survive

Is sport played on the physical plane or the mental plane? So many times it happens, pretenders fight against the champions, get to the brink of victory and then manage to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. It does not matter if its is individuals or teams. It would be interesting to note taht we call sportsmen champions precisely because of this reason, to bring on that additional extra when the odd's are stacked against them. Think Sampras's 3rd service ace. But I would really doubt whether there is really a difference in talent/skill in many of the also rans. It is the mind. For the winners the game has already been won, they seem to knwo that the opponent is only their mind, the level of the opponent determined by only what their mind is willing to concede. For the rest of us mortals , we are there to fight, the fight is what the glory is for us becuase we are taught to fight, not to win. To see only victory is difficult because what then fo the defeats that would definitely be there. ( I might even argue that the consideration of teh possibility of defeat is acknowledgemetn of weakness ). If you see victory, play like a champion and still have been beaten, understand that you have met your match and go out with the head held high. Next time, out perform yourself. The loser's always seem to say, the pressure is on them, iam going ot play my shots. Its not about the shots, its playing each shot as if that is the last shot that you are ever going to play. Sport is one realm where the proponents have reached levels of performance that we can call 'perfect'. For these people the competition is only against themselves, the parameter of judgemetn is what they can achieve, perfection exists. My salute to the champions that I have seen:
Valentino Rossi
Micheal Schumacher
Lance Armstrong
Micheal Johnson
Lennox Lewis
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer
Gustavo Kuerten
Haile Gabrasselaisse
Paula Radcliffe
Steve Waugh
Brian Lara
Zenedine Zidane
Frank Lampard
Arjuna Ranatunga
Glenn Mcgrath
Shane Warne
Andrew Flintoff
Hansie Cronje
Wasim Akram
Allan Iverson
Shaquille O Neill
Tim Duncan
and many many more.