Sport isn’t just about winning and losing
OPINION: It is time to embrace the fact we are a bunch of losers. Since the early days of competitive sport in New Zealand we have been losing; sometimes in cheekburning, gut-wrenching fashion.
But winning and losing aren’t as black and white as the national flag we don’t have. We must learn from politicians and see a loss as just another type of win.
As we head into the early stages of the Commonwealth Games it’s worth remembering that losing is not all it’s not cracked up to be. There can only be one winner, which is why most of us are losers but that needn’t be seen as failure. With a bit of creative thinking and the attitude of a champion, you too can accept that losing is in the eye of the beholder.
Take Joseph Parker’s loss which was really a win-loss. By lasting 12 rounds against Anthony Joshua he won a battle but not the war. His critics saw it as a lossloss-moan combination because he was not created in the image of Muhammad Ali. Even if he’d won, it would’ve been a loss-win for them. His mumprobably saw it as a win-win because her boy did not get his head punched in and was able to give her a reassuring hug at the end.
Sometimes a draw can be a winwin which is that magical place the Blacks Caps basked in this week. Despite newly-formed Twenty20 attention spans, fans made it through the test series without even considering a nap. A draw clinched the series against England and saw our boys leapfrog Australia into third in the test rankings.
As happy as I amabout this I’m concerned our expectations have been raised, therefore any future draw could be seen as a draw-loss.
Sportspeople must look for the positives and learning opportunities or go mad.
Take Tommy Lasorda for example, former manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers who said: ‘‘The best possible thing in baseball is winning the World Series. The second best thing is losing the World Series.’’
Sadly many fans are incapable of such philosophical views when their team loses, unless they support the Warriors.
The Warriors were big losers last year but I cannot say that about their die-hard fans. While critics, including myself, wondered if this team had the guts to even be in the NRL, the fans believed.
So far this season, that has been repaid. Even one loss wouldn’t have registered as failure due to the horror of years past. Losing by one or even a few points will probably rate as a win for the rest of the season. But in my opinion, the fans are the true winners here.
Sadly, no matter the results on the field it can be a loss off it for all involved.
Three Australian cricketers have found themselves in a failloss hole but they are not the only losers. What the cheating has exposed is a lack of perspective. Scuffing up a cricket ball has received far more column inches that the incidents of domestic abuse, violence, sexual abuse and harassment committed by sportspeople. It’s a societal problem and we all lose when even the high-profile incidents are brushed under the carpet.
This is why Wallaby Israel Folau’s recent social comment must be discussed. His reply to a question asking what God’s plan for gay people is was ‘‘HELL ... unless they repent of their sins and turn to God’. An opponent of gay marriage, Folau is entitled to his opinion but it’s a damaging comment which only encourages hate.
Sport can help dismantle racism, sexism and homophobia but athletes need to show the way.
Thank goodness gold medal star Sophie Pascoe has given us a winwin start to the Commonwealth Games before a buzzer or bell has even sounded. It’s a win for the Paralympics and for inclusiveness. While some may see the friendly Games as inferior to the Olympics, I see it as a game changer in a world obsessed with victory at all costs. Sport isn’t just about winning and losing. It’s never that simple.