It’s something we teach our kids, as long as we aren’t savage footy dads or rampant soccer mums. Lose well.
Geoff Lemon’s excellent Roar article last week brought such things to mind.
How we’re taught that at the end of the game, win or lose, you shake hands.
How you don’t blame the umpire for his bad calls, you get on with play. How it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.
In a nation that has built its national myth on an absolute drubbing in a war zone, it’s not surprising that at the core of our national psyche was the ability to lose well.
One of the other quirks of a nation built on blood is that we are no longer militaristic. The loss of two generations in world wars, then the futility of subsequent wars in Asia, sat us outside the warmongering of the world around us.
During this period we saw an Olympic Games that bore no gold medals. We made movies and music that were quintessentially Australian, liked overseas only as quirky products of Down Under, but rightly appreciated now as classics.
We had cricket teams that featured names like Thompson, Lillee, Marsh, Jones, Border, Boon and Healey, but they were also the worst in our history: we lost more than we won.
Australia knew its place. We were the insignificant dot in the ocean at Keating’s arse end of the world, a country largely ignored that occasionally popped up to do something bizarre, like our totem kangaroo.
We lost well. We lost and kept out heads high. We were players, not winners. We had integrity. We fought our battles on ovals, grounds, tracks or pitches, not in trenches or on the beaches (unless it was a surf event).
Sport was Australia’s great war, and we lost it as well as we had lost our foundation myth at Çanakkale.
Sport in Australia is an experience of passion. It is food to the Italians, music to the Germans, latex bondage kits hidden in a box in the cupboard to the English. Sport fires up Australian emotion like nothing else, except perhaps hooning and racism, but sport is a force for good.
Then came John Howard and the ra-ra marching band of nationalism, to talk us into heading off to a war about nothing for someone giving us nothing in return. The same year saw us sell out our beef farmers and intellectual property producers in the US-Australia free trade agreement.
Into this milieu we threw Steve Waugh’s Invincibles. We had become a nation so obsessed with the idea of former glory that we couldn’t come up with an original name for our most successful ever cricket side.
We began to get infected with our larger ally’s penchant for self-aggrandisement.
Ricky Ponting was next: a gambler and a drinker with a foul mouth and questionable connections who became the captain of the Australian cricket team.
He wasn’t a good man. He didn’t have integrity. He wasn’t a role model. These things didn’t matter. He was a winner. And this is what being Australian in the dawn days of the 21st century had come to mean.
Win at all costs.
Australians are now poor losers because we spent most of the last 20 years being the world’s worst winners. From the 1990s to the mid-2000s we dominated sport like never before.
Unbeatable swim teams, athletics gold medals, World Cup round of 16, F1 winners, tennis champions, Steven Bradbury, the epic medal haul at our home Olympics, and an era of cricket dominance to rival that of the great West Indies sides.
Sport itself used to be the Australian birthright, losing gracefully part of our character. Now winning became the birthright, and we became boorish in its pursuit.
These days, we no longer cut down the tall poppy and cheer the modest champion. We expect our sportspeople to be superheroes, and pay some of them accordingly. A win is now taken as a given, a loss the desecration of a religious ideal.
I’m glad that Australia has started losing. And not just at the cricket. We’re being roundly flogged on every court, pitch, track and lane.
I’m glad that we’re ruthlessly over-analysing the situation, because the more we analyse it, the more the answers are coming out that there is a “cultural problem”.
It bloody well is a cultural problem, but not in the way these sporting bodies understand. It’s not an Essendon problem, it’s not a Cricket Australia problem, it’s not an AIS problem, it’s not a Swimming Federation problem, it’s not a Cronulla Sharks problem.
It’s an Australian problem.
We created this zeitgeist. We allowed our politicians to sway us with blind nationalism. We collectively ignored cheats and people with questionable integrity who were good at football. Despite the good athletes, we rewarded the bad with captaincies, massive pay packets and unchecked adulation.
If athletes don’t want to be role models, they should stay in the amateurs. We may want to be loyal to our club or nation, but we have to stop going to games and buying memberships when we see poor behaviour. Otherwise we condone it.
We as a nation have to get over our inflated sense of entitlement and go back to understanding our true place in the world: hiding down under, unrecognised and unknown, living in paradise while the rest of the world goes to hell in a handbasket.
Franklin
Guest
Show me an Australian cricketer who bets on the other side and I'll show you a looser who laughs all the way to the bank.
