Patience is a virtue. In all of sports, patience may be a little overlooked, but it may sometimes be very integral to a team’s or player’s success. Especially in the course of a full season, it can be hard not to ignore where you stand currently, and stay focused enough to look at the big picture. We can just start by looking at the abysmal start of the Boston Red Sox. After doling out millions of dollars in the offseason with the acquisitions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez, all the baseball experts penciled in the Red Sox for the World Series. Life is never that simple and the Red Sox are off to a 2-7 start after starting the season 0-6. No one knows what exactly is happening here and things are starting to turn around after two wins against the rival Yankees, but it won’t take long for the Boston fan base to become impatient if the team continues to underperform and lose more games. A lot of it was because of bad offense and defense and in reality, the team is probably the most talented it has been since its World Series in 2007. Patience is a requirement for this team to rebound, and rebounding is almost guaranteed when looking at its talented roster.Boston’s rivals, the Yankees, started the season at 5-4, but also need to have some patience with a certain player. That player is Derek Jeter. The longtime icon and symbol of all that is good in baseball had a lackluster season last year and appears to be on his way to another one. At 36 years old, he currently has a batting average of .206 and is almost regularly hitting weak grounders to second base whenever he bats; however, this may be just a mental thing and despite the age on his body, he still has some tools at the plate to at least get on base. The Yankees should not move him in the lineup, but rather should have faith in their captain to pull through yet again as he starts this year off slow. A lineup shake may have more repercussions than just in the hitting order.Although these two teams have issues at the beginning of the season, there are some teams that must be patient even until the end of the season. Despite some struggles now, some basketball teams must believe they can step it up when the playoffs start. The Lakers, Spurs and Celtics stand out as that type of team, as they are all stumbling into the playoffs. All three teams face issues with age and injury but the veteran presence on these teams will have strong consequences for the playoff hopes of these teams. The talent is there for all of them and it is just the execution that needs to return.Lastly, a great example of patience was shown during the basketball season near the trade deadline. After the Knicks completed a blockbuster deal that finally brought Carmelo Anthony to Madison Square Garden, the Nets were surprisingly able to get Deron Williams for what seemed like a much cheaper cost only days later. The Nets were able to pull off this trade as they were patient and decided to pass on the first deal with Anthony and then stay focused on getting a better deal for Williams very close to the deadline. With trades, it is important to be patient and realize what the full situation is like before pulling the trigger. Instead of the tendency to panic when things seemed lost for the franchise, the Nets were able to get its star as well after playing the waiting game.Even when readying for a swing on the golf course, taking a pitch in baseball or setting up a play in soccer, waiting just a bit for the right moment pays huge dividends. There are moments when the game dictates it or the season dictates it and patience should never be ignored. Instead of forcing things, sometimes it is worth it to let things come naturally in time.
Original Author: Wankyu Lee