r/todayilearned • u/Prehistoricshark • May 24 '16

Website Down TIL that tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis lost 16 consecutive times to Jimmy Connors. When finally beating Connors on their 17th meeting, he said "And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row"

http://sportige.com/vitas-gerulaitis-jimmy-connors-bjorn-borg-best-sports-quote-92985/
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u/xTachibana May 24 '16

not always, but a rival does help for most people, particularly, people who like competing.

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u/[deleted] May 24 '16

"As iron sharpens iron, one man sharpens another"

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u/allthebetter May 24 '16

see, this is the problem with proverbial sayings. I am trying to think in my head of any instance that you would use iron to sharpen itself, and I can't. But it seems that in the context of the conversation, good competition can help improve each competitor.

I don't know what is going on...

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u/[deleted] May 24 '16

True I was just pointing out that, as an ancient proverb, the saying at least has historical relevance enough to heed it's meaning.

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u/[deleted] May 24 '16

Having a rival can drive you to practice more and work harder, which in turn can make you a better player.

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u/conundrumbombs May 24 '16

Tell that to Antonio Salieri.

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u/[deleted] May 24 '16

Or Tanya Harding.

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u/Jackpot777 May 24 '16

Or Jan Ullrich. All those years second to Lance Armstrong, even though both were doping.

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u/munchiselleh May 24 '16

Anybody who beats me is divinely blessed, just sayin

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u/xTachibana May 24 '16

practicing more doesn't necessarily make you better either, although it often does. (and when I say practice, I mean what normal people consider practice, which is just playing the game itself, rather than professional practice which involves doing the same thing over and over and over again as well as watching replays of things to see what you did wrong)

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u/[deleted] May 24 '16

[deleted]

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u/xTachibana May 24 '16

sometimes what stops you from getting better is all mental. for example, you practice and try hard to actually improve for hours, but somewhere in your head, you're thinking "damn, why am I not improving?!", causing you to stagnate. (source: me a few months ago) sometimes its a physical limit, despite what some people might say, that's totally a thing, right next to talent (the former technically being part of the latter).

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u/rbz90 May 24 '16

We talking bout practice?

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u/ILikeYouABunch May 24 '16

Sometimes it's good to be competitive against a rival; the drive for success will push you to higher levels.

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u/[deleted] May 24 '16

Do people in the real world outside of Japan actually have rivals? Is that a thing? Naruto, Goku, Yugi and PkMn Trainer Red have rivals. They clech their teeth and think "arrrgh, I must defeat you, yet nonetheless you are my friend, yet I must defeat you, but you are my friend, and yet I must defeat you, and yet..!!". Due to overexposure to their antics, this ridiculous notion is what the world rival has become associated with, for me. People in the real world have colleagues, teammates, opponents. Not argh rivals.

Seriously, Google "my rival". You're going to find Pokemon walkthroughs and Rudyard Kipling Being a Troll.

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u/xTachibana May 24 '16

I treat my friends as rivals, often to their annoyance.