In high school, a bunch of us Asian kids entered the school basketball tournament.  We got matched up against a team comprised of several varsity players and overall bigger, taller, faster players.

No Disney ending here.  We lose by 30-40 points.  At the end of the game, the other team is dunking on us, throwing alley oops, hollering, and yapping.  At the start of the game, they are also smirking and showboating.  A humiliating moment in my memory.

It wasn’t, however, until recently that I remembered the lesson of that night. 

For the first 10 minutes of the game, we were winning.  Not just by one basket, but several.

And for a moment, you could see the looks on the other team go from contempt to fear.  That we actually showed up to play.  Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.