11. And here she learned the lesson all great champions inevitably learn when their time has passed. 12. And I lost to great champions. 13. At some point, every great champion understands inside that he is no longer what he was. 14. At some point every great champion rallies from defeat to win. 15. Barrera was regarded as perhaps the next great Mexican champion until the Jones fights, in which he was exposed as painfully mortal. 16. Before a certain knee-whacking brought unprecedented attention to the sport, figure skating often produced great champions, but it did not sustain constant rivalries. 17. Below those guys is another group of great champions, guys like Jimmy and Bjorn. 18. Against UConn, even a great champion like Tennessee looked absolutely helpless. 19. All great champions have such nights, and there is no shame in that. 20. Against a great champion, you learn it the hard way. |