The Weekday Ramble is a daily dose of sports, music, culture, and more from Rambling On founder Erik Ritland. For more information check us out on Reddit, Twitter, Facebook, or at our website.
Monday July 13, 2015
Beginning a week of #ThreeQuotes features that span the areas we cover: sports (today), music (tomorrow), culture (Wednesday) and more (wisdom and religion on Thursday, grab bag Friday).
The point
You are never really playing an opponent. You are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits, that is real joy.
-Arthur Ashe
The tennis great brings up a good point. Playing sports isn't about showing off, proving who is the toughest, or even proving who is the best. None of those things can be quantified, which is great because it gives hacks like me a line of work speculating, but it's not what's ultimately important. Our goal as human beings is to make ourselves better every day, to reach “our highest standards,” to reach our limits. It gives us “real joy.” Playing sports is a way to feel that lifelong joy and is especially important to instill in children. Sports aren't for meatheads, they're for everyone who understands what life is about.
Tiger makes a funny...sort of
Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps.
-Tiger Woods
This quote is, as Homer Simpson would say, “funny because it's true!” I wonder how well it would have been received if a white guy would have said it.
But seriously, folks
I never smile when I have a bat in my hands. That's when you've got to be serious. When I get out on the field, nothing's a joke to me. I don't feel like I should walk around with a smile on my face.
-Hank Aaron
That's one way to look at it I guess. But just because you're smiling doesn't mean you're not taking it seriously. I smile at lots of stuff that isn't a joke. Taking your work seriously is a virtue, but taking it too seriously is a drag. I like it when athletes are nice to each other on the field/court/rink. It shows that they're human, that they don't think that what they do is more important than it actually is.
Erik Ritland is a writer and musician from St. Paul, Minnesota. His blog and podcast Rambling On features commentary on music, sports, culture, and more. He was also Lead Staff Writer for Minnesota culture blog Curious North. Support Erik's music via his Patreon account, reach him via email, or find him on Facebook and Twitter.
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