You know, I was watching the men's gymnastics the other day and the US team was so happy when they got the bronze. I couldn't wrap my head around it, you came in third... They were almost giddy though and the media made a big deal about it too. I guess for some just medaling at all is a huge deal. I'm with you and Ricky Bobby though, "if you're not first, you're last".
It's a big deal for sure, but I don't think it's something to aim at; I'd be (have been) devastated when I've not won after all the effort I've put in, I get over it of course, but rarely feel good about coming second when it comes to sporting endeavours.
I recall when I was playing American football, my team, Spartans we were called, had a solid year brutalizing the other teams physically and on the scoreboard and then come the final...kick ass soo hard but then...lost. I was fucken crestfallen and saw nothing to celebrate about coming second, first of the losers.
There's jobs where coming second means not coming home so I guess I aim at winning and work harder when I don't win to ensure I do next time. Seems like a good plan to me and you and Ricky Bobby agree.
What a great team mascot! My favorite university team is the Spartans. That's too bad that it turned out that way, but I am sure it was a learning experience for all of you. That's also a good point about being the loser means you don't come home sometimes. Thankfully, I have never had to be in that position.