Answer: Modern Family themes I won't be focusing on in this post. Sure daddy issues, playground crushes and growing up are important topics, but I'm a sports dude. I live and breathe sports. It's an addiction. So any chance I have to jump on a sports topic, I'm on it like the Yankees on a big-time free agent signing.
So let's look at the action on the Haley/Alex Dunphy Dome Field, specifically Manny's position that his team shouldn't try to win the game.
Manny is misguidedly sweet. His idea to throw the game comes from a good heart. He wants the other team to feel good after their coach died the other day. A noble motive for sure.
On the other hand, Cam is utterly selfish in his desire to win. He wants the all important third win of the season. He wants to be the winningest first-year coach in the history... of a middle school. How pedantic!
When Cam says it feels good to have the team carry you off the field on their shoulders and that it feels good to be the hero, he's right. Winning rocks and losing sucks. But you know what else sucks? Winning because someone else lets you win. There's no honor in that.
In the age of everyone getting trophies, Cam's halftime speech about being a team that the other team could be proud to lose is a message that we all need to hear. Would the other team love to win? Yes. But that win would ring hollow to them because they hadn't earned it.
Whether it's winning, receiving a paycheck, or figuring out a puzzle, it is always more satisfying to accomplish it on your own merits rather than being given the reward.
