聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 This past weekend saw quite the spectator sports extravaganza in our household.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Between the Waste Management golf tournament, the Scotties curling playoffs, and the NFL Super Bowl, it was a sports lover鈥檚 dream Sunday.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But one question lingered in my mind as I watched these elite athletes give it their all 鈥� why were so many folks openly hoping for the defeat of the repeat winners?
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 According to the all-knowing and openly-opinionated followers of Facebook, curling champ Jennifer Jones and all-star quarterback Tom Brady certainly did not have the majority of viewers on their side.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I acknowledge that I often cheer for the underdogs, but I don鈥檛 do it by wishing the worst for the odds-on favourites. Yet it appears that some people would cheer for anyone except the repeat winners.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 As one woman told me, 鈥淚 hate Jennifer Jones.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淵ou hate her? Have you ever met her? No鈥hen why do you hate her?鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ell, I can鈥檛 stand the way she tosses her hair and pats her leg every time she gets set to deliver a rock.鈥�
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Hmmm鈥ell, I could see how that would be reason enough to dislike her. (Insert sarcasm here.) I鈥檓 sure it has nothing to do with the fact that most professional athletes have a set routine before performing a task. (More sarcasm.)
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Somehow the fact that over the years Jones had solidified her acumen as a strategic skip and an amazing shot maker, did not seem to matter. She is exceptionally good at what she does and, therefore, deserving of scorn because she dares to still strive to be the very best.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I recall encountering this same attitude from some former students when it came to NHL superstars. One boy told me that he couldn鈥檛 stand Bobby Orr because the defenseman didn鈥檛 understand hockey and was a puck hog.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 I was dumbfounded. Bobby Orr? One of the greatest, if not the greatest hockey player of all time was being judged by a smart-alecky, wise-talking, know-it-all teenager. The same adolescent who, ironically, had his own little cocky victory dance whenever he managed to score a goal in midget hockey. It boggled the mind.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 This same scene was played out again a few years later when another young lad informed me that he despised Wayne Gretzky. Why? Because, according to him, Gretzky thought he was pretty good.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Well, I hated to break the news to the teenager but Gretzky did hold a few records 鈥� little things such as most career season goals, assists and hat tricks. Not to even mention that he was pure magic on ice and gave the game an imagination. (I was lucky enough to see Gretzky play as an Oiler and later as an LA King.)
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 But another student chimed in to voice her dissatisfaction with number 99. It seemed that her friend had attended an Oilers鈥� game and in the warm-up Gretzky turned and smiled at the friend as she tried to snap a photo. 鈥淲ho did he think he was?鈥� she spouted.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 鈥淲ell,鈥� I countered, 鈥渉ad he turned away he probably would have been dubbed a snob.鈥� 聽 Apparently for the young hockey phenom, it was a no-win situation.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 The truth is that most (not all) professional athletes are pretty humble about their extraordinary abilities. None moreso than Gretzky.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 Rick Reilly, who penned Gretzky鈥檚 autobiography, observed that getting the Great One to talk about his accomplishments was about as easy as pulling teeth from a hen.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 If Gretzky lacked one thing, it was an ego. Yet there were those who chose to ignore his remarkable talents, choosing to believe instead in their own warped opinions.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 So here鈥檚 the thing 鈥� why do some folks love to hate winners? It鈥檚 really their loss, because while they search for flaws, they are missing out on some of the best talent that the world of sports has to offer.
聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽 We all have our favourites and we should cheer them on, but that doesn鈥檛 mean we can鈥檛 admire (and even admit to) the opponent鈥檚 skills, does it?
