Winning is something players, coaches and fans can get used to and when you do, it can be difficult to handle losing.

It’s because of an ever-growing issue of entitlement.

The players feel they are entitled to playing time or a certain role on the team because it is their turn as a returning player or upperclassman. They feel entitled to play in a game which they didn’t earn a place to play in.

There are a number of examples of this.

This fall at one of tennis’ Grand Slam tournaments, tennis star Serena Williams called chair umpire a “thief” in a loss of the US Open championship match.

The reason for the outburst was due to the umpire dishing out two penalties — one for coaching and one for smashing her racket into the court.

Her post-match antics overshadowed the real story of Naomi Osaka’s first career Grand Slam win.

Just this week, Oklahoma State football coach Mike Gundy had this to say when asked about a player who announced his was transferring to a different team: “I think we live in a world where people are noncommittal … We allow liberalism to say, ‘Hey I can just do what I want, and I don’t really have to be tough and fight through it.’… In the world today, there’s a lot of entitlement.”

How about Johnny Manziel skipping a Cleveland Browns game only to show up at a party in Las Vegas? How about Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the National Anthem?

It’s not just a problem on the national stage or in the Big 12 Conference. It’s becoming a more prevalent issue, even the high school level.

Kevin Eastman, a former Los Angeles Clippers vice president of basketball operations, once said, “Entitlement never wins championships. Investment wins championships.”

In some cases, the attitude of entitlement casts a shadow over what fans, the student-athletes and coaches should be celebrating.

All you have to do is look at the actions of a group of Jackson fans and parents following Torrington’s come-from-behind victory two weeks ago.

It’s a shame it came to this because the Broncs were 0-9 just a year ago. The amazing one-year turnaround to reach the state semifinals should be the real story. The fact Jackson had an undefeated team on the ropes should be the real story, not just the final 70 seconds of the game.

But only people who feel entitled make something out of nothing and ignore the real facts.

The real fact that Jackson failed to stop Torrington on five occasions, including three fourth downs. Throw in a drive-ending fumble by Jackson’s Jayden Cox deep in Torrington territory. A pass interference penalty in the end zone. It all adds up over a 48-minute football game.

Torrington didn’t cheat. The game officials didn’t cheat. The clock keeper didn’t cheat. Jackson cheated itself. Jackson robbed itself.

It’s taken everything I’ve had to keep my mouth shut on the topic because, unlike Jackson, I didn’t want controversy to take away from the real story. The real story of Torrington’s second consecutive state championship bid. The real story of a record-breaking year for senior running back Bryan Lemmon. The real story of a bid for an undefeated season. The real story of a team trying to end a state title drought, dating back to 1990.

Ultimately, only one team sees its season end with a victory, and that team just happened to be Star Valley last Friday at War Memorial Stadium on the campus of the University of Wyoming.

This week, I had a chance to sit down with both Blazer coach Mark Lenhardt and Torrington High School Athletic Director Dave Plendl and visit about the last couple weeks, and the way they’ve handle this situation and subsequent loss in the state title game has been amazing to watch.

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, we all should be thankful for a group of coaches, administration, student-athletes in Goshen County who don’t stoop to the entitlement level.

Congratulations to the Blazers and all the area fall sports teams on another fantastic and entertaining fall sports season in 2018.