“Winning isn't everything, but wanting to win is"
-Vince Lombardi
While winning isn’t everything simply giving up without a fight is shameful. If you gave it your all you can walk away with a feeling of pride, even if you didn’t get the gold. True victory is all a matter of perspective and attitude.
This lesson is best exemplified in the hit movie Rocky, in the movie no name boxer Rocky Balboa works his way up to challenge heavy-weight champion Apollo Creed. Rocky did not win the fight but, he was able to last 15 minutes in the ring with Creed which a new record and it works out quite well for him thanks to endorsement deals and merchandise. As a matter of fact, this premise is constantly used in media where the protagonists must face impossible odds against far superior opponents but Rocky is the best example because in the end most of the films had the protagonists win.
In my earlier years I was admittedly a spoiled sport. As a child if I didn’t win I would begin to cry like a brat thus resulting in a well-deserved lecture from my parents. Later as an adolescent I would get very angry and would blame “unfair” advantages of other players: like the fact they put in more effort, practiced harder, or worked out more often. Thankfully, as a young adult approach the age of legality I has finally learned that even though I might not win and long as I try my best I can at least say I gave it my all and gave my opponent a good match. I proved my maturity in sports in a recent fencing tournament I participated in. I was paired up with a left-handed opponent, the likes of which I had never faced, who was also a rank higher than me. Though I knew winning wasn’t much of a possibility I gave it my all and managed to score three points out of the five I needed to win. My effort allowed me to walk away genially proud. It’s like I am the Rocky of Fencing though with a lot fewer bruises.
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