Winning in a closely contested sport is fun, at any level and in any sport. TCS has won a lot of tournaments and championships over the years. We have the banners and trophies to prove it. In fact, just this week, as a Senior School, we recognized success with a “Half Day” for a host of reasons, not limited to sport (i.e. debating, arts, business competition), but stimulated by victories with our field hockey, harriers and basketball teams.
Truth be told, however, we have lost more than we have won.
Wayne Gretzky played 20 years in the NHL but “only” won the Stanley Cup four times.
Brazil has won the World Cup of soccer five times in 22 attempts. That’s a “fail” of 17 times or almost 80% of the time.
On October 28th, the New Zealand All Blacks lost in the final of the Rugby World Cup to the South Africa Springboks. They lost by one point. To compound the loss for New Zealand, the team captain was ejected from the game for a high tackle which meant that the All Blacks team was required to play a player short for well over half the game.
It is important to note that rugby in New Zealand is HUGE. In fact, it is the country’s national sport. Both New Zealand and South Africa had previously won three Rugby World Cup titles. South Africa now has four titles. Undoubtedly, this was one of the most important games in the history of the World Cup. To say the post-game interview would be “difficult” for the coach would be an understatement.
But, I encourage you to watch the post-game interview of the All Blacks coach, Ian Foster. He handled the interviewer’s questions with grace, poise and class. “We are all gutted…we so desperately wanted to win this but I’m probably equally proud,” said Foster. When asked what has been the highlight of his career coaching the All Blacks, he replied: “What’s the highlight? Probably today. We lost, but what you want as a coach is to get your team on the big stage. And to have your team put their best foot forward. And, like I said, we didn’t get the result (we wanted)...but I couldn’t be more proud.”
I have always been interested in how teams and individuals react after a loss. And, how they conduct themselves when they are losing.
If sport is really about having fun, exercise, competition, sportsmanship and putting values such as respect into action, judging success solely by “winning” is a very narrow, and, in my mind, an inaccurate measure.
As parents, we all need to be reminded that we are role models in demonstrating the true value of human sporting competition. After all, there are far more important conflicts and challenges in the world between our fellow human beings with far greater consequences.
Perhaps the scene I will most remember about the Rugby World Cup finals was a scene that took place after the game. It was when the entire New Zealand All Blacks team remained on the field to witness the awarding of the Webb Ellis Cup to the winning South African Springbok athletes, out of respect for the opposing team, the game of rugby, and sport.
