Winning Isn't Everything - Do We Actually Believe That?

"Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing." The famous sports quote was first used by former UCLA Bruins football coach Red Sanders. To many athletes, winning is indeed everything. The all-time great sporting legends like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, and Wayne Gretzky share something in common - they want to win. The passion and drive they had to win knew no bounds. But there are very few legends like Tiger Woods. Because for every Tiger, there exist millions of weekend warrior golfers. Golfers whose big match isn't The Masters but winning $10 in a skins game against their friends. Some weekend warriors will never win anything in golf, not even a skins game. Because we all can't have 15 majors and be considered one of the greatest golfers of all time, we have to accept not winning. As such, we have come up with the phrase, 'winning isn't everything.'

But do we believe that? If we were put on a lie detector test and were asked, "Is winning everything?" And if we were to respond with "No." would we pass the test? That question cannot be answered with a simple yes or no. Like with most things in life, generic questions have complex answers. My best guess is that accurate answers would follow a bell-shaped curve. You would have a small percentage of people where winning was absolutely everything. Then you'd have a small percentage of people where winning didn't matter. Then you'd a have a majority of the people that fell into a mix - that is winning is everything, but it's also not.

When it comes to golf, I fall into the mixed category. I've played tournaments where I honestly did not care if I won. I've also played in the same tournament in a different year, where winning was the only thing. I distinctly remember my playing partners saying in those years that I cared, "Let's just have fun." I agreed with them, saying, "Having fun is what counts." But it was all a big lie. I lied, and they knew it, and they lied, and I knew it. Having fun meant winning. If you didn't win, then you didn't have fun.

I'm competitive. I've always been competitive in my life. But should I be that competitive where winning the weekend 4-ball tournament means everything? Absolutely not! I consider myself a good golfer. Some may disagree, but we could all agree that I will never be in a position where my golfing abilities pay rent. So honestly, why should I care? Well, because I'm human and care about things that matter to me.

But I'm going to take this one step further and say that those who pay rent with their sporting abilities should not care about winning. For those athletes, it's about having titles and name recognition. Because 98% of those athletes have made enough money to where they can feed and house their families for life. I love golf, and I watch it frequently. But I can't tell you who won the 2011 Masters. But I can tell you that Rory McIlroy lost the tournament. Most people can't tell you who won the 1999 British Open, but they can tell you that Jean Van de Velde lost the tournament. Ask any avid golf fan to tell you who won the 2016 Masters. More than likely they can't, but they could tell you who won lost that tournament. (Jordan Spieth.) Take a tournament where someone did not lose but just won without someone falling apart on Sunday, such as the 2014 PGA Championship. Very few people could tell you won that event.

Are you following a pattern here? Years after you win something, most people don't remember who you are or what you did, even on the biggest stage. But you know what they do remember; they remember if you lost dramatically. I can guarantee you that more people today know who Jean Van de Velde is because he did not win. I'm sure that doesn't matter to him. More than likely, he would rather have won the British Open and ride off into the sunset than be known as the man who blew a 3-shot lead on the last hole. But we remember him and for decades to come, he will be remembered.

One of my favorite movies, "Tin Cup" talks about this. In that movie Roy "Tin Cup" McAvoy played by Kevin Costner, is in the hunt to win the U.S. Open. But he's just a driving range teacher with no professional tour experience. On the last hole he's tied for the lead with a 250-yard shot over water. He could easily lay up and thus guarantee a tie or give him a chance to win. Instead, he goes for the green and hits it into the water. An obvious mistake, because Tin Cup wanted to show the world that he could clear the water from 250 yards. After hitting it into the water, he had the option to drop the ball near the green and hit a much easier shot. But instead, he elected to drop the ball from 250 yards away to show the world he could hit the green from that distance. Several more balls would go in the water from 250 yards, and Tin Cup was down to his last ball. If that ball went into the water, he would be disqualified.

Tin Cup taking a drop on his way to making a 12.

Tin Cup then proceed to not only hit the green from 250 yards but make it into the hole. The final score on the par 5 was a 12, which is 7-over par. It's a glorious moment as Tin Cup walks off the green having made a 12. He goes to his girlfriend and starts to question his decision about losing the tournament. She responds with, "10 years from now, nobody is going to remember who won, but they will remember your 12." After which, Tin Cup has a smile on his face.

I understand that's a movie, but it further illustrates that winning isn't everything, even for the best. But back to the original question, do we actually believe that? I haven't directly answered that question, and this post will be one where I don't answer the original question. The fact is there is no blanket answer because we all have varying degrees of competitiveness. But that's what makes us human and as humans that's why we we care about winning.