By Wilson Love
PART 1. As I sit down to put pen to paper, two days have passed since Super Bowl LIII. I know who played but not who won. It doesn’t matter to me who won because I’m not fanatical about pro sports. In short, I don’t qualify as a “fan”.
On a personal level, I’ve never entered a fishing tournament or a big buck contest. Fishing and hunting are not sports. They are much more important than any sport. Nevertheless, these time-honored pillars of our heritage have been reduced to contests for the fortune and glory of contest winners (and their sponsors). Note: before you wade into me to straighten me out about all this, just keep reading.
The activity in question appears to be irrelevant. Whether singing, dancing, cooking, dating, trivia, blacksmithing, or just surviving; everything is now a competition. So it’s not enough to just be a good solid charades player anymore, wanted as a teammate by your friends. You must work your way up through the local, state, and national charades playoffs – or nobody knows your name.
We’ve gotten way too serious about ranking ourselves among ourselves. Some years ago I played a little softball in a city wide church league. The rules allowed each church’s team to field two “ringers”; players who were not church members. Every team in the league openly transgressed this rule in order to be more competitive.
Last year I watched a few episodes of America’s Got Talent and really enjoyed some of the performances. As the finals approached, reports flew that hardly any of the contestants or judges were born in or live in America. Why was I surprised?
Oh well, let’s face it. Most anything is okay these days if it makes for a good rowdy head banging contest, right? Drum roll… lights up… applause… and who are you rooting for?
Who indeed. Stay tuned as I attempt to bring some balance to this.
But first, to state it plainly, not everyone cares who catches the biggest fish, or owns the newest truck, is the best shot at the range, or makes the most money. Competition doesn’t motivate some of us. In fact, the only person I’m competing with is me, because life isn’t about proving I’m the best; it’s about becoming the best me I can be.
Part 2. The late great football coach Vince Lombardi said, “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”. You don’t have to be a football fan to admire his level of intent and determination. Coach Lombardi produced numerous championship teams by keeping his highly talented players focused on performing the basic fundamentals of the game. And competition with other teams brought out the best in his teams.
Many men are characteristically competitive and that’s a good thing because without this drive their ship would never sail. It’s the spirit of striving to win that keeps them going and brings the best out of them.
To me, competition can be good or bad, depending on the outcome you’re after. It’s like a sharp knife that can be used either to prepare food for living – or as a weapon to kill. Take any ten people who enter a fishing tournament and you could have ten different motives for doing it. One is there for the prize money; another hopes to get his mug shot in The Angler Magazine. Yet another competes to prove something to his brother/spouse/friend. And then there’s the fellow who’s out there just because he loves the whole experience and he wants to win of course, but if he wins nothing yet learns something that makes him a better angler, he still goes home happy.
Now that I think on it, the folks I consider friends are probably divided about half and half as to whether or not competitive.
CONCLUSION. Competition as motivator could be debated. Regardless, its footprint on world culture is huge, and it continually affects our experiences. But there is a bigger question than the value of competition: what reward do we ultimately seek? Competitive or not, we all want good things to happen at the end of the journey. And like it or not, we are rewarded one way or the other for the choices we make and the values that fostered those choices. People who would train children by rewarding them with “participation trophies” live in a fantasy land. Trophies (good rewards) are given for excellence, not for showing up. Participation is acknowledged by commendation, not with a winner’s crown. The empty handed angler understands this.
In a generation where electronic media has turned wholesome competition into a three ring circus, we would be wise to consider our personal priorities. Are we more under compulsion to compete, or rather to fulfill our God given roles in life? (Revelation 22: 12)
Wilson Love is Owner/Operator of The Practical Outdoorsman.