Tuesday, January 28, 2014

A Lesson In Losing

Thanks to my wife, I watch way more tennis than any other sport. So much so, that I can't help but learn things from it. And the lesson from the 2014 Austrian Open: how to lose with class.

There's a tradition in tennis that when the match ends, the players shake hands at the net, followed by shaking hands with the umpire. When folks don't follow this tradition, it usually kicks off a minor controversy. But when it's done right, when two players have been fighting each other for hours, come together and genuinely congratulate each other, it's downright impressive.

To see what I mean, check out championship point between Stanislas Warwinka and Rafael Nadal:

(Skip to 3:56 to see the final point)

I'm sure Nadal wanted off that court as quickly as humanly possible, but he takes the time to literally embrace his rival.

This is exactly the kind of loser I want to be.

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