Japanese Soccer Team’s Clean Locker Room and Evolved Competitive Spirit (Breather Episode with Brad)

After the most devastating loss imaginable on the biggest athletic stage on the planet—the World Cup—the Japanese men’s national soccer team cleaned up their locker room, leaving it spotless, and left a handwritten sign saying ‘thank you’ in Russian.

Reaching the knockout rounds by surprise, Japan then faced the mighty Belgium (eventual finalists). Performing out of their minds, they took a 2-0 lead, setting themselves up for a historic upset. Unfortunately for Japan and their followers, they allowed three consecutive goals by Belgium. The final dagger came with only seconds left in regulation time—an absolute devastation when all observers fully expected to enter into a 15-minute overtime period after a draw in regulation time.

When the whistle blew amidst Belgian bedlam celebration, Japanese players were sprawled out on the field, pounding the turf and fighting tears. Under these circumstances, what happened next was mind blowing. First they gathered to bow in unison to their supportive fans. After they showered, packed up, and departed the stadium for the final time in this 2018 tournament, their locker room was discovered to be absolutely spotless. The simple photograph went viral.

The Japanese have a name for their evolved competitive spirit: doryoku (Door-e-oh-koo). Loosely translated, it means that the honor is in the effort, in contrast to the western fixation with winning at any cost. I compare and contrast the Japanese team’s evolved competitive attitude to the sordid tale of the USA men’s soccer team, as detailed in a Ringer.com exposé about dysfunction and infighting in the organization that culminated with them choking a chance to even qualify for the World Cup. Yes, this and other crap like Super Bowl heroes deflating footballs and denying it when caught, or “winners” misbehaving in real life ala Tiger Woods all stem from an unhealthy obsession with winning and misplaced competitive intensity that overlooks the higher ideals of competing.

Please realize that the show title of Get Over Yourself was inspired by my own athletic experience; when I was able to maintain a healthy perspective, inspire others, and emphasize effort over obsession with results, I was able to thrive as an athlete. When I got “caught up” in a superficial obsession with winning, this resulted in extra stress, wasted energy, and poor decision-making. This led to overtraining and getting discouraged, instead of turning failure and defeat into growth opportunities and positive experiences. This is a brief, fast-moving, and pretty intense show with a profound message to reflect upon by all competitors in sports, career, and life in general. Take a breath, listen and reflect.

 

LINKS:

• Clean locker room: The Japanese team cleaned there locker room spotless when departing from the World Cup tournament.
• Fans cleaning up after themselves in the stands.
• Ringer.com: USA soccer team dysfunction: It was the culmination of nearly a decade of mismanagement that broke the U.S. soccer team’s spirit and condemned them to failure.

 

REFERENCES:

• Tiger Woods: This new book on the famous sports legend opens some doors about Tiger’s life that been unknown to the general public. It is a good example of our obsession with winning
• John Wooden: Wooden was basketball player and eventually was  regarded as one of the wisest and best college coaches in the history of basketball. He’s famous for some unforgettable quotes about life.
• You’ve Gotta Have WA: A book that remains the definitive text on Japanese culture seen through the lens of sport.

 

NOTES:

• Doryoku: Japanese word meaning effort or hard worker. A visible demonstration of hard work and giving one's best effort where commitment and effort are rewarded over achievement.

 

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