Another BOSM has come and gone. Tense matches, jaw-dropping moments, and amazing teams. All fixated on one thing —a gold medal, or the winner’s trophy. As we celebrate the winners of each tournament this BOSM, it becomes easy to forget about the silver medalists, the runners-up. With this in mind, the BOSM English Press decided that it was important to celebrate the silver medalists, whose effort, while comparable to the winners, goes unnoticed.
Second Place
Whether it is the second choice or the second preference, the word “second” in most fields of life has taken a negative connotation. It almost seems like only one position matters: first.
Second Place just means you didn’t put enough effort.
You could’ve been first if you were better.
Competitive examinations surround the childhoods of young Indians. Their lives revolve around ranks and positions. They grow up hearing the phrase “class topper” more often than “runner-up,” as if the system is designed to reward only the best and leave the others to dry. Sport also takes a similar position. Most cricket viewers care only about the IPL Champions, who get bold press tours and a huge trophy. The runners-up, who spent the same season putting in effort and breaking every barrier, like the winner, to reach the finals, are conveniently forgotten.
The Silver Lining
Being second is not a bad thing. Beyond the typical phrases, “there’s something to learn from every loss”, there is a silver lining. It imbues you with a desire to improve, a drive to be the best, while not bearing the mantle of the champion, the reigning victor. Among these benefits, it is important to understand how different silver medalists process the same setback. The BEP would like to quote an interview with the vice-captain of a team that secured a silver medal after an extremely competitive finals—
“Losing… was sad, very sad, but ultimately, as a captain, I have to back my
players; I have to back my juniors; they were very sad. I have to encourage
Them, so I can’t be sad in front of them”
The silver medalist shows more compassion and is more mindful of the people around him, who need their support. This selflessness is one of the strongest traits of a silver medalist, and can often end up defining them.
The second position has many counterintuitive psychological effects on the medalists too. Bronze medalists often end up happier than silver medalists due to counterfactual thinking — what if? — as a bronze medalist is glad to have received a medal, while the silver medalists view it as ‘a gold lost’. An interview with Olympic freestyle skier Eileen Gu famously led to her calling the ‘golds lost’ mindset a ‘ridiculous perspective’, as winning a medal was already an achievement.
These perspectives strongly suggest we, as BITSians, for our BOSM teams, as Indians for our sportspeople and as parents for our children, severely undervalue any position below first. This sets up an extremely counterproductive and unnecessarily competitive environment around us. We implore the readers to break the chain, to value our silver medalists too, as they are the silver lining, underappreciated, but absolutely deserving of acclaim.