Quote:
Originally Posted by jgannon
I know better than to throw rocks at a guy with better aim than me, so I'll lob 'em real easy.
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I'm not 100% sure this is true, Joey, but I appreciate you being kind to an older guy
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgannon
Why does that have to be the case? It seems like I see an article like this every week. The winning coach always says something like this one: "We show the most respect for our opponents by continuing to play hard." I invariably find myself in agreement. It's no fun to get blown out, but if a team is going to slow themselves up because they're crushing you, it borders on demeaning. |
In the context of winning a sporting event, under the rules that govern their games, you are correct. The coaches and players who make these statements on a regular basis are doing so as part of a culture that values working one's butt off to win a championship for that one team. The example article you point to should be troublesome. Clearly, there are many ways to play hard and work on your game without running up the score. I was a coach for nearly a decade and one of these athletes from age 8 through high school. I remain a big sports fan. This, though, is NOT our culture. Dean talks about borrowing from the excitement of sports, NOT from the "we are here to kick your butt" part. It's unfortunate, but there are very few professional, major college, or even high school/youth sports programs out there anymore that exist for the overall development of a healthy citizen in a global society that has really pressing problems we need to solve.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jgannon
I appreciate this sentiment, but I don't think you'll find what you're looking for in <G14>. I'm not going to feel better about losing 29-10 when I know the only reason it wasn't 90-0 is because my opponents found it beneficial to ease up. The culture change has to come from things with no selfish subtext, or no one's going to buy into it. This is the kind of behavior we should be encouraging. |
Joey, I love this ESPN article and yes, that is the world I believe we need to see a LOT more of. Beyond sports on this planet, what value does the "blowout" model have at all? I'd also point you to this example that brought major attention from media outlets:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODqjUqW3c0U .
I sit my boys down in front of these examples and try to teach them that these are examples of what it REALLY means to be a champion. Also know that if ALL of your examples come from the world of sports, then you're really missing the big picture. Go find the real world engineering examples of collaborative efforts and you'll be closer to what we're supposed to be getting done.
This year our team learned about and began to support local chapters of Engineers Without Borders. All of the college participants that we met talked about the need for them to use a lot less of their technical expertise and a greater need to help in third world situations by utilizing the available materials smartly while building systems others, with far less education, could maintain. Communication becomes even more important than the engineering. Funny, all of these students and professors "feel" great about what they are doing - in fact I'd use the word "fulfilled." If you're worried about how you might "feel" during or after a match, maybe you and your team is focused on the wrong stuff. "Compete like crazy" but, always, always have a sense of why you are really there - especially in the heat of battle.
namaste