Talk
about the role of winning. Vince Lombardi said, "Winning Isn't Everything,
It's the Only Thing!" Is that true and if so, to what degree? Is is
possible to get more out of losing? What lessons can be gained from losing at
something? You see little league soccer teams not keeping score in an effort to
diminish the role of winning... is this right or wrong? There is cheating going
on every day (moving to other schools to win, using steriods, ineligible
players, etc.) in an effort to win. Is cheating ever justified in sport... if
so, when? What do you think about winning in sports?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWinning is the most important thing in sports, that’s why we keep score. Athletes work hard in order to achieve victory and the best feeling for an athlete is when that hard work pays off. You should achieve victory through hard work though not cheating. Cheating is never justified in a sport, it is the worst thing an athlete or coach can do. If you get caught then you don’t just screw yourself but also your coaches and teammates who have worked hard for a long time to achieve victory. Even if you don’t get caught cheating you will have to deal with the guilt of cheating. This could mess an athlete up psychologically and will have only negative effects. In sports you need to train harder to be better than your opponent. The better person should always win. Although winning is to me one of the most important things in sports that doesn’t mean that you can’t get a valuable lesson from losing. After a loss athletes learn what they did wrong and need to work on and they could benefit from the loss. Although I value winning in sports highly I think its right for little league soccer not to keep score. A lot of little kids don’t get much of a benefit from losing like someone older because they don’t think much of a sport yet. Not keeping score at a young age like that would help little kids learn the fun of a sport and being on a team, then when they get older they should start focusing on winning because no one likes to lose.
ReplyDeletei disagree that winning is everything, yes it is important but it also depends on your age. Winning to little league kids is not so important as to High school athletes or professionals. I do agree that cheating is totally wrong when you cheat not only are you not trying your hardest to win but you are also loosing a opportunity to learn something from a loss or even have a comeback without cheating.
DeleteI disagree that winning is the most important thing in sports. What was the reason for joining the sport in the first place? Clearly for the love of the game, and the fun you have. If winning is all you want to do then you might as well sit at home and play video games and win in those.
DeleteI completely agree with you, winning is the most important thing in a sport. What do you do all season? You train harder and harder just to see your team get a win. If you lose the team gets upset and the coach pushes them harder so they can win the next game.
DeleteWinning is definitely not the most important thing when it comes to sports. Yes it is the point of playing the sport to win, but when playing, win or lose, it's not the end of the world. Sports is about teamwork and sporting a good attitude.
DeleteIn my opinion, it depends on what age group. Obviously high school athletes value winning more than little league players too. Winning isn't everything in my opinion unless you're playing for the world series, Stanley Cup, NBA finals, super bowl, etc. Then winning is important. If you're in high school and you're on 13 game win streak, but you're hating every second of it, it's not worth it. If you're on a 13 game losing streak but you're having the time of your life, then it's absolutely worth it. You can get a lot out of losing, such as what you need to work on to improve. I think it's right to not keep score in little league soccer or baseball or any sport at that age, because winning isn't everything. Cheating is never justified in sports, no matter what the circumstances. Winning in sports is important but it's definitely not the most important thing.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the importance of winning is based on the level you are at. If you are playing little league it is more about fun and getting a love for the game while pros is more about winning since that is how their proformance is judged.
DeleteExactly, as your level of sports gets more intense, the value of winning becomes more of value. As a kid, I remember just having fun and enjoying the sport, nowadays, playing varsity in each sport, my mindset changed. Winning is the most important thing. but at the end of the day, its not everything.
DeleteI disagree because I believe that athletes need to learn how to fight for the win as they get older. They should be taught younger. Because without the motivation then the players will never be able to even make it to a Super Bowl, or anything like that. Therefore I believe they Shohld keep score and should teach kids the importance of winning
DeleteI think that winning is the most important thing in competitive sports. The only reason athletes practice to be as best as possible is to win. That’s the only reason athletes do competitive sports, to win. If athletes didn't want to win then they wouldn’t do it competitively. I think losing teaches me a lesson to practice harder for the win next time. I think it is fine for little league soccer to not keep score because little kids don’t need the pressure of the need to win. I think cheating is never a legitimate option to win. If someone needs to cheat to win then they are obviously weaker than their opponent. I think winning is one of the most important things in sports.
ReplyDeleteExactly the only reason people practice on a team is so that they can win. Imagine if you played on a team and your team mate didn't believe winning was the most important thing, they wouldn't put in as much effort as someone who thinks otherwise. Or imagine if you played against a team who didn't think it was important to win, you would be bored. If people didn't think winning was that important we wouldn't be playing sports.
