As I sit here, Macbook in hand, short black forever by my side, I ponder the week that has been. As I do this, I am staring down the barrel of another Hawthorn loss for season 2010, and wonder whether that trip to the Marquee of the AFL in September is at all possible. Couple this with another season of 'what if' for my baby Gunners as we struggle to hold on to that lucrative third position in the English Premier league. Needless to say that my year as an avid sports fan is well and truly staring down the murky heights of oblivion. Ringing in my ears are the audacious words someone once told me, that they refuse to follow sports teams plainly because of the heartache one suffers on a constant basis. I mulled over this statement for quite some time, before realising that the passion and courage we all witness in sport certainly tops the feelings of even the most dire individual.
Being a professional in some form of life is something we all crave, whether it be reaching the top of one's corporate ladder or even seeing the fruit of your own hard work within something as small as your local community can provide some of life's most rewarding experiences.
Almost every weekend my two closest friends and I engage in a competitive round of golf, traditionally a gentleman's game, I can safely say that all etiquette is thrown aside as the two of them battle it out for the right of 'weekly bragger.' The week that ensues provides the laughter, arrogance and spice that defines competitiveness. On the one hand we have the flashy golfer. Expensive clubs, golfing quips who will grace us with shrills of frustration and club throwing that would rival an Olympic Javelin athlete, without fail, providing the entertainment that Golf usually would not. The other side of the coin showcases all that is inspiring and at the same time, despised in sport. The conservative sportsman, watching and waiting for his moment to strike, almost like a seasoned Sniper surviving the throngs of warfare. Using simple clubs, and always playing within himself, as a neutral third party, I cannot help but want to snatch his Hybrid and snap it in half!
Based on the nature of the result and which way it swings, my email inbox awaits with glee for the barrage of abuse that comes courtesy of these two competitive turtle doves. I will hear more jokes and insults between the two of them than I would courtesy of Ari Gold in an Entourage episode, and with this spurs the human gene of competitiveness. Is it something that testosterone just oozes? I personally hate losing more than anyone I know, but the real beauty of competitiveness is brought out at the most adverse times.
As the NBA Playoffs roll on, it certainly is the most exciting time of the year for me. Considering the NBA might as well be a religion to me, the most amazing scenes are witnessed first hand at the sight of competitive edge. All in an attempt to raise that trophy, celebrate with your teammates, sharing in the success of victory. The purity of victory for me, is a feeling that cannot be replaced by anything in life. Any accomplishment of varied magnitudes is an irreplaceable feeling. The birth of a new-born baby, closing on a million dollar deal or signing the deeds on your own home. That own personal victory spurns the competitor in us all, defining the human spirit's most admirable and perhaps, most evil trait.
So Ladies and Gentleman, as I embark on my potential life as a writer, I look to win, I want to be the best I can be, will I have you as a readership applauding me? Or simply ridiculing the drivel I splurge on this blog? Either way, as this year rolls on with the excitement of the NBA Playoffs and more importantly, the world's most anticipated hallmark event nears. The 'Rainbow nation' will display all that is competitive about the human race, in the most extravagant way of all. Bringing together what we love to believe as the pinnacle of competitive spirit.
Until next time, one can only hope the negative plight of political Junta's, economic 'junk' crisis and political differences will have decreased, considering that the world we live in today consists of such negative news, I like to look to the competitive nature of sport and the glory it is associated with. Making me realise what a great society we live in, and how the power of adversity can bring out the best in us all.
*Cue Hans Zimmer and his inspirational sound*
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