fresh grass

it's wimbledon season. i wonder how athletes, in the wake of a terrible defeat, can watch replays of their game over and over again and be able to forgive themselves. the review of the game is unavoidable, necessary and imperative. unavoidable because in many ways, it's like seeing a roadside carcass--you know your stomach might lurch at the sight of it but you cannot help but look and examine it closely. necessary because you have to identify your mistakes. imperative because you have to learn from these mistakes to help you win your next matches.

i imagine that it's not easy for athletes to watch themselves and realize where they've gone wrong. too many unforced errors? half-hearted volleys? were you too agressive? or did you stay at the baseline too long and was scared to attack the net? why in hell were you not able to win that breakpoint to win the set? was your foot injury getting the best of you? did you lose focus and had gotten disturbed by the crowd? and what of that stupid rain delay? did your temper flares take you away from your goal? from the very start, did you really want this? or did you want this when you were already in the game but realized you were down four games and two sets and it's just too late?

despite all the technical inconsistencies and slip-ups, it all boils down to mental strength and attitude. perhaps the greatest athletes are those who can mold unfavorable circumstances instead of the reverse. perhaps the greatest athletes are those who are confident of their abilities and know what they can bring to the game. perhaps they are those who acknowledge that they want to win and set about doing it despite not being crowd favorite. perhaps the greatest athletes are those who are not defeated by their own uneccessary thoughts and plod on despite previous injuries and stupid mistakes. perhaps the greatest athletes are those who, despite knowing that the stakes are high, have faith and truly just enjoy the game.

i think that life is no different from a tennis grandslam championship match. unfortunately, like boris becker in 1995 who lost to pete sampras on his retirement year, sometimes when you mess up, there are no second chances. like becker, you just have to accept that silver plate, shake sampras' hand, tell him how honored you are to play a true champion, and forever be witten in the annals of history as the great runner-up. fortunately, like rodger federer who lost to rafael nadal in 2008, sometimes when you mess up, you are given another chance. and, like federer in this year's nadal-less wimbledon, you have to convince yourself that a win will still be a win even if you won't play the one person you'd wish to win that title with.

image by flickr's steve9091