Ryder Cup 2004
I watched the biennial edition of the Ryder Cup golf tournament on television last weekend. I had conflicting thoughts as I watched the performance of the American team. I'm an American and was rooting for the "home team". I found myself hoping against hope that the American team would mount a comeback, that I would enjoy seeing the team turn the tables at the last, that I would have things to cheer for. I was, of course, disappointed at seeing the result. I rarely gamble but I even lost a small wager on the event.
There has been a great deal of commentary about the event since it was played. The arguments ranged from lack of teamwork to lack of interest, from the inherent mysteries of golf to media unfairness. But the fact is that the American team lost badly, its worst loss in the history of the event. However, there were bright spots: the fans behaved impeccably, the golf course was beautiful, Tiger Woods hit an amazing shot that few, if anyone, in the world could have hit and all of the players, both American and European, hit many wonderful shots. At the end of the event, I realized that it illustrated some important themes: As spectators, we must appreciate wonderful performances even if adverse to our "side", even if they hurt our interests. As competitors, we must try our best to enjoy every situation, taking from it what we can, learning from it.
I think of the worst performance I ever heard of some of my favorite music. It was truly excruciating but it taught me better to appreciate good performances. I think of games lost to good performance by my fellow competitors. I think of games won when I didn't perform at my best. I enjoyed the games where I did my best, whether I won or lost. I think of what I considered my best experiences. My views are different looking back than they were at the time. Although I didn't always know it at the time, the most important thing was to do my best, whether as a competitor or an observer, to learn how to do better in the future, to enjoy the moment. We can learn how to do well from observing bad performances. We can be gracious in victory and defeat, so long as we do our best. We can enjoy everything we do if we don't let adversity destroy us.
There's an old saying: Fear the worst, hope for the best. If we do our best, if we approach every situation as an opportunity to learn, if we try to find things to enjoy in even our worst experiences, if we're grateful for our good experiences and avoid self-congratulation, we will have nothing to fear. We will have only hope. Most importantly, we can hope to become, and we will become, better people.
9-27-04
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