Almost winning it
IT’S NO LONGER necessary to be a winner to draw some benefit from an award not given. Ending in the “short list” can be enough for bragging rights. Almost winning the prize can be leveraged as an achievement in itself.
Oscar nominees are promoted and speculated on before the actual awards ceremony itself where the eventual winners are announced. Losers believe that “they almost made it,” even mentioning the number of times they were nominated in the past. These finalists after all can feel special too, accorded mention in the winner’s speech as part of a tough field of contenders. In the recent Oscar Awards, a seven-time nominee for best actress and best supporting actress Glen Close missed the prize yet again and was much commented on, with not a little compassion.
Consolation prizes are intended to assuage battered egos, without detracting from the glory of actually winning it all.
Beauty pageants have mastered the art of handing out titles to non-winners. Before coronation night, awards are handed out for talent, friendliness, and photogenic appeal. Sponsors jump into the show with minor prizes (Ms. Roller Blade) allowing this winner to serve as brand ambassador for one year, unless she eventually wins the top prize. On the big night itself, the short list of finalists is designated as a “court of honor.” The second placer (or loser by three points) is called the first runner-up. Should the winner be abducted by aliens or exposed on morality issues for appearing in a video with a doctor using a robotic stethoscope, the first runner-up gamely wears the crown for the remaining week before the next batch of contestants.
What are lifestyle sections, after all, but avenues for life’s runners-up hugging their consolation prizes? The photo gallery in major dailies gives quasisocialites, also known as social climbers, license to drop names as well as falsely attributed aphorisms — as John Henry used to tell me: when a cow has an udder, you know it’s a mother.
Still in real life, being stuck in a short list of finalists offers little consolation.
The student used to a soft grading system that looks out to nurture fragile egos (quietest voice) eventually discovers the binary nature of winning and los-
ing in the real world. When applying for a job after graduation, he either gets hired or receives a rejection email saying “we are overwhelmed by your enthusiasm and the will to win. We will keep your application on file for future reference. Please do not stalk your interviewer in social media.” This always ends with a smiley face that seems to mock the words that accompany it.
We all understand consolation prizes for what they are: a declaration that somebody else better (or judged as such by biased officials) got the prize one was aspiring for. As a Roman Senator of old puts it — it is a consolation for the wretched to have companions in misery. (The Latin version is more impressive.) This nugget of wisdom is the original version of the pithy dispatcher of bruised egos: “misery loves company.”
When we fall short of some longed-for accomplishment, we end up having to offer consolation prizes to ourselves. Our coping mechanism allows us to get on with life after even a publicly humiliating defeat. We can move on and rationalize — I turned down that fantastic job offer before they thought of asking me for an interview. It wasn’t worth the stress (although the pay was fantastic).
Almost winning even a college basketball championship with a Cinderella finish can make a team the darling of its alumni — you will always be the champions in our hearts. Okay, let’s talk about next season.
Political contests, like the one coming up in May, will declare only 12 winners for the highest available positions. There is little joy in being designated “Master Debater with the Best repartees” after the votes are counted — he was good with his rapier wit. (How quickly you forget who your father was!)
Being number 13 in the senatorial race can be an interesting tale of grit to narrate at a dinner party. It is not a story anybody wants to listen to more than once. Winning is still what people remember, including the loser, or almost-winner.
Consolation prizes are intended to assuage battered egos, without detracting from the glory of actually winning it all.