Reigning champions

Following up my post on expectations, I thought it was appropriate to discuss my thoughts on a popular phrase I hear overused in the sports arena - defending champion. These words create expectations and come with a mountain of pressures that are unnecessary for athletes to carry.

To "defend" a title means that if you were to lose (a match, game, etc.) then you would lose the title. This isn't the case in the sport of wrestling. If you are a returning champion, no one can take from you the title you have already earned.

Instead of the title Defending Champion, I think it's appropriate for athletes to see themselves as Reigning Champion, Returning Champion or simply Champion. They're not defending anything.

If you were a state champion last year or previously conference, regional or sectional champion, I assure you, no one gets to take those honors from you. You need to understand this when you step on the mat. This outlook can change your entire season because it lightens the load of expectation and pressures.

On the flip side, you don't get special treatment because you have won a title in the past. It needs to be earned, just like the previous one.