Losers Lament
If you’ve ever participated in competitive sports, you know the losers lament. It was the umps, the refs, the other team cheated, it was deflated balls… . Never is there a look in the mirror to determine how bad you or your team actually sucked on a particular day or for the whole season. There is a loser’s mindset also. Its view in the mirror says I am so much better than everyone else, so much smarter, so much more talented, everyone loves me, and wants me to win, so it is very unlikely that I will ever lose unless they cheat.
There is also the bench warmer’s prayer. If the game is tight and the battle tough, the benchwarmer prays, “Lord, please don’t let them hit the ball to me.” Sort of reminds me of the Republican side of Congress. A note to them, winners want the damn ball and they aim to deliver when they get it. Otherwise they become tomorrow’s losers.
Ronald Reagan skunked Jimmah Carter. It was a landside of epic proportions. If you scan the news and polls, Reagan was not supposed to win – had no chance. The media and pundits did not give him a chance and establishment Republicans didn’t want him either – many of them blamed him for Ford’s loss to Carter. The third party candidate was blamed for the loss although analysis showed that had Carter picked up every vote, highly unlikely, he would have still lost by 100 Electoral College votes. It wasn’t the third party. It was a bad economy, double digit inflation, the Arab oil embargo, turn your thermostat down and wear sweater speeches, and poor handling of the Iran hostage crisis not to mention Jimmah and his crew ushering in a “moderate religious leader.” Jimmah lost because he failed at being President – a leader.
Most memorable in recent times, Al Gore lost to George Bush. When the Supreme Court ended the never ending Florida recount, Bush became in the eyes of the press and Democrats “selected not elected.” Although recounts completed afterwards demonstrated even if every vote was recounted again Bush still won. Still the meme of an illegitimate presidency spread far and wide through the media and hourly attacks across the liberal media were common – and it continued right up to the end. Bush never pushed back against the media.
Next up, Vietnam War hero John Kerry and his trusty sidekick John Edwards lost to Bush. Kerry wanted to concede and Edwards wanted to do a Gore 2.0. Bush lost this one because of the Swift Boat Veterans attack on the war hero. Because it was clear that Bush was not a brilliant and sophisticated as John and John, he could not have possibly won unless the Swift Boaters exposed in their view his less than stellar service record. So for the next four years, the implied label of illegitimacy still hung around the neck of President Bush – and the media cried endlessly about swift boating among other attacks resulting in his approval rate being in the toilet.
McCain and Romney lost to Obama and for a myriad of reasons including Bush’s low approval rating. The bottom line however, is that they were poor candidates. Truthfully, both were hold your nose votes for me and millions like me stayed home.
And now, present day. Proven is the adage that no matter how much things change, they remain the same. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, oh my, what an election year it was. This may sound familiar. According to the media, the pundits, and the political consulting class Trump had no chance. It was a foregone conclusion that Hillary would win. Establishment Republicans also did not believe he could win nor did they want Trump. Along came election night and Hillary along with all of those talking heads and establishment Republicans got a whuppin. There was wailing and gnashing of teeth. Panic across America. Trump could not have possibly won the election. It had nothing to do with the failed Clinton candidacy. As we all now know, the Russians did it.
©2017 J. D. Pendry
Category: Politics
Truly, the more things change, the more they remain the same. And we see a concerted effort to drag Trump down thru the literal ‘red herring’ of the Russians hacking the election, the media panting and salivating to bring down another Republican President.
don’t forget the corrupt clintons and the buffoons that supported those lying, witchcraft, pedophile, liars…had to be Trumps fault, who else? lol
Played, coached and refereed a certain unmentionable (to Americans)sport up to the age of 63. Upon losing: as players, we went and had a beer; as a coach, we took the kids for pizza and we adults had a beer; as referees, we went and had a beer somewhere where the teams didn’t gather. Come to think of it, we did the same thing win or lose. The beer was the reward, not the winning or losing. Political junkies need to figure this out. It definitely helps.
Nothing beats rugby for true sports. Beat the hell out of one another and then, afterwards, meets at the local saloon to laugh and talk about the game.
“Football is a game of gentlemen played by animals.
Rugby is a game of animals played by gentlemen.”
Or so I heard.
