Alex hit the “why” stage especially hard this last weekend. The word comes out so naturally, so effortlessly that you might as well have been breathing a big world of “why”.

I know it can get a bit intense to hear and feel like you need an answer to it every time, but I really don’t mind. After all “Why” is one of the best questions you can ask.

Lots of times we have questions with quick verifiable answers. Who won? (FC Koln) When and Where did they win? (Last Sunday, at home) Even How did they win is just a google search away. (4 goals from 4 different players over a lackluster Freiburg defense.) But why is a trickier question, one with curiosity at its core.

When you ask why–as in Why have Freiburg lost twice to teams fighting relegation?–you’re seeking something beyond what’s on the surface. You’re reaching for understanding beyond the basics, and into the functions, motives, and causes.

Some may be annoyed by the question. When teaching I certainly have taken my share of deep breaths when students get stuck in a “why” cycle. I will probably tire of the incessant whys even from you boys. To be sure, professional athletes in inexplicably bad form at terribly inopportune moments would not enjoy the question.

But the sad truth is, people who fear the why really fear having to explain their reasoning. I’m most exasperated when I don’t really agree with my lesson’s objectives. Your grandparents definitely were more snappish to me when they had little more than “cause I said so” on offer.

Really digging in and answering “why” is good for you, and for your goals. Is it lack of preparedness, inability to adjust to opposing game plans, is Manuel Guide over extended in a back 3 with Jonathan Schmid and Janik Haberer in front of him?

You might defend any or all of those answers. Any or all of those answers might be right…or might not. But the key is to ask why and to really explore possible answers. If people are going to ask questions, they might as well be good ones.