Paulus
Guest
I think the Australians can learn a great deal from the South African and New Zealand sports teams - Shaun Pollock, Stephen Fleming were outstanding ambassadors for the game of cricket and were always quick to commend the performance of their victors (including Australia). I also think that Micky Arthur (a South African) has stood out as an exemplary coach for Australia - it takes guts to draw a line in the sand. Well done to Michael Clarke for supporting his coach.
handles
Guest
Pat Rafter.
Big Al in Bristol
Guest
Of course everyone starts with the intention of winning, talk about stating the bleeding obvious, but at the end of the day only one team or one person out of a league/hundreds of competitors will actually win. If you can't learn to lose then how do you expect to participate in any kind of competition, and losing gracefully is especially important in an era which as you rightly indicate is ruled by money. What corporations don't want to be associated with more than someone losing is dishonesty, corruption, cheating, scumbags basically - see the sponsors flee Armstrong for example. In professional sports if we followed your theory there would be no competition because the sponsors would only give their money to the winner of which there will be only one. But the economics of sports sponsorship is, I don't think, what Anfalicious' post is all about. Your statement about winning first and enjoying the game second is a little oxy-moronic coming from someone going by the name of The Genuine Taliender, that aside I couldn't disagree more with the statement. I'm strictly amateur when it comes to sports therefore the participation is all it's about for me, I've played in winning and losing sides and it could never be said I'm an angel on the sporting field but the only times I've truly not enjoyed playing sport is with or against people with the attitude you describe. Unless you're a professional sportsman where it's your job, having fun regardless of the result is the ONLY reason for participating because there's always someone bigger, fitter, stronger, better. Whichever way you look at it winning and losing gracefully are important, irrespective if you're talking about professionals or Joe Bloggs on a Sunday morning down the local park. Maybe Anfalicious' article is a little hazy eyed, but frankly I'd prefer people aspire to something better than just rolling over and accepting a crap situation then justify the status quo because that's easier.
solly
Guest
Australia's infatuation with sport is an example of cultural immaturity. It's a case of an 18 year old whose only aspiration is to be 21. While other countries are working on leading the way in art, science and technological innovations, Australia dreams of hitting a leather ball with a piece of wood better than the other countries that can. Sport is interesting, don't get me wrong. But I look forward to the day when we can do without the infatuation that supports it.
Minz
Guest
The joy of the Canadian who came third in Beijing was lovely to watch as well - and the way her and Pearson shared it!
Minz
Guest
I've had a similar experience, played on a struggling team which was great (and had huge amounts of fun) and a flying team which wasn't much fun. Professional sport means less and less to me, but I spend my weekends with my local club, even though I don't play anymore.
Bloodquaker
Guest
I hear a lot of talk these days with a lot of self critism. As someone who was born in Sydney, but has spent significant time overseas (I lived overseas), let me just say what a great country we truly are! I really hate the linking of John Howard in this article, which smacks of political bias (I could talk in great detail about how much I loathe Wayne Swann, but I won't). As for Australia losing poorly, I would remind you that neither Ponting (who I thought was one of Australia's worst captains) or Waugh (not as great as Mark Taylor, but still great) ever threatened to quit (Border captain from 84 to 94)or sob (Kim Hughes). I consider that true poor sportsmanship. A few idiot comments means nothing, poor sportsmanship comes from racism (Lehmann and Vass; Singh to Symonds); time wasting (Ganguly, Ponting, Hutton); deliberate poor behaviour (Harbhajan Singh threatened someone with a bat, Lillee-Miandad confrontation) and inability to accept defeat. To my recollection, Steve Waugh copped a defeat like a man (2001 Indian Series); unlike as you correctly point out Ponting and his desire for a code of conduct. As for winning at all costs; I was just as appalled by the antics of Mr Lleyton Hewitt as anyone and consider two men who make no excuses for their defeats (Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal) to be true Champions. As for Federer, I have never forgiven him for crying after losing the 2009 Australian open (and not apologising for it!!!) or Hingis after 1999 (Steffi showed her!). I consider playing the game in true style as doing the right thing by people. Steve Waugh, the man who encouraged his team to grow as people and often selflessly donated to help girls in India, is a true Champion. Ponting, I agree with, with all his talk of a code of conduct then yelling like a fool when he didn't get his way. But Australian Cricket was never as humble or honourable as you imply (I am an amateur cricket historian and I can name some things that will shock you e.g Australian Captain Lindsay Hassett ogling a married woman's amble cleavage and commenting that he hadn't seen the best of the pyramids!). As for winning at all costs, Australians are never ok with that sort of thing (we hate drug cheats and most of us wanted D'Arcy banned for life!). But we also believe in giving it all you have (as a few people above have stated) and losing well means admitting the other guy/team was better (again Steve Waugh, Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal). Although I admit Nadal's recent comments have dispressed me a bit with his hard court whingeing and anti blue clay statements. Despite that, I agree that losing isn't the worst thing, but losing limply could be. As for winning well, playing within the spirit of the game means playing fair which means no racism; time wasting; unnecessary violent behaviour (including legitimate physical threats) and inability to accept defeat. A few stupid words (sledging) don't mean anything but Australian sport should focus on performing well because they represent us. And if they give it all they have and don't act in a racist (which most Australians do not do, which I hope your article was not implying), time wasting, unnecessary violent behaviour and accept defeat; then I think most Australian and indeed athletes themselves can accept and bounce back from any failure.
