Trophies

In past years, I’ve heard a lot of people complaining about how people are raising children to be wimps by giving them trophies for participating.  They say the little trophies quell the feelings of losing.  Here are my thoughts on this issue.

There may be sore losers, but there are sore winners too.  Ever have some crazed jock harass you that you lost even if you didn’t care about winning or losing?  The participation trophies might prevent the bullying; deluding the sore winner that the other kid didn’t really lose.  Since games are supervised, shouldn’t the coaches intervene with the sore sports?  With better moral character development, they could save money on the extra trophies and just bring sweets for everyone.

Most irritating is that the wimpy kids are shamed instead of the grownups who have the decision making power.  The recipients are blamed for accepting the trophies, rather than the adults who bought them only to complain later.  Most millennial children were taught to say, “thank you,” instead of throwing the item back at the benevolent adult.  

In the end, it is just a game.  It’s not about winning or losing.  It’s about having fun.  If you are playing just for the trophy, then do you really like the sport?  Are you playing the game because it’s fun, or is it a means to an end?  If all you want is the stupid trophy, feel free to go out and buy one.  This goes for both winners and runners up who want something shiny to take home.

If people want everyone to be treated equally, and if it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, then why not get rid of all the trophies?  Having fun should be the real reward, because that’s the point of the game.

I’ve heard the redundant arrogant phrase, “Second place is the first loser.”  If so, then why don’t we get rid of the silver and bronze medals at the Olympics?  Being second place at the Olympics is a very big achievement.  If I won a silver medal in any sport at the Olympics - I don’t care if it’s ping-pong - my eyes would be brimming with tears of joy.

In ancient Greece, they didn’t have the medals yet.  The first place winner won a laurel wreath to wear on his head.  Afterward, he would hang it on his front door.  The wreath wouldn’t last forever.  It would eventually fall apart.  Should we return to that tradition, where there is only one winner and the prize is not from a wholesale catalogue?  Then personal merit and achievement would be the ultimate reward, not some gold-dipped plastic trinket.

There are no losers, because we all win something - an experience, fun, a new friend, a good workout, etc.  There is only the best, the worst, and a scale of everyone in between.  The ranks are not permanent. If you lose one game, you may win the next; vice-versa.  Even if you are the worst, you are the worst at a game, not something important.  You may discover you excel in something that means more to you later on in life.

Originally a Facebook Note posted: November 30, 2013
Updated: March 1, 2020