How Losers Teach Winners
Netflix’s documentary Losers teaches us a lot about how our minds work and the true value of victory
You learn most from losing.
And that’s one thing that sport will give you if you allow yourself to learn to form it.
And if you continue to win at your sport don’t worry because all you have to do is learn from those who weren’t fortunate enough by watching Netflix’s series entitled Losers instead.
The first episode ‘The Miscast Champion’ features boxer Michael Bentt who was riddled with self-doubt which arose from when he was growing up. His father who was a Jamaican immigrant abused him and this led Bentt to be so terrified at the thought of being beaten and ashamed if he did not fight up to his standards. The whole pressure became too much for Bentt as he spectacularly lost his world title.
In the next episode lowly English football team Torquay United faced a challenging season in 1986/1987. Although they were full with a team of hardworking footballers they hadn’t much talent to go with it. And even though they had a rich history in the football league their continual loses that season meant that they had a huge challenge to face in their final game of that league season.
They had to win against Crew Alexandra in the final game otherwise they would be relegated from the entire football league.
And that would mean that the players would be part-time footballers from then on which would probably mark the end of many of their professional football careers. The tension in that last game was huge and a bizarre game unfolded for the Gulls that were excellently portrayed by Netflix.
In the third episode, ice skater Surya Bonaly is the main character in ‘Judgement’.
Bonaly was the adopted daughter of two nomadic French parents. At eight months old she left an orphanage to live with her parents who introduced her to gymnastics. From there on Bonaly’s abilities began to shine.
She was a champion gymnast who had flexibility in how she moved and a range of skills built up before she ever entered into the world of ice skating.
By the time she did, she again rose to the top of the sport. Unusually for the high level of ice skating at the time, Bonaly was in the minority as she was black and many of her fellow competitors were white. But she never let her perceived difference change her approach to the sport she excelled in.
Using her skills from the gym Surya wanted to have a trademark when she skated and frequently used her black flip during ice skating competitions.
However despite her great ability when she came to the finals of her sport she continuously scored lower than she seemed to deserve. And this is how losing became regularity for her. Although the judges docked her marks for what they reported was her lack of artistic performance and presentation skills, many others felt it was unjust as she was not being treated fairly by the judges of the sport.
Following on is an episode on the curling’s Pat Ryan.
Ryan, who bitterly lost at the 1985 Brier to ‘The Iceman’ Al Hackner changed his approach and the sport of curling too.
From then on he brought a different mentality to his preparation and performance that no one in the sport had done up until then as many curlers did the same thing as one another and expected to win each time too.
During the mid-1980s the players smoked and drank alcohol on the ice and Ryan began doing the opposite.
Because he believed in a professional approach to the game. But this annoyed the small community-led culture of the players at the time. One of the main things Ryan took to the game was his belief that a curler’s movement on the ice was crucial to how the contest would go.
Ryan wanted professionalism from his curling team with no sex during tournaments and their full focus to be on competing and trying to win.
Mauro Prosperi was a part-time Olympic pentathlete and his experience as a runner is the focus of the fifth episode.
Once he had retired, Prosperi decided to do the Marathon Des Sables in the Sahara desert. And his first venture into the desert with his best friend led him astray not just in the race but in life too.
Because his experience in the desert almost killed him.
His run was interrupted by a sandstorm and he lost his way and swayed off the beaten track. As he was now in the middle of the desert he struggled to survive with the heat and ran out of water. From there he started becoming delusional and knew he had not long left to live. Thankfully for him, he discovered a dwelling and from there he got some shelter from the baking heat.
Aliy Zirkle was an American sled dog racing champion who moved to Alaska when she was a young adult.
From there she took up mushing which involves several dogs pulling a sled through the ice. That’s when she got interested in the Yukon Quest which was an annual event to find out who was the best musher. However, although she came close many times, she failed every time to win the great race.
Basketball’s Jack Ryan is the feature of the next episode.
Nicknamed Blackjack his skills in the game are without doubt and his performance in high school meant he averaged 26 points per game.
Blackjack’s talents meant he could go to college to play ball. But his lack of self-discipline meant he blew his opportunity and although he had what it took to play in the NBA he had nothing to show for his life by the time he hit his thirties. From there though his story took off as he ended up using his skills to entertain others and became renowned for it too.
The final episode details the fall from top spot by the 1999 British Open golfer Jean Van de Velde.
Poised to win the Open after racing in front for the previous 71 holes of the tournament all he had to do was keep a cool head on the last hole and he’d be crowned the winner.
Unfortunately, though he bottled it. And the final hole was a disaster.
But the entire series was not.
As it taught anyone who wanted to learn from Losers that they could be winners in their sport instead.
Get FREE Access To Dr. Conor’s VIP List Here (Limited Time Only)
