Bill Sykes' Newsletter
from America.
(May 2005)
An ex-Brit gives his views - (without
fear or favor) - of the American Scene
The win at all costs syndrome:
 This
win at all costs syndrome is in general fostered by
the parents of American children from an early age
and is not only connected to the sports fields but
also to all other avenues of endeavour. Parents encourage
their offspring to strive not only for excellence in
the sports arena and academic fields, but also to be
fully aware of the win at all cost syndrome which in
their minds is a very necessary and dominating factor
in every aspect of the lives of their offspring - the
creed of the ambitious parents is for their offspring
to be #1 in everything that they tackle, which in many
cases places undue stress and strain on the less fortunate
children who do not have natural academic or sporting
capabilities.
The reason that I decided to write this paragraph was
based upon the recent baseball bat killing in Palmdale,
a California desert city located approximately 40 miles
north of Los Angeles.
The incident occurred when a 13-year-old pitcher of a junior baseball team,
which had just lost for the first time this season, was being teased at the
concession stand after the game by a 15-year-old spectator. It was alleged
that the 13-year-old player pulled a baseball bat from his carrying bag and
hit the  15-year-old across the knees and on the head. It was stated that
the 15-year-old died later as a result of the attack and the 13-year-old
was placed under arrest for investigation of murder.
The 13-year-old boy was said to be a competitive player who did not have
a reputation for violence. He was the starting pitcher for his team and this
was the first time that his team had been beaten in eight games so he was
obviously very upset about losing and the teasing was the last straw - but
the question then arises as to whether a "win at all cost" syndrome
upbringing played any part in this unfortunate incident.
The first time that I recognised this syndrome was
during the 1968 Olympics, (eighteen months or so after
arriving in America), when I watched the Olympic sporting
events being televised on American TV and was astounded
to discover the biased reporting by the American press.
In general, if there was not an American competing in
any particular sporting event then that sport was not
given prime time coverage - if there were American participants
in any particular sporting event, the cameras deliberately focussed upon
those participants and very little else, and if any one of the individuals
who had been  predicted to win an event did not do so, the after-the-event
critique was merciless considering that the individuals in question had
trained extremely hard and had given their all in an effort to win but
had been beaten on the day by better contestants.
In 1968 when my family and I moved from Seattle, Washington
State, to San Diego, California, I joined a group of
British, European, and Mexican coaches to form a YMCA
soccer league. This was before the American Youth Soccer
Association, (AYSO), came upon the scene and we formed
a league consisting of several teams of ten and eleven
year old boys. Many of the boy’s mothers used
to attend the games but very few of the fathers, (perhaps the reason
being was that the connecting towns of Chula Vista and
National City housed the families of Navy personnel,
and a number of the player’s fathers
were away on duty serving with the American navy), but never-the-less
the story concerns the sensitivity of the young players to losing.
After
one gruelling match where my team gave their all but eventually lost
the game by the only goal, several of my players went off the field
in tears. I gathered the players together and my message to them was
that soccer is a hard physical game to be enjoyed regardless of the
final score and that I  expected
100 percent effort from all the players all the time and would under
no circumstance allow or condone foul play - subsequently we had a
great team who enjoyed every minute of their endeavours to win.
Getting back to the story - scene: Last game
of the season, we lost a very hard fought and excellent game finishing
up in the top half of the league table. Seeing that it was the last
game of the season I had arranged for a small celebration after the
match and provided ice cream and soft drinks - just then a heavy
set American male came up to me and said, "Are
you the coach?",
I said "Yes, are you one of the fathers?" - all he could say was, "They
lost and look at them running around enjoying themselves". So I
responded by saying what else would he have them do as they had a great
game and deserved to enjoy themselves. Much to my surprise he then started
to rant and rave that because they lost they should be slinking away
with their tails between their legs in disgrace.
I gave him a few choice words of advice as to his ungentle-manly conduct
and had him forcibly ejected from the grounds by a couple of equally
burly navy personnel.
 The "appear to win at all costs" syndrome
pervades the whole structure of American society from
top boardroom executives down through lower management
and also to the various military excursions that have
been undertaken by American forces.
The disastrous Vietnam policing action, that caused the deaths of 50,000 young
American soldiers, could be illustrated as a prime example. The war against
Communism, (or was it just a red herring policing conflict), continues to be
claimed by many Americans as a victory, even though within weeks of the American
troops pulling out of South Vietnam, the North Vietnamese invaded the country
and Vietnam has been unified ever since.
Let us take a look at another illustration of the important part that sports
play in the American college and University systems.
When my grandson, accompanied by his father, were viewing
prospective colleges for potential entrance, (some five
plus years ago), the first thing that the college did
was to show films indicating the prowess of their college
football, basketball teams, etc. My son-in-law then suggested
that even though physical  fitness was a worthy part of
the curriculum why did they give so much priority to
sporting activities and not enough to their academic
prowess - considering that the general idea of attending
college was to educate the individual and not to occupy
them in a great deal of time associated with sporting
activities. The obvious
answer, which really was not
forthcoming, is that renowned college teams generate
a great deal of money and prestige in the eyes of the
sporting public hence the promotion of their athletic
capabilities.
Of course many sports capable minorities get athletic scholarships which enable
them, if they are good enough, to compete for very lucrative multi-million
dollar professional team contracts upon college graduation
My grandson eventually went to the college of his choice
and to my surprise took up one of the most violent of
sports, English type rugby - well he is of pretty
large physique and it is a game that he really enjoyed
playing even though he did break his nose several times
and suffered other injuries associated with rugby, such
as a dislocated collar bone, etc.
Occasions of players fighting amongst themselves at
American professional  basketball games, baseball games,
football games are becoming more and more prominent,
and worst still brawls between players and spectators
are also occurring on a more frequent basis. What a terrible
example these people, (players and spectators), are setting
for the enthusiastic youth participating in sports.
But, whilst on the subject of sports and sportsmanship,
in all fairness I have to comment on the past and present
hooliganism and drunkenness of English and European football
spectators. I was appalled at the disgraceful incident
which occurred during a recent Newcastle United football
game where fighting erupted between a couple of the Newcastle
United players - no wonder Newcastle United are struggling
in the Premiership league, and yet at the start of the
season I thought that they were doing so well.
We welcome feedback about any of the contents of these
newsletters. Please send all correspondence to bill_sykes@huddersfield1.co.uk
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