IT'S NOT WINNING BUT HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME...

IT'S NOT WINNING BUT HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME...
` That's what people say ... But not necessarily what they mean. I think most people want to win, even though they might not admit it.
` That's what's said to console someone who tried hard, but didn't quite achieve their goals.

I'd like to believe it but in my experience people who play games (referring to sports at least..) tend to be pretty serious about it. I used to play softball after work and the first few teams I was on were "fun" teams. All the rest were dead serious and winning was the objective. They had no interest in fun.

It seems we are to competitive at heart...

fishin'

Yeah ... Disappointing, isn't it?

Yes msolga - it is! The first few years I played it was because we were all out there just to have fun, joke around, have a few beers and mostly just chat and act like big kids.

When things got to the point where guys were benched for the season (not allowed to actually play) because they dropped a ball one time it was getting to serious and I just quit playing.

IT'S NOT WINNING BUT HOW YOU PLAY THE GAME...

If you believe that, I have a bridge sell you.

...can you describe it?

Playing to win
I've been in both situations many times. Played well and won, played well and lost. I'll tell you that there were some times even in a loss that I felt good about the way my soccer team played, but a win of any kind seems to me to be better than any kind of gracious loss.
I was a referee for a number of years and I tried very hard to make the game worth it even to the losing team. Meaning I tried to make the result of a game the result of a team's actions and not due to any missed call of mine. I guess I officiated a couple hundred games, never did I hear any member of a losing team that they were satisfied with their losing effort. There was always commiseration, -- good effort, well played, etc or jokes, -Did you enjoy the afternoon in the sun?- but little joy in loss.

Joe

But it's not any fun if I don't win!

I believe that "but how you play the game" was created by someone who wanted to make themselves feel better about losing. I never play to lose, and when I do I certainly feel bad about not winning. How I played the game is irrelevant to me because the end result is that I'm a big loser, isn't it?

I also think it subscribes to good sportsmanship, of which I am not. I am not the kind of person who lets children win at games to build their self-esteem. I am not the kind of person who says "good game" to someone if everyone would have been better off if they had stayed home.

It's mean and possibly makes me a nasty person, but I can live with that.

A US Football Coach (can't remember who) once said, "Show me someone who came in second and I'll show you a loser".

I agree, and the way to play the game is to try to win. :-)

Whenever I played a sport my intention was to always win. If you play the game good enough, you will win.
When I coached, my intention was to win the game by playing well.
So, it is how you play the the game and winning that counts.

I heard a slightly different form of Tommy's quote. It went "Show me a good loser, and I'll show you a loser."

And in those days there were Giants upon the earth.....
We need some player from the New York Giants to post here.

The NFL released a statement yesterday saying that the game Sunday ended after a missed call of pass interference. Replays show that the penalty was about as blatant as you can get, the fist of the defensive player yanking the pass receiver's jersey practically off his chest in order to pull him down and away from the ball.

No whistle. No Flag.

Ask me why I am no longer a sports fan and haven't been for twenty five years.

Joe

Did someone say "Good guys finish last"

Yeah, au1929. Different meanings in different contexts, of course...

As to the question -- it depends on whether I feel I have the ability to win. If it's something I've never been very good at, like baseball or pool, I'm happy just to exceed my own standards (like when you watch Canadian coverage of the Summer Olympics; they get very excited about a 7th place finish in a semifinal heat if it is the swimmer's personal record, for instance). If it's something I've generally had some success at, like darts or basketball or most card games, I want to win. It doesn't devastate me when I don't any more, though...

Sometimes sports are for fun; others, for competition. But everyone must try to do their best, always.

I played in an amateur baseball league until 2000, with my newspaper coworkers. In 1999 we were crowned "worst team of the century", after losing the game for last place. We played well, and the other team was so worried to be last, that they did what the best teams in the league do: hire pros during their winter recess. They jettisoned the fun, to supposedly "save face". I find that stupid.

Now I switch sports and go to small children's soccer. In Mexico, the games finish 5-4 and after the game the parent asks the child "How many goals did YOU score?". In Italy, the games finish 1-0, the whole team must do push-ups if they get a game scored against, and the parent asks: "Did your team win?". In both countries they ask the wrong question. IMHO, it should be: "Did you have fun?".

But, as age changes, so do expectations. A 40 year old or an 8 year old should want only to have fun. But what about teenagers? If they learned how to have fun with their game, they can push for excellence. That's where winning counts.

In high level competition, winning is the most important thing.

As spectators, we are usually happier when our team wins, even if it not played well than when it loses, even if it played well. But of, course, we like it better to lose playing well than playing bad.

Americans are the most competitive people in the world. That's why they have the best mentality for excelling at sports. I think that is something the rest of the world admires, or at least acknowledges.
At the same time, in every level of competition, they want too much. It's disgusting, for the rest of the world, to see an American with a sour face because the Olympic medal was "only silver".



At the same time, if you are in a competitive l

Me personally playing a sport? Ha! First of all, little chance of that happening but when it does, I am a player for fun. I don't care about winning and if you do care to win best not pick me for your team. I enjoy the activity, the comraderie and learning something. While I will try my best when I'm called on, I am a goofer and will not hesitate to shout out at others to make it interesting. I will tease those who take it too seriously and will encourage those who absolutely suck. I get absolutely no enjoyment from taking it far too seriously and busting my ass or hurting someone else trying to make a save/goal/whatever.

However, if it's a professional sporting event then that is totally different. These people are so good at their chosen sport that they get PAID to play. I expect them to do their hardest to win. I also want to enjoy watching them, so some entertainment value in seeing how they play is good too - I can be entertained by both good and bad sportsmanship.

Most interpretations of "how you play the game" might mean fairness or good sportsmanship. My reason to play the game is for fun and/or for entertainment value, whether to me or those others watching. I think I just like yelling a lot!!!!

fbaezer,

I second the opinion that Americans are the most competitive people in the world.

Examples? Contrasts with other societies? Name an example of a country which is the opposite.