As a high school coach， I did all I could to help my boys win their games. I rooted as hard for①victory as they did.
A dramatic②incident， however， following a game in which I officiated③as a referee④， changed my perspective on victories and defeats. I was refereeing a league championship basketball game in New Rochelle， New York， between New Rochelle and Yonkers High.
New Rochelle was coached by Dan Brien， Yonkers by Les Beck. The gym was crowded to capacity⑤， and the volume of noise made it impossible to hear. The game was well played and closely contested⑥. Yonkers was leading by one point as I glanced at the clock and discovered there were but 30 seconds left to play.
Yonkers， in possession of the ball， passed off-shot-missed. New Rochelle recovered-pushed the ball up court-shot. The ball rolled tantalizingly⑦around the rim⑧and off. The fans shrieked⑨.
New Rochelle， the home team， recovered the ball， and tapped it in for what looked like victory. The tumult was deafening. I glanced at the clock and saw that the game was over. I hadn’t heard the final buzzer because of the noise. I checked with the other official， but he could not help me.
Still seeking help in this bedlam， I approached the timekeeper， a young man of 17 or so. He said， “Mr. Covino， the buzzer went off as the ball rolled off the rim， before the final tap-in⑩was made.”
I was in the unenviable position of having to tell Coach Brien the sad news. “Dan，” I said， “time ran out before the final basket was tapped in. Yonkers won the game.”
His face clouded over. The young timekeeper came up. He said， “I’m sorry， Dad. The time ran out before the final basket.”
Suddenly， like the sun coming out from behind a cloud， Coach Brien’s face lit up. He said， “That’s okay， Joe. You did what you had to do. I’m proud of you.”
Turning to me， he said， “Al， I want you to meet my son， Joe.”
The two of them then walked off the court together， the coach’s arm around his son’s shoulder.
① root for全力支持
② dramaticadj. 戏剧性的
③ officiatev. 行使
④ refereen. 裁判员
⑤ capacityn. 容量
⑥ contestv. 比赛，竞争
⑦ tantalizingadj. 让人非常着急的
⑧ rimn. 蓝框，边缘
⑨ shriekv. 尖声叫喊，尖声喊叫
⑩ tap-inn. 托进或拨进篮框
真正的胜者
作为一名高中篮球教练，我竭尽全力帮我的学生在比赛中取得胜利。我全力支持他们在比赛中取胜，他们也刻苦训练。
然而，在一场我所裁判的比赛之后发生了一件富有戏剧性的偶然事件。这件事改变了我对胜败的看法。那是一次篮球冠军联赛，当时，我在纽约州的新罗谢尔市给新罗谢尔和扬克斯两个队之间的比赛作裁判。
新罗谢尔队的教练是丹·布赖恩，而扬克斯队的教练是莱斯·贝克。体育馆内座无虚席，呼声震天。比赛顺利进行，两队比分接近，扬克斯队仅以一分的优势领先。我看了一下时钟，距离比赛结束仅剩30秒。
扬克斯队控球在手，传球、投篮，但是没投中。新罗谢尔队重新控球，将球向场地的另一个方向传球，然后投篮。观众急切地盯着球，球沿着篮球筐边急速旋转，最终又落了下来。球迷们尖声喊叫。
主队新罗谢尔队重新把球夺过来，把球拨进篮筐，似乎已经赢得了比赛的胜利。人群的呼喊声震耳欲聋。我看了一下时钟，已经过了比赛结束时间。由于声音太大，我没有听到终场信号声。我向另外一名工作人员核对时间，但是他说不清楚。
我仍然在混乱中求助，我走近计时员，一个大约17岁的年轻人。他告诉我：“科维诺先生，当球滚出篮筐时，终场信号发出了，在最后球又被拨进篮筐之前。”
“丹，在最后那个球被拨进篮筐之前，时间已经到了。” 我无可奈何地告诉布赖恩教练，“扬克斯队赢了。”
他脸色阴沉了下来。那个年轻的计时员走上前，说：“爸爸，对不起。在最后一个球投中之前时间就已经到了。”
突然间，布赖恩教练的脸色就像太阳拨开了乌云，转晴了，他说：“没关系，乔。你做了你应该做的，我为你感到骄傲。”
他把脸转向我，说：“埃尔，我介绍一下我的儿子，乔。”
布赖恩教练把胳膊搭在儿子的肩膀上，两个人一起离开了球场。