DeleteWinning can be the most important thing when it comes to certain sports and an age group. High school is probably the stage where sports are very competitive and winning means a lot in that sense. But winning isn’t everything. Losing some games can have the same effect as winning a game. Playing on a volleyball team, there is always an award playing every game. Whether we win or we lose, the intensity we bring out on the court is the huge reward. There are some off games where we don’t come out with much intensity but we always give every game our all. With other sports, it might all be different with winning and losing. Many people want to be on top but for others it isn’t possible sometimes. Cheating is never an option to win games. Not keeping score for little league soccer games is probably the best thing because is teaches the kids that winning isn’t everything. Playing sports at a young age should be fun. As you grow older and play at a more competitive level, winning should be the main priority.
ReplyDeleteI agree on the fact that winning depends on the age that it is played at. I also agree that cheating should never be an option. Little kids should focus more on playing the actual game rather than keeping score.
DeleteI agree with you on the fact that loosing a game can have the same effect as winning a game. Athletes can learn from their mistakes and fix them in the future. I also agree with you that winning depends on the age level. In a little league game, winning shouldn't be more important then having fun.
DeleteIn sports winning may be considered the most important thing for certain age groups, but in my opinion its not. I believe effort is the most important thing. Also you can get more out of losing than winning, like the mistakes you made or what to improve on. For little league sports I think its better if they don't keep score because it can teach kids that winning isn't always everything and that sometimes trying is. Playing sports as a little kid is mainly about having fun and not winning. Cheating is never justified for sports because in sports everyone wants to win and end up on top.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you because I think winning is the most important. Yeah effort comes into play but when you're going for a win you sure will be putting in effort. A win just makes the team become more and more motivated for upcoming games.
DeleteI agree with you that winning is not everything, but players should still always have the motivation to win. Having that motivation teachers the players how to be strong and how to win as a team. Loosing may help them learn their mistakes but the point of the training is to fix those mistakes. Therefore I believe winning should always be in front of loosing
DeleteI think winning is absolutely everything. A professional athlete works all his/her life to win a championship in their respective sport. When it comes to little league sports, it's different. Not every kid is competitive. Although cheating happens all the time, when it really matters, the truth always comes out. Lance Armstrong, for example, after so many years of being considered a great cyclist, it was discovered that he used PEDs. He will never looked at the same way again. Losing can also make people better players. Michael Jordan was unable to get past the Pistons in the 80's. It wasn't until 1991 he was finally able to get past them. After losing to them for so long, he had finally figured out a way to bring down Isaiah and the Pistons. Winning really is everything but not when you cheat. The point of winning is to know that all the hard work you put in is now being rewarded, if you didn't work for it and took the easy way out, what's the point?
ReplyDeleteSome of your writing is agreeable, but the other isn't really important. Winning isn't everything when it comes to any sport. I believe that if your team loses or wins doesn't matter, as long as you tired and made sure you got the job done your fine. Yes a lose stinks, but you have to man up and except that lose, even the best teams lose at times because no one is perfect. The rest of your writing is really interesting and historic which I like. Good article and how you writ it.
DeleteI disagree that winning is absolutely everything. Yes, maybe the professional athlete trains his/her whole life just to be successful, but do you really think that they would continue to train and compete if they didn't love what they did? A loss is tragic, yes - but it's not the end of the world.
DeleteWinning is a privilege to those who work the hardest. Yes, winning is fun and most people who win feel good about themselves, but is it really worth it? I believe that during sports you are always learning; learning new plays, learning rule changes, or even learning new skills. I believe that a team can learn more from loosing. I believe that not everyone is going to win every single game. Loosing teaches a team not to blame other people for their mistakes. For example, if an official makes a bad call and a team looses from the call the majority of people will disagree and say the official lost the game. However I have had different experiences here at Reavis. Coaches here teach us that one bad call in a game is not what looses the game but all the mistakes that happened. What could have the players done better, what should be practiced more, what can they learn from the loss. I believe this transfers directly to life and better prepares myself for the real world. Learning to accept mistakes and not blaming others is a big step. But an even bigger step is learning to not make the same mistake twice. Life is an ongoing path and no matter what is thrown at you, a person needs to learn how to react. I believe that sports helps to teach people these things even if they don't know it.