Jonny Boy Jnr
Guest
Good Article. I think the era of 'Professionalism' and media hype surrounding our sporting stars has had the most profound effect - not to mention a sporting golden era through the 90's.
Davo
Guest
When you look at the results in Cricket you must also look at the opposition and number of 'Tests' against what were substandard opposing teams. Some eras did not have the luxury of playing Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka (in their formative years) and Bangladesh to pump up the win/loss average. Bowl me another underarm.
Trev
Roar Rookie
Sick off hearing this "sports people are role models" crap. The most important role model should be the parents. Hell rockstars have done a lot worse then worse then most sport stars and they are celebrated for it, yet we want the sports people too be role models. On the winning culture. well off course they are trained too go for the win. I don't like bad sportsmanship but whenever you are out there in sport who should be doing whatever it takes too gain an advantage over your opponent (within the rules off course) If that means sledging, bending the rules then go for it. It's not like Australia is the only country in the world too have this win at all costs attitude.
AdamS
Roar Guru
Started with Bob Hawke and the Americas Cup dinnit?
simmo green
Guest
Everyone from Lance Armstrong to Kevin Rudd has earned the old 'antisocial personality disorder' moniker. I'd be happy to see some data on CEO's, nothing of any substance that I'm aware of. Having a hunger to achieve goals doesn't make you a sociopath
anfalicious
Guest
"Therefore, if our sports heroes can’t be civil to the opposition, why should we as supporters?" Which pretty much vindicates my distaste of Ricky Ponting. A wiser man than me once said some golden words that I think we can all live by. Be excellent to each other, and party on dudes!
langou
Roar Guru
I have heard the loony left blame John Howard for most of the worlds problems but I think this may be the first time he has been blamed for the perceived poor behaviour of sportsmen and sports fans.
anfalicious
Guest
It seems many have not really understood my point. This article came out of Geoff Lemon's article which was complaining that all the armchair selectors being experts on the current woes in India were missing the point; that Australia has traditionally struggled there, it's a tough gig and the guys over there need a bit of support not condemnation. My complaint is that Australians have come to view sporting success as a birthright, and that feeling has turned them (and by them, I mean you and me, the spectators, not the athletes) into poor winners and even worse losers. And yes, I see this at local sporting comps, with kids involved, where parents think sheepstations are on the line if a teenage umpire makes a mistake. I see it at local comps, where middle aged men play as if they've got a shot at making the national team, rather than just having fun. If sport is all about winning, then you're doing it wrong. I'm not saying it's wrong to have drive and determination, but that if you go out on the field and give 100% then you should be proud. As a nation of spectators, when we see a team go out on the field and get wholloped, but go down swinging, then we should be proud. That's the Aussie spirit; the ability to get kicked, slapped, punched and dragged through the mud, to get beaten a hundred to nothing and still be able to tell the tale about how they had a heart the size of Phar Lap.
anfalicious
Guest
I think you've missed the point, I said we used to cut down tall poppies, and that was good. It stopped people getting an ego and thinking they were a better human than everyone else because they could kick a ball.
anfalicious
Guest
I wish you did too, we need all the fighters we can get.
AdamS
Roar Guru
Successful CEO shave a significantly higher incidence of sociopathy / psychopathy that any other group in the workforce. Nice guy on the whole are few and far between.
simmo green
Guest
I think your first paragraph is quite possibly the most absurd social comment I've ever read. I can only assume you haven't spent much time with CEO's, unless of course you work in the media. Successful CEO's inevitably have a range of decent characteristics, which include a sense of balance, humility and fair play. You must be one of those Dads that I so look forward to seeing on Saturday afternoons in winter. Do you pay the kids for every try they score?