Winning

Yesterday the Americas Cup finally came to a close.

To be honest I hadn’t really been following the racing until last weekend when we only had to win 1 more race to bring the cup home. I like the rest of New Zealand would sit in front of the TV or the radio and listen to a man talk about things that made no sense to me until he would finally say something like “Team New Zealand are behind by one boat length” – that I understood.

When Team New Zealand lead the series 8-1 no one in their right mind thought that Oracle had any chance in hell of winning. I happen to work in the marine industry so although I didn’t understand or follow the racing most of the people around me do and according to them we had it in the bag.

Then Oracle started winning and winning and winning some more .. next thing you know its tied 8-8 and we have a winner take all situation.

So like 99.9% of the population yesterday I found a TV, sat down and I watched the racing.

We lost ..I was gutted.

It was infuriating to watch Jimmy Spittle rejoice and the billionaire dude hoist the cup above his head but even worse than that was watching Dean Barker cry. I steered clear of any TV coverage, I didn’t listen to the radio and I overlooked most posts on social media networks about the race.

Then my Mum side kicked in and I thought – this is the perfect opportunity to show that the “good guys” do not always win. You can train for years, you can be prepared, you can even be better than your competitors but it doesn’t mean that you will win.

I see motivational quotes bandied around that make winning sound easy ..

Winners never quit, quitters never win.
Persistence supersedes talent, genetics and luck
Winning means you are willing to go longer, work harder and give more than anyone else

Apparently to win all you have to do is want it more than the other guy. Yeah well you try telling Dean Barker that.

Personally I think that wanting to win is just as important as winning and sometimes (just sometimes) great things come from defeat.

My first competition after having kids I didn’t place and I was infuriated. I worked my arse off after that show to “set the record straight” and the very next show I competed in, I won .. that never would have happened if I had placed the first time round, I would have thought “yep I’m good enough”.

Team New Zealand didn’t win, they aren’t bringing home a cup to put in a cabinet at the New Zealand Royal Yacht Squadron that most of us will never see and there probably wont be a welcome home ticker tape parade.

But Team New Zealand did something far more remarkable than winning a yachting regatta ..

They united a Nation!

Till  next time