ReplyDeleteDepending on the age group, winning can vary on its importance. In any professional sport, I think that winning is a top priority. Since professional athletes receive pay checks for playing, winning is very important at that level. I also believe that in high school, every team strides to gain and end their season with a winning record. But winning is defiantly not as important. Loosing a match or a game can teach a team or a player things that can be changed for the future. It can help a player learn from their mistakes and fix or prepare for future games. I believe that not keeping score at little league games in order to diminish the role of winning is a great thing. The children can enjoy playing against each other without the competition getting in the way of their fun. I don't believe that cheating should ever be justified in a sport in order to win. I think that if athletes want to achieve greatness they should work twice as hard instead of choosing the easy way out and cheating. Like I mentioned earlier, winning is defiantly important but I personally do not believe winning is the only thing that's important in a sport.
ReplyDeleteWhen you mentioned winning is not the most important thing in a sport, I one hundred percent agree with you. I also believe that winning varies with different levels of competition.
DeleteI believe that losing a game definitely shows the team that they can improve in the future. I aslo agree with you on the fact that cheating is never acceptable, and shoudn't be done.
DeleteWinning is the most important thing when you play sports. In my opinion winning is the only reason why i play sports. I will never in my life be okay with losing. When you win, you feel accomplished and you feel as if you got the job done. Coaches and parents teach us that no matter how you play the sport you play, just win. If you are in the state championship and you lose, you will be crying and very upset, but on the other hand if you win, you will be full of energy and you will be very happy. On the other hand, if you cheat to win a sport, that is just wrong. In no way ever should you cheat. Teams put in hard work to win in whatever sport they play and you should never cheat your way into a victory. You should never use anything to make you stronger such as steroids, or anything else because that just makes you a punk in my eyes. Winning to me is everything in a sport, you play to win not to lose.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that winning is the most important thing in competitive sports because that is the only reason people get better at the sport. But, I still thing losing isn't the worst thing ever because that pushes athletes to pick themselves up and practice harder to get the win next time.
DeleteI disagree with you because the reason why you play a sport shouldn't be to win, it should be passion for the game. I agree that losing shouldn't be acceptable but you can learn from your mistakes and as long as you put effort into the game then you did your job.
DeleteI agree with you because Vince Lombardi had another quote that goes along with this and its "If winning isn't everything, then why do they keep a score".
DeleteWinning is the most important thing in sports. The whole idea of sports is to compete and show who is better. Winning should be the the number one goal of any athlete. Many people say that they don't care about winning or losing and that they only play for fun, but how could you have fun when you are losing? To me winning is the best and most fun feeling while playing sports or being in other competitions. The only thing that losing is good for is to help you learn from your mistakes and motivate you. To me losing is one of the worst feelings in the world and when I lose, I am motivated to become better and to win next time so I don't have to relive that feeling again. I believe that we should teach kids from a young age what winning is and make them always want to win. When we start rewarding kids from a young age just for participation they will never be able to accomplish anything because in life it doesn't matter how hard you tried but how much you got accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, you can absolutely have fun while losing. Say you just started a sport and you're playing someone who's been playing that sport since they were 5 and they play travel or whatever, it's pretty safe to say the other person will probably win, but if you go in there with a positive mindset and (tennis for example) you hit a good shot against them and you almost get a game on them, you're gonna feel great, but if you end up losing at least you had fun hitting good points against them.
DeleteI disagree winning is not the most important thing in sports. I believe the most important thing is improving and getting better at what you do. When you loss you learn what you did wrong and how to improve to not make the mistake next time. The importance of winning does get higher when you go to high school, college and then pro's but when your young its not so important. Losing also encourages the kids to play harder and that helps them improve for the next game.
DeleteI disagree because winning isn't the most important thing its effort. Also you can still have fun while losing as long as you learn from the mistakes you made. So lose or win shouldn't matter, what should matter is effort.
DeleteI agree with you when you say that winning is the most important thing, and I don't understand when people say it's not because improving and becoming better is the most important thing. You practice and become better so that you can win because that is the end goal and the main reason to play.
DeleteI agree and disagree with you guys because winning is important but its not the most important thing. if you lose all that means is that someone was just better then you. that brings your confidence up in trying and practicing to get better. The more you get better at the better you will get and losing will motivate you to keep trying until you will be #1.
DeleteI believe winning is not everything but it matters to most people. I believe you should not cheat to win because in the end that is not actually winning. There are people who earn their way to the top and don't cheat but then there's guys up there who don't deserve to be because they cheated. The winners should be the ones who worked for it, and not have taken short cuts. For the people who play sports to not win and just have fun are the actually winners because you are actually seeing the sport for what it was created for.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Isaak with some of the things he said. Winning is everything to some people but others its not. Many things can be learned from losing a game. Cheat is a shortcut, if you're caught cheating you shouldn't play the game. You're trying to be the best at whatever sport you are playing and taking shortcuts will not help you wont get better or learn anything.
