They were one of only two teams left standing.

It’s a story they will tell their grandchildren. They will use words like “resilience” and “adversity” – that will define them as much as any title.

They are still champions.

Rich Thomaselli is a longtime sports reporter in the Hudson Valley, and currently covers Putnam County. He can be reached at rich.thomaselli@gmail.com.