I had written sometime back about a victory on the sports field giving the maximum high possible, at least to me.
http://independent-judgement.blogspot.com/2007/09/dancing-on-that-ground.html
(Yeah read that again :-) )
The other day I was watching the classic Roddick vs Federer final. I put myself in Roddick’s shoes and my heart felt for the guy. He had put in his everything, un match able serves, a pure glimpse of grit over class, but just felt short. Just like sports is able to give you the maximum high I felt it can also give you the biggest of lows. “Emotionally drained” that is all I could make out from Roddick’s face after the defeat, at least for that particular moment. It’s that moment when you are so close from what can be a huge victory and suddenly you see it slip out of your hand. You are left helpless and dejected and emotionally drained. Just wanting the thing to play over again. The thoughts of how you could have changed a few things keep lingering in your mind. Just hoping that that one stroke of luck had gone your way…..You have gone into the match picturising the entire crowd shouting your name and cheering you and then suddenly you are there watching the opponent/s clutching the winning trophy and dancing on that very ground!!!.....
When I mentioned this feeling to a friend the question I was asked was, “Is winning everything then?” I do not have an exact reply to this question(although my heart probably continues to say Yes) but I believe this entire feeling comes more because of the love for the sport and the passion for the same than just the pure thought of winning.
5 comments:
"Is winning everything?" is a great question but has to be asked to oneself at the onset and the successful end of ones journey towards ones GOAL.
During the journey, if you keep loosing the destination by a whisker you ought to be dejected, 'coz the more you feel dejected, the more is the drive and hunger to reach the end.
and when you do, reach your end, and look back at the journey, your answer to the aforementioned question would decide, how satisfied you are.. how happy you are..
PS: Those who really deserve to ask and answer the question don't waste there timewriting blogs and comments ;-)
WINNING IS EVERYTHING !!! thts the truth of life...
take an example of this story itself... on tht wall of Wimbledon.. its the name of the winner vch comes up... and not the runner up...
v mite remember how well Rod played nd deserved to win.. etc etc... a few generation hence... Fed wud still b the winner of 2009 nd ROD wud b forgotten
and the title... one foot from winning touchdown.. i had many in past months... so tell me abt it.. it sucks !! nd there is no luck factor involved in loosing... its pure talent.. in my case.. or even in case of Rod...
Is winning always everything in a sport? Given that a sport is a mind game and a battle, I believe that a battle is won or lost before it has begun. Some fight to win some fight to loose. And if winning is everything then what is losing? Is losing nothing at all? You gotta make a journey before you reach that winning stage. Losing is that journey.If I were in Rodick's shoes.. well yes at that moment i would have died. But then in the days to come,I would remember this match as one where i fought for my life till the very end. That high may not equal the high i would get out of a win, but it would definitely make me proud. I may not be remembered as a winner for that day, but i will be remembered as a worthy opponent..unlike for example, Soderling, in French Open.
Whenever I think of Wimbledon 2009,i would always remember that breathtaking Federer-Rodick match. trust me, everyone worth his salt,who saw that match, felt for rodick and will remember him for a long time to come.
I don't believe that "winning is everything". At the end of the day when u get the feeling that u tried ur best n gave ur everything then thats as gud as winning. Yes one does get dissapointed at that moment when we lose, because who does not like to win but thats not the end of the world. Being on the losing side u have to appreciate the skill n class of the opponent and accept the fact that he was a better player on that day and thats the true spirit of sportsmanship. At the same time this should motivate u even more to go that extra mile the next time u play the same opponent.
"Although my heart probably says yes".... winning is everything thats the driving force for any sportsman or for that matter a real fighter to achieve something higher each time out of himself. When one has given his best and still looses the game, its just that the opponent is hinting you that there is little more to go. No doubt loosing hurts, but there is never a case that you will be always on the top. The HIGH in itself is that tricky... its that HIGH or that LOW. Well, SUCCESS is all about how high you bounce back after you hit the bottom! The harder one hits the bottom, the higher should he rise.... and the spirit keeps the game going on.....
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