In it to Win it?

You know another thing that grinds my gears? Actually maybe it doesn't grind my gears as much as me just not really understanding it. People that are only concerned with winning. Granted, at work, and other situations, being number 1 is important. Having the top marks in your class means you will land a better job. Being the best employee means you'll move up through the ranks faster. Being the most trained soldier, might mean you live, when others might not. Striving to be the best is in our nature, but there are times where being number 1 doesn't really help what you are doing.
Take sports. Now being the best could be a very good thing. The best players in most sports are celebrities, and make a lot of money. Being the best means, more money and more fame, so being the best is very important, and something to try to achieve. But lets face it, most of us are not going to make money at the sports we do. As a matter of fact, most of us pay money, sometimes a lot of money to partake in our sports. Being the fastest, or strongest, or best in your sport gets you what? A bigger trophy? More thumbs up from the other players? Something to brag about? There are no real gains to winning, aside from it feeling good, which is important, but how important?
A friend of mine, and myself both race motorcycles. The sport is very expencive. We both pay large sums of money to buy bikes, tires, fuel, safety gear, liceneces and pay sign up fees. There is no money to be won at the races we attend. All you get for winning is a piece of paper, saying that you won. My friend, wants to win, at all costs. He spends more money on performance parts for his bike. He sometimes crashes trying to run the pace of the leaders. He puts a lot of pressure on himself to win and gets frustrated and agitated when he doesn't do well at a race. How much he enjoys a weekend of riding, is directly based on how well he does in his races. He doesn't seem to enjoy the sport itself, just doing well at it. I on the other hand, am the total opposite. I love the sport for what it is. The people involved are some of the nicest people I've ever met. The racing is fast paced and extremely intense. There are many types of challenges, from handling the bike in different situations, to battling with the other riders. For me, the best part of racing, is when I am battling with someone the same speed and skill as myself. It pushes me to ride a fast as possible. It's the thrill of the chase. It requires intense concentration and super quick reflexes. The question is, does it make it any less fun if you are battling for last place, instead of first place? For me, no. For my friend, yes.
At one of the first ever race events I attended, I was in a qualifying race. During that race I battled back and forth with another rider for first place. She and I were of the same skill level and we pushed each other to go faster than we had ever gone before. It was the most exciting and memorable race I've ever had. I won, but only by a very small margine. After the race I couldn't calm down. It was everything I wanted the sport to be. Later in the day, I ran the main race, against the same riders, including the girl I battled so hard against in the qualifier. I was really looking forward to racing against her again. Even the crowd was excited, knowing another tight race was going to take place. At the start of the race, the girl stalled her bike. By the time she got it started, the rest of the field and myself were a long way ahead of her. Most of the other riders in the race were not the same speed as me, and I ended up winning by a very large margine. It was a very unexciting race. No intensity. I told my friend, when I got off the track, that I wished the other rider hadn't stalled. Even if she had beat me, I would have preferred it, as long as the race was as intense as the qualifier. My friend looked at me like I was crazy. He couldn't understand why I had just won a race, and was wishing I had got second.
How many people are paying money and investing their time into a sport or hobby they don't enjoy? And it crosses over to being a fan too. Living in the Vancouver area, I was happy to see the Vancouver Canucks go all the way to the Stanley Cup final. However, unlike everyone else, I don't care that they didn't win. Why? Because it doesn't matter. They made it to the final round and went to game 7. It was all about the run for the cup, not the cup itself. Were the goals they scored along the way any less amazing because they didn't win the cup? Were the hits not as big? Were the saves not as important? If next year, the Canucks went to the final round again, but the team they were supposed to play, decieded to forfeit before the final round began, would you be happy? You wouldn't get to watch the most exciting round of the playoffs. There wouldn't be any nail biting penelty kills, or jump out of your seat short handed goals, or yell at the top of your lungs fantastic saves. No coming together with your fellow fans. No cars honking their horns and people partying in the streets. Just the cup. Sorry, but without the battle, the cup is worthless. I'd rather enjoy the battle, win or lose.
So next time you are doing the hobby or sport you love, try to remember why you love it, and why you spend all your spare time and money doing it. It's not about what you get at the end, it's about what you get during. I see too many people angry at teammates, and themselves. And too many parents yelling at their kids to be better at their sport. Why are you paying money to be there if you don't want to be there? If your hobbies or sports don't make you smile from ear to ear, why are you doing it?