Ken Dryden's "I am a Player"

I am a player

             I love to play
             I want to win
             It matters to me if I win or lose
             It matters to me how I play the game
             I want to win without injustice or bad luck or regret
             I want to own every pleasure and disappointment
             I want to get lost in play
             I want time not to matter
             I want to do something more important than me
             I cannot win alone
             I need my teammates and my opponents to make me better
             I trust, because I have to trust
             I forgive, because I need to be forgiven
             I play a game, not only a game
             I try because that matters to me
             I try because it's more fun that way
             I don't quit because it doesn't feel good when I do
             I play with others, but I play against me
             I learn when I play
             I play when I learn
             I practice because I like to be good
             I try what I've never tried before
             I fail, to fail smarter
             I want to be better than I was yesterday

             I dream
             I imagine
             I feel hard and deep
             I hope, because there's always a way.

                                                                            —July 21, 2003