Image: Champ Sharapova (here)
L for Losers Lose All in ABC of Sports
At their heyday all champions hogged the limelight
Muhammad Ali defeated Liston, Foreman and Bugner
He was remembered by the losers’ names in their fights
Losers otherwise shoved into oblivion a nameless fighter
Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Hingis, Sharapova were champs
The Williams sisters and many more greats before and after
But for the runners-up no one cared and none to be reckoned
Out by the wayside into the bins of history for good measure
The call not just to win but to ‘compete was more important’
A coach’s classic excuse more of a convenient morale booster
And relevant to be repeated all the time in training sessions
Obviously for champions though it would not hold water
Wonderful Hank, I enjoy watching tennis when Wimbledon is on.
ReplyDeleteYvonne.
Excuses can sure come every which way. But even the biggest winners have lost at something at some point.
ReplyDeleteYour poem reminded me of that old quatrain - when the one great scorer comes to mark against your name/he writes - not if you won or lost but how you played the game. E&OE.. sorry for misquotes if any. Lots of changes in sports since that was written.
ReplyDeleteBest wishes,
Nilanjana.
Nice poem, Hank! Who remembers the losers?
ReplyDeleteSusan A Eames from
Travel, Fiction and Photos
Lovely! So true, but most of those in second place soon take the winners gold, if the chance arises. They know the silence of loss. Well, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.
ReplyDeleteThere is always a winner and a loser but, sometimes losing builds character and a stronger desire to win.
ReplyDeleteGreat poem. Girl Who Reads
ReplyDeleteawesome
ReplyDelete