A Stroke of Luck
"It is better to be lucky than to be good," the main character says in Match Point.
A superb analogy is given early in the film when he, a former pro tennis player, bumps into an acquaintance on the street who tells him: "You were always a good player. Perhaps with a little luck, the ball would have gone over the net a few more times."
He’s speaking, of course, of those moments in a tennis match where the ball hits the top of the net and remains in mid-air for that agonizing fraction of a second. With some luck, the ball goes over, and you win. Or maybe it doesn’t, and you lose.
All that bridges the divide between greatness and mediocrity is sheer, dumb luck.
And the reason I’m talking about Lady Luck is because my World Cup favourites, Italy and Holland, have always experienced her uglier side when it comes to football’s top competition.
The Azzurri have been sent home packing from the World Cup on penalties three times. They came thisclose to winning their fourth title in 1994 but ironically, the star goal scorer of the team himself (Roberto Baggio) missed the penalty kick, shooting it way over the crossbar.
And this year, Italy was plagued with a string of untimely injuries to star players such as Totti and Nesta, although coach Marcello Lippi insists that his squad is now in good condition. But after a surprising draw with the US, fortune seems not to be in Italy’s favour.
As for Holland…well, they didn’t even make it into the last World Cup. Better luck for them this time round, I hope…
We acknowledge hard work. We acknowledge talent. But we rarely acknowledge the significant role that luck plays in our lives. Maybe because most people want to believe that they owe their success to a stroke of genius rather than a stroke of luck. Luck implies that, well, you aren’t special. You were just at the right place at the right time.
But from the point of conception itself, life is all about luck. And what are good looks but a genetic lottery, really? What is every decision you make but a calculated gamble?
Life is an infinite game of chance and all you can do is play the hand you’re dealt.
Sometimes you win. Sometimes you lose. Sometimes the ball hits the goalpost. Sometimes it hits the back of the net.
But who will score the most goals? The striker who is talented or the one who is less talented, but lucky? Who then will emerge the better player? The one with many chances or the one who creates his own chances?
And I leave you with that to ponder while I tuck myself into bed.
Good night, and good luck.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:39 pm
talent comes first. without talent, a player won’t even get to play in the World Cup. after that it’s 80% talent and 20% luck, depending on what day it is.
if luck had its way, Ivory Coast would have (and should have) beaten Holland. to me, they are the best team from Africa in this World Cup.
all the great teams of the past, Italy, France, Holland, etc, are no longer as dangerous as before. they used to be THE teams to watch for.
having said that:
BRASIL!!! BRASIL!!! BRASIL!!!
June 20th, 2006 at 6:12 am
In team sports, you need both talent and luck. What if you’re such a good striker but you have lousy midfielders to pass you the ball (in soccer)? I noticed that the English strikers, for example, are very precise. They’ve got the talent to score goals even outside the box. The team relies on the strikers to perform. If you’re a talented striker in a soccer team, you’ll get frustrated doing all the work. Very unlucky.
Ivory Coast is the most enthusiastic team with great teamwork but lack match intelligence in the on-going World Cup. They are lucky that the players support each other. But they lack real talents. Sad.
It’s true, in life, we need both the talent and luck.
In the meantime, I’d cheer for Anjing Betina….ooops, Argentina hehehe….
June 20th, 2006 at 6:14 am
In team sports, you need both talent and luck. What if you’re such a good striker but you have lousy midfielders to pass you the ball (in soccer)? I noticed that the English strikers, for example, are very precise. They’ve got the talent to score goals even outside the box. The team relies on the strikers to perform. If you’re a talented striker in a soccer team, you’ll get frustrated doing all the work. Very unlucky.
Ivory Coast is the most enthusiastic team with great teamwork but lack match intelligence in the on-going World Cup. They are lucky that the players support each other. But they lack real talents. Sad.
It’s true, in life, we need both the talent and luck.
In the meantime, I’d cheer for Anjing Betina….ooops, Argentina hehehe….
June 20th, 2006 at 6:15 am
In team sports, you need both talent and luck. What if you’re such a good striker but you have lousy midfielders to pass you the ball (in soccer)? I noticed that the English strikers, for example, are very precise. They’ve got the talent to score goals even outside the box. The team relies on the strikers to perform. If you’re a talented striker in a soccer team, you’ll get frustrated doing all the work. Very unlucky.
Ivory Coast is the most enthusiastic team with great teamwork but lack match intelligence in the on-going World Cup. They are lucky that the players support each other. But they lack real talents. Sad.
It’s true, in life, we need both the talent and luck.
In the meantime, I’d cheer for Anjing Betina….ooops, Argentina hehehe….
June 20th, 2006 at 7:35 am
Wah…World Cup has made you people an eloquent bunch.