Sports: A way of life

“Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can’t tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way.” – Jim Courier

At times I wonder what it is that makes a team or a player great. Is it the presence of the great players that makes a team invincible, is it the so called ‘luck factor’ or is it the hard work that comes in picture? A little thought will make one realize that ‘At most of the times in life, it is the attitude of the individual or the team that makes all the difference’.

History is replete with examples wherein teams have won matches but lost hearts. At the same time, there have been teams and players who have been able to register themselves in the golden annals of sporting history as legends, have played with the highest spirit of sportsmanship and were always dignified in defeat.

The FIFA World Cup 2010 final match between Spain and Netherlands is a perfect example. For all the brilliant football that the two teams played up until the match, the final was a no show as far as good football is concerned. What’s even worse is the fact that most fans might remember the match only for the aggression that ultimately took the shape of spiteful kicks. No wonder the match registered itself as the final in which the highest number of yellow cards was awarded. Even if Nigel de Jong’s or John Heiteinga’s kicks would have helped Netherlands win, the match would have been remembered for times to come for all the negative tactics sported on the ground.

In a fit to win, teams often fail to realize what Babe Ruth figured out years ago-

‘The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together as gentlemen, the club won’t be worth a dime’.

On the flipside, we also have the likes of Rafael Nadal who displayed the highest levels of grace after being defeated at the recent Australian Open by Novak Djokovic. Instead of joining the legendary Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg, Nadal had to accept defeat at the hands of the rising star Djoker but his acceptance of defeat while acknowledging Djokovic as the best player of the world today, ensured that despite losing the match, he won the hearts of millions of fans all across the world.

A team is worthy of being treated with respect when it realizes that one of the special feelings in team sport is the vicarious pleasure that comes from unified success.

Last but not the least, there are winners, losers and those who truly excel by doing both with grace and style. The latter form the pool of what we call as ‘Great, legendary players for they are able to show that being both a gentleman and a champion is the finest combination, there is‘.