Why All The Ridicule For Being Second Best?

Loser … choke artist … can’t win the big one … BUM! Epithets for one who could not make the cut? Sentiments toward a competitor undeserving of a moment in the spotlight? How about a condemnation of a person whose only fault was finishing second? Such is the sad case of one Greg Norman, a man many consider to be the best golfer in the world, arguably the best over the best in the last decade. Mr. Norman played last week in the U.S. Open golf tournament. Out of hundreds of the best golfers in the world, out of more than 50 who made the Open cut, only one shot a better score on the brutal Shinnecock course.

For any other player in the world, Norman’s performance would have been a remarkable testament to courage and tenacity in the face of overwhelming conditions. However, Mr. Norman is not, according to some of the commentators and writers of this country, any other player. He is that player who has finished second in six major tournaments, who has never won a major in this country. He is, therefore, lambasted in the press, with one writer wondering what he is to do, since “Pride won’t let him quit. Exile won’t work. He can’t change his name.”

Is it me, or do we have a problem when a person who consistently strives for greatness is vilified when he comes up one place short?

I look back over the last three decades and note: In the 1970s, Minnesota was considered a failure for losing four Super Bowl games. From 1978-90, the Broncos brought disgrace to Denver because they, too, lost four Super Bowls. However, no city brings forth the howls of laughter and derision as Buffalo, whose team was so inept it lost four straight Super Bowls.

Imagine! The Buffalo Bills are considered losers and choke artists because they had the gall to dominate every team but one for four years. The fact Buffalo lost to three different teams during those four years gives credence to the argument that, for the period, the Bills were the best in football.

Back to Greg Norman. He has come in second in six of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, losing at least half on miracle shots from impossible positions by the eventual winners. Norman lost to a different person in each of these tournaments. The winners, mostly, had their brief moment in the sun, then faded into the relative obscurity of the pack. But Mr. Norman, foolish enough to be consistently at or near the top of the golf world, has been made fun of each time he “chokes.”

When I was growing up, my Little League coach extolled us to perform our best, because “it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.” Today, however, if one does not win, one would be better off never having played the game. The message we send to our children is clear: If you are not going to win, don’t compete. If you must compete, find a way to win, at any cost. To that end, we see: college rules violations, drug use for performance enhancement, even intimidation and violence (Tonya Harding comes to mind).

Greg Norman, through it all, remains a man I would like my twin infant daughters to emulate when it comes to competition. He graciously congratulated U.S. Open winner Corey Pavin, and said that he would do better next time.

Saying that second place among the world’s best golfers is not an accomplishment not only belittles Norman and all the golfers he beat, it also renders impotent the advice parents everywhere give to their kids that winning is not the only thing in this life that matters.

In the meantime, Greg Norman, thank you for a wonderful tournament. You keep the game exciting by your never-say-die attitude, your strength and integrity in the face of constant criticism. Though disappointed you did not win, I applaud the way you played. As you say, we’ll get ‘em next time.