The Ryder Cup finished up this morning and it really doesn’t matter for whom you were rooting. If you love sport – and I do – this was one to remember. The Euro side took a 3 point lead (which is pretty big in things such as these) into the last round of competition and the event went down to the next to last hole of the final match. Both sides can walk away with heads held high but there’s more to my choosing to write about this and here’s why.In a nutshell, because you never know. I mean so much of our personal and professional lives are routine until something turns on the competitive element. We all compete – for market share, for promotions – and there’s nothing like the feeling of winning. The adrenaline rush we get as we compete as the stakes get higher is what keeps a lot of people in the game. Go ahead – admit it. I’ll wait.
The guys competing this weekend have won major championships and yet to a man they say there is nothing like the nerves they get in this competition. Why? I think it’s because the stakes are higher – you’re not jut playing for personal glory but for your country and your team. I’ve sweated with shaky hands over a 6 foot putt for a $5 bet. I can’t imagine what it’s like with the bigger stakes of your country on the line.
Like you, I’ve also sweated out a big presentation, meeting with the boss over a raise or a review, or a business negotiation. It’s the passion and drama – even in our own little, untelevised worlds – that make it so great. And you never know the outcome until it arrives.
We’ve all watched favorite movies more than once. A great story enthralls you even when you know the ending. I love sport because you don’t know the ending until it arrives. Did you turn off the Jets/Dolphins game a few years back because it looked like an easy Miami win? You missed it. Did you think the Red Sox were toast – again – when the Yankees had them down 3-0? Wrong. Georgetown/Villanova, Illinois/Arizona – there are lots of college hoops games to prove the point.
Sometimes it turns out as we expect. Sometimes it doesn’t. That’s true in business and in sport and I’m glad I’ve been able to combine the two into a career. As Roone wrote – it’s the human drama of athletic competition – the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat. I love it.
Consult Keith 