"I love winning, man! I fuckin' love winning! You hear what I'm sayin'? It's, like, better than losing?"
Eppy Calvin "Nuke" LaLoosh

During the five years I spent in college, my football team (the mighty Missouri Tigers) never had a winning season. Oh, we came close my freshman year (1987), and if not for the whole fifth down fiasco in 1990 we might have found the confidence to, say, beat Iowa State and managed to get to 6-5...but we didn't. Missouri may have a proud football history, but I went to school during its worst losing stretch in more than 100 years.

These days, of course, are wine and roses. Missouri has gone to a bowl for four straight seasons--not to mention seven out of the last eight. Mostly minor bowls, of course, but that's fine by me. I'm not greedy.

My other football team, the Kansas City Chiefs, has been good during my lifetime, even if it won its only Super Bowl three months before I was born. The last three seasons, however, have been the worst three consecutive seasons in K.C. history. Ten wins in three years, even worse than the justifiably maligned Mike Livingston seasons of 1977 and 1978, when the Chiefs went 2-12 two years running.

This September, however, my teams couldn't lose. Both tried mightily, but they failed to fold. Each team won ugly a couple times, but as we enter October my teams are a combined 7-0. And they'll remain that way for a couple weeks, as neither plays next weekend. I will have another two weeks to celebrate.

Responsibly, of course.

It's something, really. During the 40 Septembers of my life, there has been nary a one where both teams won all their games. Never mind that during much of my youth, my college team was Kansas (a fact I try to hide from my Missouri brethren).

In truth, growing up a Jayhawks football fan was even worse than being a Mizzou fan in the late 1980s and early 1990s. In seasons where Kansas has played more than one game in September (up until around 1950, the season started at the end of September or beginning of October--football wasn't on TV back then), the Jayhawks have won every ninth-month game 11 times, and four of those were two-win Septembers. They've been playing football at Kansas since 1890--mostly badly.

So here I am, my two teams undefeated and untied. What does this really mean for my life?

I'm happy. That may be stupid (and I know a few people who feel quite vehemently this way), but I'm happy nonetheless. Yes, I know that both of my teams are, quite likely, just a shade better than mediocre, the truth is that as long as you win you're still up at the top of the standings.

There comes a point, of course, where it's better to be good than simply to win. Back in 2003, the Chiefs started the season 9-0. And they lost their first playoff game to the Colts, a remarkable affair that featured only one punt. Astonishingly, this punt came with five minutes left in the game. The Chiefs were down by a touchdown, and Coach Dick Vermeil thought his defense might be able to stop the Colts and get the ball back.

But the Chiefs defense wasn't good. The Colts kept the ball, scored and won the game. When it mattered, the Chiefs lost. All that winning didn't count for much.

Life isn't a zero-sum game. Most of us aren't winners or losers. We're merely muddling through. We win some, we lose some and we hope that by and large the season is a good one. But judging a good season can be tricky. Some wins and losses are more important than others. Just about every Missouri fan will tell you that a successful football season is one in which we beat Kansas. And an unsuccessful season is one where we lose to Kansas. I tend to concur.

So most of us hope that we fare well in the important games. A good spouse (for many), a meaningful career (again, for many), a solid community of family and friends (for just about everyone). There will be ups and downs, wins and losses, but we all hope to have a good season.

What's really funny, though, is how much better my personal season feels when my football teams are sitting 7-0 for September. The converse simply isn't as true. When my teams blow (and I have plenty of experience with that), I simply tune them out and look for other avenues of inspiration. I find that solution to be more healthy than brooding. Then again, brooding gives me a headache, and I've rarely been inclined that way.

So. Cheers to mighty Mizzou and the Chiefs. It's almost certain that dark days lie ahead, but right now the sun is shining brightly and life is good. As it should be.

Jon Worley is prepping for one hell of a hockey season. Rooting for the Caps and the youthful 'Canes should make it a very good winter.