DeleteIn my opinion winning is everything in a sport, thats why every time we play a sport there is a always a score involved. Its what gives the game its competition and bragging rights. I do believe you can get something out of losing. If you lose it can help a team come together and practice harder and harder until they are better and can go out again and defeat the team that they lost too. Why do you think a team practices so much? Its just so they can get the win next time they play another team. This is why I believe winning is everything.
ReplyDeleteI agree if winning wasn't everything there would be no point in keeping score. That is what makes sports so great the competitiveness it brings out and how both teams work hard everyday just to be the best.
DeleteIn my opinion winning is very important in sports. It shows that if you work hard you can beat other team or player. It makes you happy. On the other hand, loosing can teach you a lesson. When you loose you know that you have to work harder to be better and it motivates you to do better. Also, sometimes people cheat to win games. It is totally wrong. For example, people that are using steroids are chaters because it helps them get bigger in short amount of time, when other people work years for that body. In conclusion, I think that winning is more important than loosing.
ReplyDeleteCheating is witnessed in every sport. Just this past week the girls cross country team had an invite, as I was finishing my race I passed a girl foot before the finishing line, the girl then elbowed me and I fell to the ground, it did not hurt and I did not mind but it made me realize that how desperate and unsportsmanship like that was, it is not like I had a good place number either. This happens to so many other runners, not even runners but also football plyaers, soccer players, etc. people have to stop focusing on winning and start being more competitive and not violent when it comes to game time, sometimes winning is not everything and having good sportsmanship is.
ReplyDeleteWinning is not everything because losing can sometimes teach you as much as winning because I feel like when a team wins so many games or go undeafeated it goes to there heads and they feel unstoppable then when they lose it messes with them mentally and then they do stupid things. So winning isn't the most important thing.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you when you say that winning isn't everything. The reason why i disagree with you is because if you lose a championship game that will not teach you a lesson, it will just make you heartbroken. Also, what you are saying is that if teams go undefeated it will go to their head, but you would not want to go undefeated and have a perfect season? You are supposed to think that you are unstoppable, you have to have a mindset that you think no one can beat you and that will help you win games and championships. That is why i disagree with you.
DeleteWinning is nice but it is not everything. When you focus on winning so much that it leads to you cheating or using a substance that's illegal it just gone to far. Losing in a game of any kind is not fun but you learn a lot from your loss. When you lose your coach will always talk to the team that they did there best and improved a lot from the past week and it helps boost the confidence and all keeps the team together. Cheating does happen in sports and no one is happy about that but knowing when your going to far to win is important. Winning isn't everything its great but losing is a good learning point
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DeleteI agree that winning isn't everything, but it's great. I also agree that no one should ever cheat or use an illegal substance. However I disagree that after a loss the coach will tell you that you did your best and you improved from last week and that it'll improve your confidence because from personal experience, I always hear about how we lost and what errors we made and what we need to work on for our next game.
DeleteI agree when you say that losing is a good learning experience but if winning isn't the most important thing in competitive sports then what is? If someone has the mentality of winning then they will try harder. If you can settle for a loss before a competition, then you're not going to be at your best.
Deletei agree with you winning isnt everything but it would be nice. That's true if your losing and you want to win so badly you might cheat your way to get what you want. all losing does is make you try more to succeed or it just makes you cheat your way to the top.
DeleteWinning is everything. If it wasn't important why is there score keeping or championship games? If it wasn't important where is there a loser bracket for match madness? Athletes work so hard and take time from there personal life's just to get better. Why? To win! I think it's sorta dumb that they don't keep score for little league soccer games because the kids need to learn at a young age that you will not always win at everything and life is no where close to being fair. I personally think cheating is so wrong but if you don't get caught then go ahead. I think the most important thing in sports have to be winning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Winning is everything in a sport. I agree when you said that why is there a championship game, you have to win if you want to be a champion. Also, like you said, they should keep scores in a little league game because they have to learn how to win at a young age.
DeleteWinning is a important thing in sports. Everyone dedicates their time to win games. Everybody wishes they could win every game but it is hard to do so. I think cheating is not right to do. Everyone should be equal before and after the match or game. Cheating is not the right thing to do because if you cheat at one thing you will cheat for the rest of your life. Also, if the opposing team knows your cheating they can tell the referre and that will cause problems. Winning is really important to people but cheating, using steriods or any drug should be banned in every sport
ReplyDeleteTo me you win some, you lose some. You may be the best team, but good teams lose some of the time. It feels good when you win doesn’t get me wrong and losing isn’t so great. Cheating in a game i feel is wrong and if the coaches are telling you to cheat, you deserve to lose your job. I believe that cheating isn’t the easy way out; it’s the stupid way out cause like then says, cheaters never win games. Plus Karma will bite you in the butt. The matter the fact is doing cheat finish the game by losing and have sportsmanship and shake their hands after then game. That’s how I feel about wining, losing and cheating in any sport.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you because winning is great but you shouldn't have to do things like cheating or rigging the game to do it. Sports are for having fun and you having to do that just because you need to win shouldn't be what it is all about.
