No, this isn't a post about the movie Highlander, though I'd heartily recommend that you see it if you've been living in a cave and haven't already. See it for the Queen soundtrack if for no other reason.This is a post that was inspired by Rich's latest Faulkneresque post about tennis. Not sure if you've had a chance to read it all yet. (I drank a couple Red Bulls and still needed to work in a couple of power naps before I got all the way through it.) But mixed in amongst the riveting tennis play-by-play I gleaned the somewhat tragic tale of a competitor who is consistently shackled with second place.
Rich has historically referred to second place as "the first place loser". So color me a tad bit surprised that he sympathized (or dare I say empathized) with Andy Roddick's plight, if you can call making the Wimbledon finals a plight.
Usually, like battles between immortals, there can be only one winner. Unfortunately, this sage reminder is often shared by well-meaning friends while the battle wounds are still all too fresh to appreciate its truth and in any case does not take away the bitter disappointment. I'm fairly certain that Roddick took little solace in knowing that there are many who would have gladly taken his (second) place.
Still, I think there is a universality to the pain and groanings associated with coming up just short of reaching your goal even if the global interest for your specific endeavor would have been nil otherwise. We've all lost at something in our lives that we wanted badly to win, and misery loves company.
That brings me to the picture above and the documentary that it advertises. The guy on the right, Steve Wiebe, is each of us. He's the guy who's sick... I mean sick... of coming up just short. Life is dealing him body blows, and he needs to win at something... anything. He needs to know that he's not a failure. People can tell you all day long that you aren't a failure, but nothing changes your outlook quite like experiencing a victory. And Steve's desperation attempt at claiming his ever-elusive victory suddenly centers around his obsession with setting the all-time high score on the classic video game Donkey Kong.
You can watch trailers for The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters on the sidebar, but I highly recommend that you watch the entire documentary. Director Seth Gordon entertains you with the mullet and swagger of archrival Billy Mitchell (a real-life Uncle Rico) while slowly immersing you into Steve's POV. I found it to be extremely cathartic even though I was more of a Pitfall or Qbert kind of guy.
Try your hand at these and other classic arcade games online. By the way, Twin Galaxies, the official website for tracking all-time classic arcade records (which is referenced extensively in the movie) is also an interesting view.
1 comment:
See it for the Queen soundtrack if for no other reason.
Would you say the same about the campy Flash Gordon movie as well?
This is a post that was inspired by Rich's latest Faulkneresque post about tennis.
By Faulkneresque, can we assume that means prolific and full of genius?
I drank a couple Red Bulls and still needed to work in a couple of power naps before I got all the way through it.
Maybe those were Red Dog beers rather than Red Bulls.
Rich has historically referred to second place as "the first place loser"
Many, many people refer to second place similarly. Why the need to point a finger?
We've all lost at something in our lives that we wanted badly to win, and misery loves company.
You said it, boy.
People can tell you all day long that you aren't a failure, but nothing changes your outlook quite like experiencing a victory.
Is that another way of saying "nothing like confidence to breed success"? Hmmmm... wonder where you might have heard that...
That said, you're EXACTLY right!
...even though I was more of a Pitfall or Qbert kind of guy.
Back on March 24, 2006, we had a Classic Video Game Rank 'Em post, of which I'm sure your steel trap mind is well aware, and of all those cool video games, you're going with Qbert as one of your top two? Yeesh. It takes all kinds.
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As to the whole post, very well done. You know I have that personal disdain for finishing runner-up or somewhere even less in competitions I'm a part of and upon which I have a direct bearing. It's funny, I don't have that as a Little League coach - just when I'm personally playing. But at times in your life when you're in a slump and you just keep losing (in sports, at work, or wherever in life), what really feels worse? Grief? It actually sort of resembles grief - at least how grief hits me - in the way it makes you feel. Hollow. Empty. Depressed. Can't shake the feeling.
I think that's why so many coaches in sports state that winning and losing are contagious. And that there's an atmosphere that permeates both types of clubs or locker rooms. You actually have to overcome the mentality of losing if you've done it for a long period. And while a lot of people probably don't dwell on it, it's a HUGE hurdle and much bigger than most people might think.
Lastly, as much as you might not think for Andy Roddick - a Grand Slam winner and finalist several times - that losing repeatedly to Roger Federer is a "plight" because he's in a position most others can only hope to dream about, I don't think he can take any consolation in his status at all. Internally, and that's where it counts, you want to climb your personal Everest, and Federer is that for him. Each time you fail, it takes guts, will, and hard work to try again thinking, this time I'm doing it.
An analogy might be a little like repentance over that sin that keeps getting you over and over. You want to overcome it, you try and try, but it keeps beating the tar outta you. This next time, though, is the time I beat it. And it beats you again. But this next time... [Of course, with sin, you need God, and the analogy falls apart there, but the battle is similar.]
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