On the bravery of winners

I want to consider a topic that everyone likes as my first steps into blogging, and that topic is winning. I want to first draw on a phrase in George C. Scott's opening speech in the movie Patton. He said, "Americans love a winner, and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time.... Because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans."

Albeit that this was a script written by a writer for the pleasure of an audience, I feel this sentiment is echoed, but not only by Americans, but by people in general. Winning is the end goal, and is an end in itself. Often times people will justify any means necessary to win, but for just a few moments, let's consider winners.

First I want to draw on some observations from present time, and what is better than March Madness and the final few fixtures of the Premiere League in England. Winning is the only acceptable outcome. Take for example Chelsea in English football. Their manager last year led them to second in the Premiere League Table and was a penalty kick away from winning the UEFA Champions League crown, but ended second to Manchester United. His fate, fired. His success was not winning; it was being the best loser. University of Kentucky basketball is something I am intimately acquainted with, and it is the same situation. Billy Gillespie inherited a UK basketball team that was below what has become a high standard for their men's basketball program. Through his tenure, he has arguably raised the level of talent at UK, and given a few more years will most likely result in a high quality basketball team, but his departure may be already in the cards because he has failed to win. Sir Alex Ferguson of Manchester United has commented about the impatience of people today who demand success at the drop of a hat, but the greatest plight of winners is the expectation that once you are the best, you must stay the best.

This is where I can finally formulate my opinion on the bravery of winners. I don't want to be boastful, but I have staked my life at being the best and being a winner. Up until I was in the third grade, I cried every time I lost. I can remember long division races in third grade math, and I was a juggernaut. One day I lost, and my opponents reply was, "I finally did it, I defeated the brain..."

Though insignificant as that may seem, I was crushed. My level of excellence was tarnished by one faltering moment. Why was it such a big deal to me to lose? I think it is because I am a coward. I am afraid of losing, afraid of not being a winner. As a result, I am a slave to my own mind. Everything I do, basketball to class work to video games, I have to succeed and win. If I fail, then I continue trying until I get better, until I become a winner. Some people see this as bravery. For the sake of argument, consider a hypothetical example. An athlete loses the 100m dash, and vows to win it the next year, so for one year he is consumed by his desire to win. He trains, sweats, and bleeds to achieve his goal, and he wins. So now what must he do? If he is a true winner, then he must win again and defend his crown, so he trains again for a year, just as hard. Why did he train again? I feel, at least in my personal situations, he continues to train because he fears losing. He fears that losing makes him less desirable. This is the cowardice associated with winning. A real example now. Online video games often have rankings associated with them. Once I have achieved a certain rank I often want to stop playing because I fear losing that rank. I am a slave to winning, and must continue to do it to feel acceptable.

On a closely related note this is why I am not a quitter either. Quitting equates to losing, and winners despise losing. As a result, again I am a slave to winning. I find myself in impossible situations, but yet I can't quit, because quitting is losing, and I can't tolerate losing. What is there for me to do? I am stuck in a positive feedback loop that continues to push me in a winning direction, which may not seem bad to many people, but the stress that accompanies winning is immense. More is constantly required of winners until the finally "fall from grace" and disappear, making way for a new winner to take their place. I suppose I have come full circle now, and as such I would like to end with the closing quote from the movie Patton, and I will leave it for anyone to dwell upon the ultimate fate of all winners.

"For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting."

-DoE