Never Take Your Opponents Lightly
It seems as though not taking one's opponent lightly would be common knowledge and an expectation that is widely accepted amongst all sports stakeholders. However, there are many occurrences from the youth level all the way up to the professional level where teams, players, coaches, analysts, and fans take their opponents lightly.
This past year alone (2016/2017) has been a prime example:
- Cleveland Cavaliers winning the NBA title
- Chicago Cubs winning the World Series
- New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl
- Leicester City winning the Premier League
- Joseph Schooling beating Michael Phelps in the Olympic 100m butterfly final
- Angelique Kerber beating Serena Williams to win the Australian Open
- Chloe Esposito winning Olympic gold in the modern pentathlon
- Danny Willett winning the US Masters
Those are just some examples where teams, players, coaches, analysts, and fans have taken their opponent lightly and ended up on the losing end of things. It almost seems as though this article, which is being published in 2017, shouldn't have to be published - Taking opponents lightly, as many of us think, is a thing of the past. But, next time you're around a youth, competitive, or amateur team - listen to the way that they speak about their opponents. I have been apart of a number of conversations where the dialogue is along the lines of, "Well, we're going to win that game" or, "That's going to be an easy win" or, "We should take care of them easily". These are real conversations and real statements that athletes, coaches, fans, and many others make.
In addition to this, listen to various analysts of sports on television - They count teams out before the game even occurs and even more so as the game is in progress. One may argue that this is a part of their job - but is it, really? Analysts may guess or predict who will win, but certainly, they aren't meant to count teams out of a contest before it even begins.
It is an obvious statement that we should never take our opponents lightly, yet this statement, as obvious as it may be, doesn't necessarily surface prior to competitions. Some might say that "If a team is discredited or not expected to win, it makes the upset all the more fun to watch". - Sure; from a fans perspective. But what about the folks who are actually involved in the sport? Let's take March Madness, for example - No team or coach counts their opponent out in that tournament, yet upsets happen all of the time - If we look beyond that, fans and bracket masters always discredit and take teams who are seeded 10 and below as an inferior squad.
Not only is it unfair to take your opponent lightly, but it is also tremendously dangerous. When opponents are taken lightly, we can expect for something to back-fire. The fact of the matter is that an underdog has nothing to lose, but everything to gain - So, knowing this, why would we ever take an opponent lightly? Even if you don't verbally express it, if you think in your head & heart that your opponent will be a cake-walk, you're wrong. And then, when the upset does occur, it is not only humiliating but embarrassing as well.
Let's not be foolish - Every opponent is to be considered equal in terms of the effort that needs to be given in order to secure the victory. At the heart of winning comes respect for your opponent. If we discredit and devalue our opponents before the competition even begins, we are not possessing a winning mindset; rather, we are possessing a frail and weak mindset that only an arrogant or ignorant person would possess. Never take your opponents lightly - this message needs to be reiterated, practiced, and upheld at all levels of sports.