Have you seen the movie Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade?
The 1989 blockbuster, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Harrison Ford and Sean Connery, is one of my absolute favorites.
And the very first scene, I think, gives a great message that I've often taken to heart when it comes to athletics.
The movie starts out in 1912, where young Henry "Indiana" Jones -- played by the late River Phoenix -- and his Boy Scout troop are horseback riding in Arches National Park in Utah.
While exploring one of the caves, Indiana and his friend Herman come across a band of men who have found a golden cross of Coronado. Indiana steals the cross, which starts a wild chase through the Utah desert, leads them on a fantastically fun sequence on a circus train and finally back to Indiana's house, where he hopes to return the cross to the sheriff so it can be safely placed in a museum.
Only that's not what happens. The sheriff hands the cross back to the men who found it, but the leader of the men gives young Indiana an inspirational message.
"You lost today, kid," the man said, "but it doesn't mean you have to like it."
The man then puts his hat on Indy's head, and the scene shifts 24 years in the future where Indy eventually steals the cross back.
It's truly a great scene.
So what's the message here?
Siloam Springs' football team lost last Friday at home 34-27 to Lake Hamilton in a 6A-West Conference game loaded with superlatives.
A win would have put the Panthers in a great spot to qualify for the Class 6A playoffs. A loss puts them further behind the eight ball.
But it doesn't mean the Panthers have to like it. Not at all.
The season isn't over for Siloam Springs. There are three regular season games left, starting this Friday with the longest road trip of the season at El Dorado, followed by the regular season home finale against Texarkana on Oct. 27 and a road game at Russellville on Nov. 3.
My guess is winning two out of the next three will get the Panthers in the playoffs. Winning just one of them might do it as well, depending on which one that is and by how much.
It's time for each and every one of the players to look at themselves in the mirror and ask what it is they want out of the rest of this season. The coaches too.
Siloam Springs is still in this thing and the odds are stacked against it a little bit. The goal is a bit tougher now, but that only means it's going to be that much sweeter if they accomplish it.
Like Indiana Jones with the golden cross of Coronado, Siloam Springs can't give up on the rest of the adventure.
-- Graham Thomas is the managing editor for the Herald-Leader. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Sports on 10/18/2017