Winners and losers

Ed the Editor's personal blog corner

The theory goes that if you don't come first you lose. But if you don't win, does that make you a loser?

Olympians are supposed to take part for the love and privilege of being a part of the Olympic spirit, but the deep-down reaction probably varies depending on where you are in your career. At their peak, the Carl Lewises or Michael Johnsons were expected to win, and usually did, but if the favorites came in second or third they hurt. They wished they had tried harder, been smarter, thought more, or thought less about what they had to do to win, win, win. In their heads, they lost.

Contrast the elitists' approach to perfection with the attitude of the Equatorial Guinean swimmer. His completion of the 100m heat at the Sydney Olympics - without drowning - was in itself his gold medal. And watching his reaction to the warm reception of the spectators made the point that the Olympic spirit did still exist despite the massive commercialism. There is a place for losers.

Losers who become winners

Attitude to winning is all-important, and the Bolivian soccer team proved that it is possible to turn losing streaks around at any time and become a winner. With an 11-year losing streak away from home, they went to South Africa, stuck to their task and won! Of course, the losing side saw their own "lack of victory" as abject failure and a setback on their part, but when the only two options in your head are win or lose, what can you expect but disappointment for one side?

Tour de France Runners-up who became winners

In terms of attitude towards winning and losing, an interesting phenomenon occurred during Armstong's Tour de France reign. There was a handful of amazing cyclists, some of the most single-minded disciplined athletes in competition today, and anyone of them could have won the event gloriously, if Lance hadn't been taking part, (or in Beloki's case in 2003 if he hadn't crashed!) But Armstrong was on a charge and everyone else had to change their mindsets completely, or go mad. Natural born winners like Beloki had to reprogram the chip and see second as their ultimate victory. Interesting, I think, imagining the development of motivational tactics within cycle team managers' heads, turning all they held dear on its head, deeming second and third a victory!

Losers who get famous on their loser status

Eddie The Eagle Edwards took up 90m ski jumping with no trainer, and almost no kit. Unlike the elite athletes who soared like true eagles past the 100m mark, Eddie the ex-plumber would almost fall off the end of the ramp and make 50 wobbly meters, thanks to gravity and fortune. And that he didn't break his neck was more miracle than technique. And in typical British spirit, he acknowledged he was crap but was having a good laugh, and became momentarily famous for sucking.

The Phillies are due to become the first baseball franchise to reach 10,000 losses. There is a new website celebrating the pending milestone, or is it millstone. Perhaps the aim is to shame the team into not reaching that loser mark? Or is there a deep-seated acceptance of failure? Really, despite the alleged demands for perfection, even Philly fans are cool with the knowledge that someone, in fact almost everyone, has to lose in the winning process, so why not celebrate the achievements of a team that tends to not win more than any other?

With 8 matches and 3 losses needed, you can bet the house that the Phillies will not clock up loss 10,000 this season. Under the spotlight they will stand tall and bat the crap out of the opposition - and the opportunist webmaster will have another bout of traffic early next season.

Who are the biggest or worst losers you know of?

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