Image and Dignity

What do you look for in a Grandmaster in any sport? This is a person who is at the top of his game and represents all that the game has to offer. This goes for any sport right. These are the people who will have supporters and sponsors who will help them achieve their goals, because without adequate support you will only be a name and instead of people praising you they will be talking behind your back.

In Hawaii – there are seven current Grandmasters for the men and two for the women. There have been many in past who has left the sport of darts – they no longer compete – do you remember who they are. I started playing darts around 2002 and joined a league in 2003 – I’ve met some of these players but a lot of them I have not. Wouldn’t it be nice if some of these players came back to game?

What I remember most about some of these players was their attitude and acceptance of the beginners and potential stars of the game. They had my respect and they did not question who their partners were in tournaments – they made do with what they had to work with, anything the lower player did was a bonus to their game. Ask yourself do we have that same mentality in our current players? I would say that we only see this sometimes.

With the birth of social networks like facebook, twitter and my space – life gives us a real time on a network so emotions flow. I like the fact that I can wish everyone a happy day or birthday and get information on what’s happening with all my friends and family as well as upcoming events or being invited to something. What I have a hard time with is when people exploit the social networks with their own personal emotions - back in a day when you needed to vent you chose close friends to explode to, not your 200 plus friends.

I like to see what is going on but not get a blow by blow of your emotions – does anyone think about how this affects your potential to get help or sponsors. This makes me ask how does this look to anyone who may have wanted to help you but now reconsiders because they think you are too open and how will you represent a company if you complain about everything.  Sponsors look at how you will represent their company – what you do in your life is their reflection.

Crying about handicaps will get you noticed for all the wrong reasons – just remember we all started somewhere. Most any sport that has handicaps will always have people who will sandbag and try to beat the system. Besides that when you are aggravated about something it affects your potential partner. When I see higher players give up that’s what irritates me as well as the player who is middle ranked and draws a lower partner and complains about it. We all can hear you.

You want to get noticed or sponsored – then show that you respect yourself and the person playing with you – do your best. You never know what the other person can do unless you give them a chance – it will make you the better player in the long run.  Everyone that plays a tournament pays their entry fees they have a stake in it as well. If you don’t like the handicapping then don’t enter – people will not disrespect you if you sit out but they will if you enter and then complain about it,

Be an ambassador of the sport you are playing – show respect to all no matter who it is – leave your personal emotions at the door before competing, It’s just like work you leave your personal lives at entrance, you cannot expect to do your job to its highest potential when you are emotionally distraught.

Yes family comes first but if it is going to affect what you are doing it is best to stop and take care of your family and then come back to sport or work, I believe in God and karma – everything has a way of working out for the better. It is a matter of how you perceive – is it a rock blocking your path or is it a stepping stone to greater things.

Yes we all want to be recognized or famous – who wouldn’t want to be. We are who we are and if we are respectful than others will see and they will be respectful to you. To me sometimes doing things behind the scenes is just as important as being in the limelight – yeah no one will know your name but those around you will know who you truly are. These are the people who will give you recognition – through them you will be known.

With advent of internet and better communication – recognition and fame becomes a lot easier today than yesterday. Respect yourself and others will respect you. There are some things that cannot be changed – but there are some that we can all work to change – let’s all work towards that goal. Respect everyone and I mean everyone because you’ll never know if this person has the potential to help you reach your goals someday. Be the ambassador and the voice.

These are my opinions so do not take offense. Thank you for reading my blog.

Aloha

Jo Ann