United States Olympic medalist Dara Torres once said, “Setbacks have a silver lining; they fuel new dreams. Like Dara, many people believe that while losing hurts, it does more for people than causing pain and sadness. Losing strengthens your sense of resilience, motivates you to do better, and ultimately helps you grow. This idea is one that many naively cling to, but it can create an overly simplistic sense of comfort with the loss. In One Shot at Forever, Chris Ballard writes about emotionally complex characters and their different values ​​around winning and losing, breaking down the "some people win, some people lose" mentality by suggesting that losing is more twisted than it seems. no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Each of Ballard's characters places a different value on victory, which proves that victory cannot be attributed to a single emotion. The first of these characters is Coach Lynn Sweet, a hippie whose teaching, coaching, and lifestyle are the exact opposite of the conservative Maconites in whose town Ballard's story is set. Before the state baseball championship games begin, Coach Sweet talks about his unconventional coaching style: “I don't like the win-or-die attitude. Let's set our goals to have fun and learn some baseball” (Ballard 168). Rather than the overly thoughtful approach taken by other coaches in the book, Sweet approaches coaching in a very simple way by valuing learning and enjoyment, rather than winning as the end point. Sweet challenges the idea that winning is the ultimate goal and losing is just a bump in the road, stating that other things are actually more important than winning. Unlike Sweet, baseball player Steve Shartzer takes winning much more seriously: “The game was sacred to him. What he couldn't get over was the idea that when he came to the park every day, he was coming to work…. He should have paced himself, thought about the long term, looked for number one” (218). Here, the sport of baseball is attributed to something “sacred” and “a work,” and this diction casts an inviolable and serious light on the sport, suggesting that baseball is much more than just a game. Furthermore, the connotations of obligation and pressure associated with a job reveal Shartzer's reasoning for placing such a high value on winning. Overall, Sweet and Shartzer personify two very different emotions regarding winning and losing. While Sweet is able to incorporate a broader view of winning, including the possibility of obtaining a positive outcome from losing a game, Shartzer has a much narrower view. He agrees with the idea that the only thing that matters is the final score of the game, regardless of how long it might take to get there. These differences reveal that winning and losing are not black and white, even though many people tend to oversimplify them. Sweet and Shartzer show that these two potential outcomes cannot be attributed to a single emotion, but rather to a multitude of them. Despite the fact that Sweet and Shartzer may have different attitudes towards winning, it is interesting to note that they share some commonalities associated with their feelings towards losing. The profound emotional impact that the loss has on them reveals that the loss has very real consequences and cannot simply be displaced by what is dictated by the well-known slogan “you win some, you lose some.” Rather, these feelings need to be acknowledged andaddressed in a way that works for each individual. As the story begins, the boys are disqualified from the state championships because one of their players is not on the team roster. Coach Sweet, who generally represents a very optimistic and opportunistic mentality, is perplexed by this dilemma and feels a deep sense of defeat: “He had seen them come together and he had seen their pride in the team and in their teammates. earned. Usually, he felt that important lessons came from defeat. He didn't see much of a lesson here” (79). Here, the contrast between the team's results and their disqualification creates a paradox that puts readers in Sweet's shoes and evokes the same feeling of desperation that he feels. Furthermore, Sweet's feelings of defeat contrasted with his overall optimistic attitude show that loss cannot be pushed aside or ignored. Sometimes he gets the best of everyone, and Sweet's realization of this reminds readers that dealing with loss isn't as simple as some might like to think. Similar to Sweet, Shartzer struggles with these same feelings of defeat, but instead of serving as a mere bump in the road, they stay with him longer than he would like. Even years and years after graduation, Shartzer can't forget the boys' defeat in the championships: "Unlike his teammates, who rejoice in what they have accomplished, he can't stop thinking about what they haven't Done…. He can remember every pitch of that game, every missed opportunity” (219). The desperate tone of this quote once again evokes feelings of sympathy for Shartzer. Additionally, the emphasis and attention that Shartzer places on this game shows that for some people, the loss simply cannot be ignored. Sweet and Shartzer are living proof that even if we win and lose a little, it's okay and natural to be sad and perplexed, and loss isn't something we always have to put aside. In contrast, other characters in the story have positive reactions to the loss. , which shows that loss can also be motivating. This variation in reactions to loss emphasizes the idea that each person is entitled to their own opinions and feelings and that there is no one correct way to react to losses. After losing the championships, the boys celebrate the effort and hard work that was required of them to get to the championship game: “If you had driven past Route 51 on the evening of June 4, 1971, you would have been forgiven for thinking of Macon had won the state title” (201). The happy and celebratory feelings that this quote evokes, despite the fact that the kids have just lost, are very respectable and show an alternative response to loss that is more in accordance with the "you win some, you lose some" attitude. Here, the boys are able to put their defeat aside and put it into perspective, considering all the positive things they achieved despite losing in the final match. Overall, the different reactions to defeat reinforce the idea that winning and losing are not black and white and should not be treated as such. Ultimately, the legacy and long-term impact of the '71 season on the team and the city reveal that there is no difference between success and victory, even if it is sometimes difficult to remember. For example, Lynn Sweet is a coach whose values ​​and lifestyle are completely in conflict with the small, conservative town of Macon. Although he endured many hardships because of these differences, in his mind he emerged victorious, if not in the most obvious sense of the word: “He had entered the hardest and most doctrinaire corner of the school experience and had demonstrated that a team did not he needed a dictator to..