“Not Bad Thanks” – Graeme Willingham: extract no. 3, Playing above oneself
In this third extract from Graeme Willingham’s new book, Not Bad Thanks, he briefly speaks about exceptionalism and its focus, rather than endeavouring to play above oneself.
EXTRACT 3 (PLAYER QUOTE)
“I’m worried about the modern media’s addiction to
exceptionalism. Our focus is constantly guided to people and
feats that are out of the ordinary. There is continual hype not
only surrounding out-of-the-ordinary success, but also failure.
And to a large extent this entirely misses the point of team
sport. A real team is not defined by any one act of brilliance
or game-winning shot, its weakest player or biggest mistakes.
A real team, such as Not Bad Thanks, is defined by actions that
help the team, playing every Thursday night, and not trying to play
above everyone else, but by trying to play above oneself. We
celebrate the exceptions to the rule, but we also celebrate the
people and their actions that become the rule.” — Plasma
Graeme will speak about his wonderful book, and its tale of a ratbag team of basketball players, their trials and tribulations confronted along the way in lifting themselves from the bottom of the ladder in a forthcoming Footy Almanac dinner. Details HERE
To read extract 1 from the book click HERE
To read extract 2 from the book click HERE
To buy the book click HERE
To find out more about Almanac memberships CLICK HERE
Leave a Comment