It’s very true. While here in the US, “soccer” has (until recent times) been considered a “rich man’s game” and football the sport for the unwashed masses, in England, rugby (union, not league and certainly not “Sevens”) is the sport of the refined while football is the game for ruffians.
We are working on keeping our Boys HS Rugby team going. There is nothing like seeing those kiddos come together as a team, and having amazing socials after the match. We’ve only met one team with a mean, nasty coach.
Lacrosse – “the little brother to war”.
When they started a lacrosse team at my nephew’s school, the mothers were mortified that the players were allowed to hit each other with sticks.
Of course, being in Texas not a lot is known, culturally, about lacrosse.
But I do know that hockey is a game for animals played by animals.
Went to a fight once and a hockey match broke out.
Check out Irish Hurling. Lacrosse without pads. And poetry in motion when the best teams are playing.
Lacrosse – “the little brother to war”.
When they started a lacrosse team at my nephew’s school, the mothers were mortified that the players were allowed to hit each other with sticks.
Of course, being in Texas not a lot is known, culturally, about lacrosse.
But I do know that hockey is a game for animals played by animals.
I remember the first time I saw a lacrosse game. I was a young Boy Scout and we were in New York for a Camporee. We went to West Point to visit the Acadmey. West Point was playing somebody (this was the very early 60s). I do vividly remember one of the Academy players receiving a pass, twisting the ball back and forth in the net, passing to a teammate, and then hitting the opposing player who was guarding him. The ref was right there and didn’t call a foul, so I figured, “Hey, cool sport!”
^^^College Rugby was epic. Both the game which we played all out and the after keg party with the other team. It was quite common for either the host or the visitor to be short a player so the other team lent one and the game went on.
Soccer is a gentleman’s game played by ruffians.
Rugby is a ruffians game played by gentlemen.
Bill Buckner. I still feel sorry for that poor bastard. The guy botched a roller right at him at first and the winning run scored. I suppose there are still people who cuss him. But here’s the thing–and my point. The reason the winning run scored is that there were men on base. He didn’t put them there. And before the great colapse there two out and nobody on! And that game? It was the 6th of 7. He didn’t lose the previous games that allowed the series to go to a game 7. And he didn’t lose the deciding game. Yet, mention the ’86 series to a true baseball fan and he will say, “Buckner.” As in baseball, in politics people seek to identify the one thing that would explain why a surefire winner lost. There never is a solitary reason.
And there was the infamous Steve Bartman ball-interference call… which was also in Game 6 of a 7 game series. Or the bad call on Vince Coleman at first in game 6 of the I-70 series the year before. All the teams involved could have shaken it off and come back the next day LIKE TRUE PROFESSIONALS, and all three choked.
I have a paper bag full of old, faded horse show ribbons. Won them fair and square. But one sore loser always had to make some snarky remark, because she never won anything, even if she was 5th of 5 in a class.
Some people are just sore losers.
You forgot Bush v. Clinton. The culprits there were Pat Buchanan, who supposedly damaged Bush in the primary, and Ross Perot in the general election.
The one thing I will concede to President Carter is that when he made the “turn your thermostat down and wear your sweater” speech is that he actually turned the White House thermostat down and wore a sweater himself.
Barry or Cankles might have made a similar speech had circumstances warranted so doing, but you can believe they would not have led by example.
Like the guy who invented the interwebz who jet sets around the world burning jet fuel, pushing the global warming apocalypse.
“You don’t understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let’s face it.”
Maybe part of the Hillarrhoids’ anger comes from them not getting a participation trophy despite their genuine loss in the election? IMHO McCain, Dole and Romney were picked and groomed by the inner DC establishment which I see as one reason for their losses. They played “aw shucks Mr. Nice Guy” when they should have been going for their opponents’ carotid artery and Dole’s campaign was about as alive and energetic as wet toilet paper. President Trump has vigorously shaken the proverbial apple tree and shaken the inner DC establishment’s pedestal while giving them a long overdue kick in the teeth and I see that as one reason why he remains so popular among working Red State Americans.
“Participation trophy”? Yeah, the White House. “Its her turn”, remember?
She saw it as a Right, and the left sees it as an Entitlement that has been Denied.
Some of them mean to seize it back, and a significant number are willing to “break a few eggs” to make that omelette.
Thus, it may be necessary to… discourage them from that cooking effort.