Ex Football Coach and Current Football Announcer John Madden has said, "The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else."

Friday night at the Birmingham Jefferson Civic Center, the Clay-Chalkville Lady Cougar Basketball team lost to Bob Jones in the State Title Game. To those who are not familiar with the sports world, this meant that the girls from Clay-Chalkville are second instead of first. Does this mean that if they are n0t champions, that the world will not remember them as John Madden has said?

As Bob Jones was being congratulated with the State Title trophy, the song, "We are the Champions," was being played. On the way home, I could not help but wonder if the Bob Jones girls were the only champions or if the Clay-Chalkville girls could be champions also? The cliché of there only being able to be one winner is true, but is score the only determination of what determines a "champion" in high school athletics?

As the announcer for all of the girls' home games this year, I can say from a first hand knowledge that these teenage girls are champions. As a teacher at the high school, I have also seen them in their life off of the court and know that they are champions, What can I do to substantiate this? Just like David Letterman has his "Top Ten" list, I have a "Top Ten Reasons that the Girls of CCHS Basketball are Champions." My list though is not meant to be humorous and fictional but factual.

Top Ten Reasons that the Girls of CCHS Basketball are Champions

10. "Team Work Makes the Dream Work" became more than a slogan this year.

9. Character was always important both on and off the court.

8. Followship and respect to their coach was always evident this season.

7. Their enthusiasm, passion and spirit was contagious. It grew the crowds through the year to the point of having a large portion of the Civic Center full of the Cougar family from the school and community,

6. The Cougar Pit (student section) always acted with class reflecting the class of the team being displayed on the court.

5. The girls constantly found ways to overcome a wide range of adversity throughout the season.

4. The team learned the definition of "focus" allowing them to block out things that would prevent them from pursuing their goal of success.

3. Many are good and allow that to be sufficient. This team took the steps needed to go from being good to great.

2. Olympic Soccer Champion Mia Hamm said, "The vision of a champion is bent over, drenched in sweat, at the point of exhaustion, when nobody else is looking." This was the picture of this team so many times when there was no applause, no cameras and no crowd watching.

1. The top reason that they were champions and are champions is that they demonstrated just as much class when they lost on Friday night as when they won in their march through the season and the tournament. Anyone can hold their head high when they win but only a true champion can act gracious with class in the face of defeat,