Squash the Game Not the Vegetable

Published: 29 May 2005 - 14:29 by theguru

Updated: 08 Apr 2011 - 17:48

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When looking back recently on some of the article titles I have produced for this esteemed Squash web site, I realised that I may have given the impression that I have a preoccupation with animals. Of course animals form part of daily life for the majority of people across the globe, so it is not unusual that we compare much of our own behaviour with that of our cousins.

Not forgetting that homo sapiens are also animals, this apparent fetish is totally unintended. As you can see by the title of this scribbling, I am making an effort to create some balance. Not that this will make any difference to my general thrust and that is to equate the game of Squash with life.

Any Squash afficinado who is unable to find a topic of choice through an internet search engine would also relate to trawling through many links to sites such as "Weed Control in Processing Squash", an obvious, but non politically correct reference to short, skinny squash players, or maybe "Garlic butternut squash risotto cake medley wins gold", a bold move by Thierry Lincou to gain sponsorship by the French Squash Growers Cooperative and winning the Gold medal at the 2012 Olympic Games.

We are NOT talking about Squash the vegetable.

Although squash have life, it is not life as we know it. In equating art with life, artists, writers an philosophers have been simply expressing themselves, but seldom does one see sports writers taking this approach. Instead, they impose upon us the same hollow hackneyed prose, the clueless cliches and empty euphemisms day after day, week after week.

Doubtless, it is of the utmost importance that we or our team "win" week after week, season after season, ad nauseum, but by definition, in the contest, there can only be one winner. On rare occasions a sports commentator or journalist will report that "The Game Was The Winner". That is a sure sign that the reporter has no interest what so ever, in the result. I do not know if this is a good or a bad thing.

If is certain, however, that the general populace is focussing in on the wrong target entirely. What I would like the commentator to say is that "The Fans and the Players are The Winners". Before I explain why I want this to happen, I must immediately make the connection between the "contest" at the elite level and our own personal battles on the Squash court against playing partners, competitors and ourselves.

Although I may well be proved wrong over time, where humans differ from animals is the higher purpose of human existance. Animals are concentrating on survival minute to minute. Humans, to varying degrees, are seeking to make something of life. This applies to ourselves in all guises when playing, living, loving - at all levels.

Perhaps it is because I am an extremely sore loser, that I try to seek out all the positives in a performance and conduct an evaluation. Dwelling on the negatives of "losing" only perpetuates the pain. The evaluation that goes with deconstructing the game creates positives where there may well be none. I am pleased to announce that this creates a "win/win" situation.

This process has the added bonus of ensuring that one does not become like a vegetable. The brain power required will not only ensure that any vegetative state is kept at bay for some time longer but also make one more expert in evaluating the performance at the very time one needs it most - whilst playing.

Winning is everything, but winning is a state of mind, not a score. To improve is to win.

Now, to some all this might seem very confusing, so just read the article a few more times until it all becomes crystal clear. You may well be in for a win/win moment.