Is Winning Everything?
by Jaylord “Mistah” de los Santos
I say, yes it is. What is winning all about anyway? Is it being the team that scored the most? Or being the champions? At the very least, I think, it is NOT always the case.
So if your goal is to win, is your goal really just winning for winning’s sake? It’s really nothing if that’s just about it, right? So, it probably is something more.
In a game of soccer, just like in any ball game, if people ask who won the game, the answer almost always boils down to scores, goals made, or statistics. People tend to forget why a sporting game or sports, in general, was created in the first place.
Winning is not really all about doing it right the first time. It can be about making mistakes, like having a foul throw, accidental foul or not-so-clean tackle, a wayward kick and doing one’s best not to repeat those mistakes again. Ironically and funny as it may sound, it may be losing in a game but learning from it.
It is not in jeering at the opposing team players. It is about cheering a player for a well executed assist even if he belongs to the other team. It is not about talking trash against your opponent and certainly is not in swearing. It is about talking to yourself and affirming that you have what it takes and you can do it. It is really about having the right attitude.
Some players or people will dismiss things by saying that trash talk, jeering or swearing are just a way to hype up the game and psyche oneself up in order to win. Well, that’s their truth and that’s their problem. However, that’s not the only choice out there for you. You don’t have to take the same road or means just to reach your objective which is, in this case, winning. The prize waiting at the end of each game or tournament is not the end-all and be-all of winning. It is neither in the bragging rights nor in the trophy or any award.
A game of soccer or any game is really about the game of life. It is a journey in its own right. Winning the game is really about achieving your goals in life. It is about doing one’s best; defying one’s limits; celebrating the human spirit and as many would put it, living up to a set of core values.
And for those who view it otherwise? Don’t tell them to stop playing. Tell them to keep on playing until somewhere along the road they will meet the truth that they need to understand.
If you would be asking me again on why winning is everything, you should know by now why I will be answering yes. J
Promote the game. Celebrate humanity. Enjoy life. Banzai!
"I am a free spirit. My integrity is to seek my own truth.” - Mistah
