Comments on: The Will to Win

By: andrea

andrea — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:51:24 +0000

btw Ryan – Dodgeball is one of the best sports ever! That instant gratification you get when you see the crestfallen look on your opponent’s face when you catch their throw or when you angle the ball just right and nail them, that feeling is priceless.

Davis – you better bring that same competitive edge that allowed you to beat Ron in a scooter race to our playoff game. If it helps you, we will be playing the red team and i know how you love to beat the red team. Get ready to wipe that smug look off their faces.

By: Andrea

Andrea — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 06:35:14 +0000

“Actually, that intensity really only comes from the women on our team. Mean bunch of women. Just really terrifying.”

I know when you say women, you are just meaning one woman – me. thanks for going easy on me. I just really, really hate to lose. I use to have this track tshirt that said, “you have to love to win, more than you hate to run.” that became my mantra. i kept running track, not because i loved it, but because i kept winning.

very few things taste sweeter than victory.

By: Danica

Danica — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 17:21:06 +0000

Three things:
1. Love that you called yourself out on the different colored shirt.
2. I also love watching adults cheat when they don’t have to. I swim laps at the YMCA on Monday nights with some other washed up (oh man, the puns are rolling for me today) college swimmers and I’m always amazed at the people who cheat – stop early and turn around before the end, pushing off the bottom, pulling the lane lines. They’re adults and they’re there, as far as I can ascertain, by their own will and volition. Makes no sense.
3. I also love those people who take competitiveness to another level. Once I played a couple rounds of racquetball with said type of person, while pregnant. He hit the ball with such force that it almost knocked me over after hitting me in the head. Just means to an end. :)

By: maweesa

maweesa — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 22:02:56 +0000

ron, davis and i were talking about that VERY moment earlier today… i can still picture your face as we drove by you and honked… SO FUNNY.. you need to come back when it gets warm so we can have more races. on second thought, if you do, i’m sure one of us will die.. so maybe just stay in utah.

By: Natalie

Natalie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:40:44 +0000

Wait. Is that dog wearing a grey jersey?

By: Davis

Davis — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 18:03:11 +0000

Ron: I mean what I am about to say very, very literally: That was one of the top 20 best moments of my life.

By: ron

ron — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:53:14 +0000

lolololol. i’m not sure i’ll ever get over that one loss. you remember. i took riverside. you and melissa took broadway. i new victory was finally mine. even as i approached the red light at 97th and riverside. and then my world started to unravel. first i saw a cop car parked on 97th with an officer in the front seat staring at me with eyes that said “don’t even think about it.” running the light wasn’t an option. and then you and melissa rounded the corner at 97th and i knew it was over. you cruised through the intersection giving me that annoying wave where you just stick your hand up and wiggle your fingers, melissa had her ams wrapped around you and was dying of laughter. and to add insult to injury, as you passed you gave me the dreaded “beep beep” with your horn. that smug sign that announced victory was yours.

our friendship will never be the same.

By: Davis

Davis — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:17:58 +0000

Kook, I’ll believe it when I see it. The Plymouth race merits a blog post of its own.

Eliza, Melissa and I had the same thing going in Tetris for a while. Bad for the marriage.

Ang, I’m disappointed in you. When it comes to the ease with which I can get into someone’s head, Brennan is at the top of the list. And you’re telling me HE gets in YOUR head? You can do better.

Melissa, way to find the Lyla angle.

Ryan, you are wrong about dodgeball. Played the way we play, it is a blast.

Troy, that’s a great question. There are certain people I just absolutely love to beat (and hate to lose to). These people include: Kemp, Ron, Finn Dog and Peter (volley tennis only), and the red team in our league. In a fantasy world, I’d beat Kemp at a combined sprint/math-a-thon, Ron at roller hockey, Finn Dog and Peter at volley tennis, and the red team at a new form of dodgeball where the winner executes the loser on the spot.

By: Troy

Troy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:02:00 +0000

If you’ve never had your wife throw a Monopoly board in your face with fake money falling like confetti, you’re just not trying hard enough.

So true, by the way, about the stakes being higher when you sense someone is ultra competitive. I play indoor soccer this time of year — a sport in which my experience boils down to a handful of P-days — and I always seem to find Mr. Socceroo and try to get under his skin. Last week we came back from a 3 goal deficit to beat a serious team and I thought there was going to be a rumble. Hilarious.

Davis, who would you most want to beat and what would you want to beat them at? Think of beating Kemp in a sprint with hurdles…

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:55:01 +0000

I really feel like dodgeball is one of those imperfect sports that could be a lot of fun with a few tweaks. As it is, it’s only slightly better than Quidditch. Fun game, but so full of potential.

The best thing we normal people can do with the ultra-competitive people around us is to find them an ultra-competitive person to marry. That locks them in a cycle of competition that seems to energize them and lets them leave the rest of us mercifully alone.