Round 18 – Fremantle v Sydney: My preferred interpretation of success!

I am the first to admit that when we lose, my articles tend to concentrate on aside matters rather than the game itself.

And this will be no different.

 

In a week where emotions have oscillated between sadness, anger, disgust and disbelief revolving around the documentary “The Final Quarter”, one emotion, however, has overridden all others. That of respect for the man at the centre of the discussion, Adam Goodes.

I felt compelled to join in the conversation, in response to some ugly negative words from some, and wrote on the Swans Facebook page: “Despite the vitriolic comments from the right-wing extremists, and the ignorance shown by many of the white commentators in the media, the overwhelming thing that came from the documentary was Adam himself! Never once did he criticize anyone; never once did he blame anyone; never once did he show anger; never once did he react negatively. Instead, he was compassionate, considerate, articulate and intelligent in all of his responses – especially when talking of his indigenous brothers and sisters, and what they have had to endure since white people took over their land. May Adam Goodes stand proud. May he continue to enlighten and inspire us all – black and white – and may his name nobly stand along his predecessors who have fought and struggled to make a difference.”

With Adam and racism still the focus on Saturday, the game against Freo almost seemed insignificant. And that is certainly saying something, coming from me!

Sure, we didn’t come away with a win, but it didn’t seem to really matter all that much. Don’t get me wrong! Like all fans when their team loses, I was pretty devastated. Every kick or pass into Freo’s forward line and then back into ours, in those frenetic final five minutes, had my heart pounding, my voice hoarse, and my mind focused on one thing and one thing only: a win! Of course, I want my team to win. At all times. Week after week. Year after year. My perfectionist and competitive nature simply compounds those attitudes. But, the logical and realistic part of the brain knows that can’t be the case. Especially just now, with the Swans fielding the youngest team of the round – yet again – as we progress through a transition period, in order to become a force of the future.

As I lay in bed, unable to sleep after the game, my mind wondered about success and what it really means.

Most dictionaries describe is as “the accomplishment of an aim or purpose”, which is pretty straight forward. But, I like a slightly different interpretation: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” These fine wise words of wisdom are attributed to John Robert Wooden, an American basketball player and head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles, born in 1910. He also said: “Success is never final; failure is never fatal. It’s courage that counts.”

Tossing and turning throughout the night, my scattered mind all over the place after the one–point loss, and imagining how our young players were feeling, I tried to focus on John Robert Wooden’s insightful words. I thought about effort and striving in knowing you made the effort to do your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming. It made such sense. And not only when talking of success on a sporting field – especially in a professional sporting environment – where, these days, winning is paramount, and losing is seen as a failure.

I thought of people who, to me, are perhaps the most successful. Those we know nothing about, who don’t appear in the newspapers, on television, or on social media. They are those who selflessly devote their time and energy to others: the volunteers and carers of the world; the people who, unafraid to face backlash, encourage us all to question our beliefs – and if necessary, to then change them in order to create a more humane and loving world.

I also tried to apply John Robert Wooden’s success to my footy team, and how, as young professional athletes, the players are putting in enormous effort and courage to do their best. They are striving to become the best that they can become.

What more can we ask of them?

At 4am I finally dozed off to sleep, with “Go the Mighty Bloods” at the forefront of my now–stilled mind.