Anyway, as the TV cameras showed the Malaysian fans celebrating the win, my dad said to me, "This really looks like bloody 1Malaysia." And hey, fair point. Which led me to observation 1 for today:-
Observation 1:- In sports, if we are enemies, our common enemy makes us friends, if only temporarily. If we are enemies and we have a common friend, we can be friends temporarily.
I think this is a phenomenon only regularly seen in sports. You know how it is. Man Utd and Liverpool supposedly hate each other. But when Chelsea played Liverpool in 2010 and Chelsea needing a victory to pretty much clinch the Premiership title, Man Utd fans were all suddenly Liverpool supporters.
Screw you, Man Utd.
Similarly, when Malaysians face a common enemy (in this case the Chinese badminton squad), we stand together, regardless of political leanings, creed, religion, ethnicity, music taste, movie taste, whatever. "Eff these Chinese tools! Malaysia Boleh!" Only sports can regularly unite people of great heterogeneity. See: Pele, Nigerian Civil War for the second bit of the Observation.
BUT, of course, in life, there are such things as well, though a little more extreme. People get united through, unfortunately, tragedy. See: September 11 attacks (which pretty much won George W Bush the reelection). See: Tokyo Earthquake 2011 or Tsunamis in 2008. When something supremely devastating occurs, humanity unites, showing the best of people. Unfortunately, it takes something like that before people get united. But hey, you know what, those are all common enemies. Thus, fulfilling the observation. As for common friends, see: The Beatles, circa 1960. Princess Diana circa the early 1990s (also 1997 for common enemy).
Or y'know, this guy.
Anyway, while watching the badminton match, some time during the 2nd set, when Lee Chong Wei was up like 10-6 or something (huge in today's rules), my dad gushes on and on about how well Lee Chong Wei was playing. Of course Chen Long comes back to not only tie the set but wins the set as well. This leads me to observation number 2:-
Observation 2: Jinxes are real/ Don't tempt fate/ Don't count your chickens before they're hatched
In general, I much prefer to watch sports alone, especially for sports in which I have emotional involvement. It's not because I don't want to celebrate or commiserate with others (depending on the result). It's not because I can get seriously involved while watching the game. It's just because I hate it when people don't understand the power of the "jinx."
Look, I try to be as rational and logical as I can in real life. But when it comes to sports, well, eff that. I believe in the power of the "jinx." Here are some sports examples:-
1. I watched Brazil vs Netherlands in the World Cup Quarterfinals of 2010. To win my bet, I needed Brazil to win. Brazil go up 1-0. Cue a "friend", who also is backing Brazil, texting and calling everyfrickingbody he knows who support the Netherlands to mock them. I, getting more and more pissed off, tell him to stfd and stfu. He doesn't listen, continues mocking. And, of course, final score is Brazil 1-Netherlands 2. Of course it is. Which led me to think of my "friend" in the following terms for the next 6 months.
2. Liverpool are due to play Arsenal twice at Anfield (Liverpool's home ground) back-to-back in the space of 4 days. Steven Gerrard, Liverpool captain, goes out to the press and says Arsenal are running scared of playing Liverpool. What happens next? Arsenal win the first game 6-3 (wtf) and the second game 2-1. Well done, captain fantastic.
3. In 2004, Liverpool are playing Arsenal in the Premier League. Liverpool go up 1-0 thanks to a goal from Sami Hyypia (I think). What do I do? I call an Arsenal friend of mine to mock him. What happens next? Arsenal score to make it 1-1. Michael Owen then scores for Liverpool to make it 2-1. I call said Arsenal friend again, not having learnt my lesson. What happens at the end? Arsenal win 4-2, I turn off my phone, Arsenal ex-friend can't call me. Take that.
Anyway, I assure you, there are way more examples where that came from. But consider the non-sports world. How many of us have consistently been so confident that something would definitely happen and have that something fail to happen? Countless times, I'm sure. From, "I don't need to study and I'll still get an A for Geography (copyright my buddy CCW circa 2001)" to "I'll belanja you guys after I pass this Undang driving test (copyright my buddy KJY circa 2003)" to "I'll love you forever (circa every failed relationship I know)". The jinx always works. Do not tempt fate. Use the qualifier "if". Example - "If I get into XYZ university, I'll major in Economics" NOT "I'll major in Economics when I get into XYZ university." Or "If I'm still alive at age 30, we can be housemates" NOT "We'll totally be housemates when I turn 30."
To shift towards team sports, consider this following exchange from "Playing for Keeps", my favourite non-fiction book ever.
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"Typical was a preseason game against Philadelphia, a young team trying to define itself with some talented young players who might or might not mesh. Philadelphia played well that night, and (Tex) Winter (assistant coach of the Chicago Bulls) had come away concerned about how good the 76ers were going to be. "Tex," (Phil) Jackson (head coach of the Chicago Bulls) Jackson had said, "they're going to be lucky if they win 30 games."
"Phil," Winter said, "they're more talented than we are."
"Tex," Jackson said, "it's not about talent - it's about toughness of mind, and about a collective attitude. They're going to be lucky if they win 30 games." (In fact, they won 31 and were last in their division.'"
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Observation 3:- In a real team, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
The reason I personally love team sports so much is that you get to be part of something bigger than yourself, and I think that is very fulfilling. And when you're in a real team, rather than a mere collection of individuals, you know for sure. People get along well, people sacrifice for one another, people give the extra effort on a consistent basis, people care about a common goal instead of individual goals.
It's that last bit that is the most important. You can tell when someone is a team player just by that last bit alone. If they're willing to sit on the bench for 70 minutes and come on for the last 20 minutes in a football game because that's how they will best help the team and they don't complain about it, that's a team player. The constant need for people to keep trying to showcase their individual abilities completely defeats the purpose of a team. It's why it's so difficult to really name people who are actual team players.
Similarly, in the non-sporting world, it's so easy to mistake a collection of individuals for a team. In my brief career so far, I've been part of many collections of individuals, but I've only ever been on a real team just once. And that was the best experience of my working life. It's easy, really - if you think about the greatest moments of your life, chances are these moments are with people you care about and who, likewise, care about you. This is the exact same thing, personal or professional. When you're part of something that is bigger than yourself, it makes you more special. Superstars don't make a team, a team makes a superstar.
To close, to quote, "Playing for Keeps" :-
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"The more you sacrificed for a goal - the higher the price you paid in personal terms - the more it would one day mean to you...team was more important than self, no matter how exalted and talented and highly promoted the self. What you did on the court you did in concert with and for your teammates. The more you thought about them and the less you thought about yourself the better."
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Amen.
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