As I watched one of the greatest sporting events in the history of sports (The Ryder Cup) this weekend, I was struck with this thought, "Is pride more important to the 'natural man' than his pocketbook?"
Meaning, when one is placed in a competitive environment, will he/she give more of a effort if only his/her "pride" is on the line or will that person be more competitive if "to the victor go the spoils?"
Most would naturally answer, "money" is the biggest determining factor. The majority might say, "The more money on the line, the more competitive I become." However, 24 golfers this weekend would beg to differ. The Ryder Cup consists of the 12 best U.S. players and the 12 best European players and for one weekend they go toe to toe and come Sunday night, one of them is declared the winner.
Question: What do they earn for giving up their weekend and demonstrating their skills to the world?
Answer: Pride. For the next 2 years, they get to look at the losing team and say, "We were better than you that weekend."
Now these are arguably the best golfers in the world. These are players who are used to earning millions for beating their opponents. These are players who get paid millions for just showing up at certain events and displaying their skills. However, when interviewed after his dramatic win over Sergio Garcia on Sunday, Anthony Kim declared, "This win means more to me than 10 million dollars!"
Do you believe that? Kim earned ZERO dollars this weekend. He has won a few times this year on the PGA Tour. He has won countless other junior tournaments while playing for La Quinta High School and yet, the PRIDE he felt that moment, playing for his country, was more staggering and more glorifying than even "10 million dollars" would've been.
As a viewer, I was captivated. I pumped my fist in the air along with Hunter Mahan when he made an inexplicable 40 foot putt.
I jumped up and down like Boo Weekley when he also drained a putt that helped the U.S. beat Europe.
And I even felt a little sympathy for Sergio Garcia when he missed a 2 foot putt that Anthony Kim refused to concede to him.
I guess you could say, I had an "A-HA" moment this weekend. I always thought that money was the biggest motivating factor in most athletes including myself; however, this weekend made those thoughts quickly dissipate.
I think Boo Weekley said it best when asked what he thought after it was all over, "It's been amazing, it really has. I can't put it into words or anything. I have to sit down and think about it. I'm still shaking and nervous. Your arm hairs stand up and you get chills when the crowd start hollering your name and USA. The adrenaline, it's just unreal."
When "Pride" is factored in, most athletes and non-athletes alike put on their best attire, prepare themselves accordingly, and are much more pumped when their name is called for being the BEST in their given craft at that moment in time.
8 comments:
Interesting perspective and I hope that you are right. Pride in one's accomplishments and the honor of one's country are sentiments that are emotionally satisfying. I think that we sometimes overlook that satisfaction (one of the most important things we achieve in life) is most likely achieved with hard work and commitment to an ideal then through 2 6/10" x 6 1/10" stips of green printed cotton.
Good post drizzy. I think the Olympics is the ultimate example of athletes competeing for the sake of pride. Sure, with wins comes endorsements and opportunities, but it is the pride they have when standing on that podium with a medal around their neck and their national anthem playing that brings the tears to their eyes...not the thought that, "Hey,now I'll get to be on a Wheaties box." And you can sense how hard it is when their pride is shattered after losing by a 100th of a second, or triping on the last hurdle. The Ryder Cup was sweet. Phil Mickelson is a hack.
Dro, I hate to be thought unpatriotic, but I found myself rooting for the Europeans this year. For one thing I don't like JB Holmes, Jim Furyk, Kenny Perry, or Paul Azinger and I HATE Boo Weekley. That guy is complete trailer trash that has no business respresenting this country. Plus I really like Faldo and many of the Europeans. I find them for the most part to be a lot more classy than our players. Regardless, it was great drama and I enjoyed every minute of the coverage. Phil Mickelson embarassed himself on a big stage....again. And you are right that Anthony Kim is quickly becoming the second best golfer on the planet. The ceiling for that guy is huge and I'm pulling for him. He seems like a classy guy. Ian Poulter's reaction to his putt on Saturday to clinch his match was priceless. That guy rules.
Blaise,
You should move to France dude. You hate J.B. Holmes and Boo Weekly? You rooted for Eurotrash? Do you smoke too or something? How is that possible? Let me guess, you spend your Friday nights listening to Clay Aikens greatest hits while sipping fine wines and eating cheese squares with a tooth pick right? :)
Boo Weekly is a flat out stud! The guy admitted that when he has enough money to buy 200 acres of land he's gonna quit golf and fish and hunt until he dies. He could care less about fame, fortune and popularity. He just wants to live the American dream.....Hang with the Fam, Drink beer and fish. I love him!
JB Holmes performance was better than Anthony Kims in my opinion. Sergio "the hack" Garcia is a choke job and always has been. He cannot putt and will never amount to crap until someone teaches him how to. Props to Kim though for applying the pressure early and not giving Sergio 2 footers. JB Holmes on 17 was inspiring to me. He rolls up there and pumps it 350 and then sticks the pin to bury euro trash. That was priceless and flat out clutch!
Euro trash sucks, I can't wait til Tiger gets back and sends that little fairy Ian Poulter back to the buy.com tour with David Duval.
PS- I love Kobe Bryant.golferboy
Chad, your comments are ridiculous. The only music worse than country or pop is hip hop. The only thing trashier is porn. Oh, but you're probably into both of those. Sorry. Since when is drinking beer cool? Wow. And Kobe Bryant..that's class?
Sergio definitely is a choke job, and I like Anthony Kim. He's amazing. I'm just not down with the redneck thing. And if Tiger had been playing, I would have been cheering for the USA. If you think Poulter is a fairy, then we obviously have a different definition of what that means.
Blaise,
My porn addiction is a serious problem and I don't appreciate you making fun of it.
Chad, you made me laugh with your porn comment.
We got to watch Sergio choke yet again at the Tour Championship. Wow.
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