Ryder Lessons on Failure

My last post talked about the Ryder Cup and how Canadians fit into it. But of course the most captivating part of the competition was “The Collapse”. It featured the largest comeback in Ryder Cup history. Two-thirds of the way through Saturday, the US was ahead by six points, with a score of 10-4 (the US needed 14.5 points to win.) In the last two matches of Saturday and over the final day, the Europeans outscored their opponents 10.5 to 3.5, thereby retaining the Cup.

It was euphoric for the champions and left the losers devastated in a way that compares to no other kind of loss. It reminded me these epic collapses:

·         Houston Oilers ’92 AFC championship against the Buffalo Bills when they lost in overtime after being up 35-3 in the 3^rd quarter. I was transfixed by that game.

·         Greg Norman’s ’99 Masters loss to Nick Faldo despite a seemingly insurmountable 6 stroke lead to start the final round

·         Lindsay Jacobellis’ “hot dog” fall as she was about to win ’06 Olympic Gold for snowboard cross – was it poetic justice? (She still won a silver)

·         ’78 Bosox

And the almost unmentionably tragic:

·         Jean Van De Velde’s ’99 British Open

·         Jana Novatna’s ’93 Wimbledon Final vs. Steffi Graf

Like many, I was completely fixated on Steve Stricker, who both lost the final points to secure Europe’s victory and who also didn’t win a point all weekend. More than anyone, he wears the “goat horns” for Team USA. (Interestingly, Tiger managed to tie the last match of the competition, giving him only a half point for the weekend, and Hanson was shut out for Team Europe.) It was hard not to feel deep sympathy for Stricker, whose combination of frustration/guilt/sadness was apparent.
The whole thing made for great TV, but I wonder what it means for teenagers? Some thoughts …

1.       Malcolm Gladwell’s fabulous collection of essays “What the Dog Saw and other Adventures” has a piece on why some people choke and others panic. When I saw the Ryder collapse, it made me think of Gladwell’s piece – a thought-provoking and enjoyable read that gives me some insight into my own athletic downfalls. It is an engaging piece for student-athletes and their coaches.

2.       How we treat the “Losers” says a great deal about a school community. Watching what happened at the Ryder Cup, I wondered how many people were loading on the bandwagon in a celebratory haze, how many were deep into their own Schadenfreude, and how many were feeling sympathetic for Stricker? Celebrating victory is easy and natural. It’s how we deal with defeat – either our own or those around us – that tells us more about character. Empathy, sympathy, resilience, and the ability to reflect and then adapt are all critical attributes for people who wish to lead. How we develop these characteristics in our young men and women should be a hallmark of great education. The most challenging part of that is that the strongest forge of these skills is the fire of adversity.