DeleteWhen someone wins, im sure they are pumped with adrenaline and are very excited. But if a team or person is spolied with the idea of winning, it becomes the only thing possible. If you focus on winning all the time and actually do win, then your as good as gold. If and when a team loses a game, there is always a need to do more or do better. But aome dont think that way. Some view sports as their life. In that case then winning should be yoyr priority. In my opinion, sports are just a game and shouldnt be taken literally. If you lose then suck it up and figure out what you did wrong to lose. If you win then ask youself what you can do better.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this statement because when you win you do feel good about yourself and your team as well, but when you get cocky and spoiled then karma will bite you in the butt and you may lose. That's why you work hard every week and worry about yourself and your team only you will possibly win and then you can celebrate. Every well typed statement that is interesting and catches my attention.
DeleteI think winning isn't everything but at the same time it does mean a lot. You can get more out of losing because you learn how to become stronger. When you lose you associate it with pain and humiliation and you you practice and practice to ensure you don't have that feeling anymore. Many lessons can be learned from defeat. Although I do believe there should be a loser it makes you better in the hard way, and prepares you for the world so when you get put down you know how to get back up. And I don't think you should ever cheat its immoral unless its a life or death situation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. Losing should be a lesson learned from mistakes and it shows that you are not working hard enough to win a game.
DeleteI agree with you . Losing should make the person go through a lot so that person/team can come back stronger and way better then before. Winning is everything but losing can open your eyes
DeleteMany lessons can be learned from winning, but also with loosing. I probably learned the most important lessons in life by loosing, I learned that i am stronger than I think.
DeleteThe importance of winning definitely depends on what level you play sports at. For the professional level, winning is pretty important because you get recognitionfor how you play and how many games you win. As for the younger athletes I feel that they should focus more on playing as a team and having good sportsmanship. At a younger age, children should strive to be the best that they can be. I wouldn't want the kids to always think that they had to win. I also think that at some point losing is somewhat good for a team at some point. Losing shows what a team is doing wrong and helps you figure out how to be better. Cheating is without a doubt unacceptable.Sadly, some people try to cheat so that they can win. I personally think that cheating is wrong and people who do it will get what they deserve.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with everything you have stated about the different levels that take winning seriously. I also believe cheating is very wrong and people do it just to be on top.
DeleteI also believe that the importance of winning should vary depending on the age level. I agree with you on the fact that cheating is wrong and shouldn't be done yet some people still do it just to beat their opponents.
DeleteWinning is a big factor when it comes to competitive sports. Winning builds conference, increases motivation, and winning is an achievement. Players work there asses of to get into the top, to be #1. It all depends how much work you put in and your team puts into to win. Everyone wants to win because of the rewards and privileges winning gets you. As a winner people cant take the failure of loosing and they do what they need to do to win. Young athletes should focus on trying at there sport, playing to succeed, practicing to be #1. I think winning is either, you and your team trying really hard what you worked for. Cheating isnt good because your just saying you cant do better and you have to do what ever you think you need to so you know your going to win. but if your caught cheating then your screwed and you just ruined all the hard work you put in for nothing.
ReplyDeleteWinning DOES build confidence but when all they have on their mind is to win and they do not win then they get bummed out, players have to know that winning is great but they can not always win, some one is always bigger, better or faster.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you in every way. Winning should be everything when it comes to sports. If it wasn't then why would people play and work so hard for? Just to lose? When it comes to sports honestly in my opinion winning should be everything and the only thing
ReplyDeleteTo me, winning does not mean defeating the opposing team, but enjoying yourself doing the thing you love. I prefer steak over chicken. I am not going to lie, but I do love to win, but if it came to it and did end up losing, it would be a terrible feeling in my gut, i just know that in the end, I tried my hardest and i enjoyed playing even if it did end in defeat. So winning isn't the most important thing, its playing the game.
ReplyDeleteI believe winning should always be a teams goal. It gives the players confidence and strength, but there are also a lot of advantages to loosing. By loosing players can gain determination and self acceptance. Players can't always win, so they have to learn how to accept to loose without cheating or getting angry. There should be no reason for steroids, or anything else like that.
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