justine
to lose
the realm of sports has, over the years, witnessed many great stories: comebacks, upsets, whatever you can think of.
while we laud the winners, maybe we should take some time to spare a thought for the losers. because it is never nice to lose. you gotta be kidding if you say you like to lose.
and it is really a wretched feeling to be on the wrong side of a historic moment.
i know how it feels. the pain from holland's 2-3 loss to czech in euro'04 was, and still is, indescribable.
so even as the whole world congratulates marion bertoli, i hope it can empathise with justine henin.
despair
why is being on the wrong side of history so painful? part of the answer lies in one word. despair. i saw despair today. it was all over henin's face. the kind of 'what the hell went wrong' look. the problem is that you can never adequately explain what really happened. there is nothing more you can do; you just wish you can wake up and find that it is all a bad dream. but that's impossible: the 'bad dream' is reality. that is how helpless you are.
and even for an observer, it is unbearable to watch. it really is. at least if you are on her side.
all too familiar
justine henin's defeat was a spectacular collapse. after winning the first set 6-1, she lost the second 5-7, and then collapsed to lose the third 1-6. heart-wrenching, as i watched.
it was all too familiar.
how many times have i watched arsenal like this this year? it is terrible to watch like this, because you are always chasing the game. and when it reaches a point, like in the third set, when she was down 1-5, where you know that there is simply no room for error, your heart is literally in your mouth. it is simply unbearable.
yet you watch on, because it is your team, your favourite. this is not the only paradox.
how can one feel hopeless, and yet harbour hope?
i don't really know. but i know that it is possible. at times like these, even though with each passing second hope is, like candle flames, being extinguished, your faith never wavers; in fact, it intensifies. i am absolutely certain of this.
i only ask: why must this always happen to me? holland, arsenal, ajax, valencia to a lesser extent, and now henin.
so i realise: in order not to feel the pain of losing again, you can only win.
come back stronger. hungrier.
the realm of sports has, over the years, witnessed many great stories: comebacks, upsets, whatever you can think of.
while we laud the winners, maybe we should take some time to spare a thought for the losers. because it is never nice to lose. you gotta be kidding if you say you like to lose.
and it is really a wretched feeling to be on the wrong side of a historic moment.
i know how it feels. the pain from holland's 2-3 loss to czech in euro'04 was, and still is, indescribable.
so even as the whole world congratulates marion bertoli, i hope it can empathise with justine henin.
despair
why is being on the wrong side of history so painful? part of the answer lies in one word. despair. i saw despair today. it was all over henin's face. the kind of 'what the hell went wrong' look. the problem is that you can never adequately explain what really happened. there is nothing more you can do; you just wish you can wake up and find that it is all a bad dream. but that's impossible: the 'bad dream' is reality. that is how helpless you are.
and even for an observer, it is unbearable to watch. it really is. at least if you are on her side.
all too familiar
justine henin's defeat was a spectacular collapse. after winning the first set 6-1, she lost the second 5-7, and then collapsed to lose the third 1-6. heart-wrenching, as i watched.
it was all too familiar.
how many times have i watched arsenal like this this year? it is terrible to watch like this, because you are always chasing the game. and when it reaches a point, like in the third set, when she was down 1-5, where you know that there is simply no room for error, your heart is literally in your mouth. it is simply unbearable.
yet you watch on, because it is your team, your favourite. this is not the only paradox.
how can one feel hopeless, and yet harbour hope?
i don't really know. but i know that it is possible. at times like these, even though with each passing second hope is, like candle flames, being extinguished, your faith never wavers; in fact, it intensifies. i am absolutely certain of this.
i only ask: why must this always happen to me? holland, arsenal, ajax, valencia to a lesser extent, and now henin.
so i realise: in order not to feel the pain of losing again, you can only win.
come back stronger. hungrier.
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