Scottie Scheffler and the Quiet Rebellion Against Winning at All Costs

Illustration by Conner Phillips

Is Winning Really Everything?

If you’ve ever played sports – perhaps just some backyard wiffleball – chances are good that you wanted to win. Even if there was nothing on the line other than bragging rights (which could actually be paramount if you were competing against a sibling or two in that wiffleball game), surely you felt some competitive fire creep in.

Although most of us are taught from a pretty young age that winning isn’t in fact the most important thing, this can very difficult to actually believe. Whether you’re involved in games or just watch your favorite teams, what do you want the outcome to be? Sure, it’d be nice if everyone had a fun time and didn’t even pay attention to the score, but above all, you want to win.

This is why it was a little odd to hear the number one golfer in the world recently talk about winning rather derisively. Scottie Scheffler said that although he hates losing, he also doesn’t really see the point of winning.

“Why do I want to win this golf tournament so badly?” he said. “Why do I want to win the Open Championship so badly? I don't know because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes.”

Scheffler also said that this focus on winning “is not a fulfilling life. It's fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it's not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.”

On the one hand, it’s refreshing to see a professional athlete so open and say something actually interesting. They may do amazing things when they play, but their press conferences with their rote responses can be extremely dull. But, it’s pretty surprising for someone of Scheffler’s stature to speak so candidly about winning not meaning too much for too long. (This didn’t stop him, however, from getting his two awesome minutes by winning the British Open.)

On the other hand, it’s as if Scheffler shattered an illusion. Sure, we all know that pro athletes are human beings, despite their sometimes superhuman abilities, but we’re not really fans of them because they are human. We’re fans because they can do what we can’t. We also admire them because of their drive, their desire to win. More than that – their need to win.

The primary reason why Scheffler has the liberty to say what he did seems to be because he doesn’t play a team sport. And while the people rooting for him (or maybe betting on him) might be discouraged with his comments, he’s not beholden to anyone but himself.

Can you imagine someone like Kobe Bryant or Reggie White or Nolan Ryan making a similar comment? Something that even implied that they were less-than-enthusiastic about winning? That it wasn’t very fulfilling? Even if this was something they felt, they never would have admitted it.

We often ask a lot of our favorite players. Despite the skewed math, we expect them to give 110% every time they hit the court/field/course. We want them to play through injuries, sickness, and personal issues. In addition, we want them to be decent people and never leave a kid hanging who wants a high-five or an autograph. It’s a lot to live up to, so should we also demand that they follow the sentiment of Red Sanders (not Vince Lombardi) who said “Winning isn’t everything – it’s the only thing”?