Playing for fun vs Playing to win

As someone who was never really all that great at sports as a kid, I can speak for the fact that in team sports, you’re not always fully in control of your choice or the terms of participation. People cajole you into playing because they need a 9th or an 11th person, and you’re the only one around, or because “everyone needs to play” then they get upset when you’re not at their level of awesomeness and the other team exploits that. So I don’t get where people decide they should be all self-righteous about it. Now, as an adult, I discovered that I am better than I was as a kid at many things. I’ll never be a pro athlete at anything, nor is that a major priority for me. I sucked at tennis because it turned out that I couldn’t see the ball, and once I got glasses, my game got better. I’m not a sprinter at all, but my endurance is now pretty good. But all those memories of being bad at sports still make atheltics, particularly team atheletics, something I instinctively resist. These days I exercise for physical and mental health reasons, but trying to crush the competition through physical prowess just isn’t my bag.

bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > My uncle, who is also not athletically gifted, was at one point training very seriously in curling. He figured that this was the only way that he could get into the Olympics or another international event. He didn’t make it to the Olympics, but I have to admit that that was a good concept. So maybe there is still hope for you, bchadwick, to stand among the likes of Kevin Martin and other people who are weirdly and inexplicably popular (in Canada).

Ironically, I was pretty good at archery and riflery, which I don’t understand, because I still needed glasses, but maybe I was able to incorporate other information to compensate for eyesight (targets tended to be fixed, whereas a tennis ball was small and moving). But I must admit, I always wondered why archery and riflery were considered sports, since I figured a sport must be something that involved physical pain and heavy breathing.

i’m legally blind in one eye and was still played varsity baseball for all four years. they key is finding something you love as there are all different kinds of sports and games you can play and accel at. music is another thing. if you have a crappy person on your team and the other team starts to pick on them its just bad manners. i’ve played on many co-ed teams and people who pick on bad players or girls are just sad. i don’t know how else to explain it.

bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- I sucked at tennis because it > turned out that I couldn’t see the ball, and once > I got glasses, my game got better. It definitely helps your tennis game if you can see the ball. lol. I like individual sports and tennis in particular because I like the competitive side of one on one combat, me against you, no coaches, time outs, running out the clock etc. With tennis and most individual sports, there is no hiding out there. You either win or your lose.

It’s particularly frustrating when somebody doesn’t really try in a BJJ tournament…they just tap out immediately.

Palantir Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I think you should play seriously, but not really > be concerned about winning, I would rather play > technically well and lose. Agree 100%, it also doesnt hurt to show the effort and desire to learn how to play technically correct

bchadwick Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > In real life, you want a “play game” to be > challenging enough that you aren’t bored by > playing, but also engaging enough that there > actually is some uncertainty in the outcome of who > is going to win. Agreed. In anything competitive that I do (and like I suspect a lot of us are, I’m pretty competitive), my absolute FAVORITE way for any competitive event to go is to win a hard fought session where: -I win by a small amount -My winning was in doubt, at least a few times -My opponent played at the top of his game -His playing so well forced me to play at the top of my game If I can’t have this kind of competitive experience, a close second choice would be losing the event, but where it was close enough and hard fought enough that points 3 and 4 from above still applied. If your opponent played very well (and you played at the top of your game) and you lost, what can you do about it? Keep relations amicable and learn from them. A sports partner who plays well - but slightly better than you - is a valuable thing to have, in my opinion.

For God’s sake stay alive gents. Your loved ones depend on your getting home after the game. Winning isn’t everything. No matter how good you get, you’ll never beat Chuck Norris.

While I don’t mind playing with someone who sucks, I can’t stand playing golf with people who are slow or who are there to just drink.

What is gained from winning? What is lost from losing? Nothing

^Tell that to the South

Just move to the North.

is the biggest loser a winner? discuss

murders&executions Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > While I don’t mind playing with someone who sucks, > I can’t stand playing golf with people who are > slow or who are there to just drink. Agree 1 Trillion percent.

mar350 Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > is the biggest loser a winner? > > discuss Yes and no.

He couldn’t coach worth a damn, but Herm Edwards had one thing right: “This is what’s great about sports. This is what the greatest thing about sports is. You play to win the game. Hello? You play to win the game. You don’t play it to just play it. That’s the great thing about sports: you play to win, and I don’t care if you don’t have any wins. You go play to win. When you start tellin’ me it doesn’t matter, then retire. Get out! 'Cause it matters.”

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comp_sci_kid Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > When do you draw a line? It really irritates me > that whenever i play a sport (whether it is > basketball, volleyball or whatever) in a > recreational settings, people who suck always > think we should be playing for fun and not to > win. > > WTF? I feel exactly the same way. I was at a competition earlier this year and one of my competitors asked if I was having fun - - I replied no. When he asked why, I said because I didn’t get first. He was like “its all about having fun.” I was like - I don’t think so, dude. I’m here to win. I asked him, “what place did you get in your category.” He was like - “oh I got first.” What a copout. Not sure about you guys, but I would rather be on the beach than spending valuable time and money to compete in something and lose. But, thats just me. :wink:

higgmond Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > There is nothing fun about losing. What about when you lost your virginity?