by Demola Rewaju

The fear of defeat or loss must never hold you back from giving any competition your best shot. It’s okay to be one of the competitors and it’s not bad to be second best but nothing compares to the feeling of being the very best in whatever you do. 

The World Cup ended on sometime this month in a glorious blaze but with a trail of denouement – an extra-time goal saw Argentina missing the most prestigious trophy in world football buy a single goal margin. A penalty shootout would have been the most perfect way to end it for me and many viewers but for the German players, victory comes in no better form. Playing in what may well be his final World Cup tournament, superstar Lionel Messi failed to add the elusive trophy to his kitty and firmly plant his name beside that of compatriot Diego Maradona who captained and led the Argentinian side to a remarkable World Cup victory in 1986 where he scored the infamous ‘hand of God’ goal and the famous dribbling run from the centre half that was voted by FIFA as the best goal of the last century. Messi curiously won the golden ball in Brazil this year just as Maradona did in 1986 though he didn’t deserve it in my opinion and struggled to find a smile but none was forthcoming this time – it was all gloom for him and the rest of the Argentinian side.

So as the Germans jumped all over the pitch and hugged each other in a moment of great joy, their Argentine fellows could only walk around in a daze of lost imaginings of what may have been but was not…and it occurred to me that for every winner, there must be a loser.

Not for me that stupid traditional saying (now imported into religion) that “things have to go bad for someone else before it can be well with another” but in every competition, there is usually just enough space for one winner and several losers. Argentina were the losers last night but they were not alone – 31 other teams had also dropped off and it is commendable that Argentina came this far but theirs were the most tears (more than Brazil’s?) as they had come so far in the tournament and within touching distance of the trophy only to find their hopes, dreams and hardwork all lost to a well scored Mario Gotze goal.

Some have said that it is better perhaps for a team to crash out in the early stages and put their loss behind them quickly (e.g. Spain and England) than to come so far only to falter at the crucial moment – bollocks, I say. Give me a fighting spirit any day and a press for victory that pushes forward as close the goal as it can get. Yes, I am a fierce competitor that never nurses the idea of failure while I’m in the race. I like to give it everything it takes and all it demands…but when it falls or burns, it burns hard.

I know what it is like to lose out but I also know what it is like to win. I can understand why even the thought that they are likely to be more losers as against the single winner will make one enter a race and hope to win. There’s something magical about victory that is best expressed by rap icon Jay-Z in his song “History”. Jay talks of victory as a woman he’s trying to woo, make love to and give birth to history with but Lady Victory is elusive and so he has to be with her sister,Defeat, who brings pain and agony. He then met another lady called Success whom everyone has had at one point or the other but she never satisfies because she’s just like lust – always leaving you wanting more and more and so he goes back to Lady Victory in the third verse and they give birth to Baby History who makes sense of everything because long after the fame and the money are gone, a name in history is all that matters.

The fear of defeat or loss must never hold you back from giving any competition your best shot. It’s okay to be one of the competitors and it’s not bad to be second best but nothing compares to the feeling of being the very best in whatever you do. Like I wrote last September about the MTN Project Fame competition that Not Everyone Is A Winner, It’s Just Consolatory Talk, never be satisfied with being less than the best. If you’re going to compete, you might as well win by giving it your very best shot but let me make this clear: for every winner, there will be a loser. For the winner’s shout of joy, there’s a wail of tears. When you win, savour the moment and enjoy it. And when you lose, never be afraid to shed tears as you prepare to enter the race, yet again.

 

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Demola Rewaju blogs at www.demolarewajudaily.com

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.