Compete or Die!

"Your friend fails, you feel bad. Your friend tops, you feel worse." - The 3 Idiots

In most cases, competition always turns toxic. It always becomes a drag race where two people go for the kill. Normally, competition isn't good or bad. What decides the side it tilts towards depends a lot on the way it is approached.

As a football lover, I've seen my fair share of competition. I have witnessed how it can raise people and how it can pull people down. The easy examples are the two names that dominated the late 2000s and the entirety of the 2010s, Messi and Ronaldo.

To start with, these two are not friends and they have no reason to be one. However, they both traded barbs for most of their careers to the point they split the football fanbase in half. Even though both of them are in the twilight of their careers away from the bright lights of European football, one of the most common questions still asked in football today is "Messi or Ronaldo?"

One of the attributes of toxic competition is when it becomes personal. Like, when the competition gets so deep that the goal is forgotten and getting one over each other becomes the goal. For every El Clasico that involved Messi and Ronaldo, neutrals tuned in not because they loved the Spanish clubs the two players represented, they tuned in to watch who is going to have the last laugh. Their teammates instinctively got sucked into the competition to the point they were willing to hurt the other rival player just to make the one is their team happy. That was how messed up the rivalry was.

Another point to show that competition has turned toxic is when competitors try to sabotage each other's efforts just to get ahead. Now, football is a very physical sport. And to maintain the friendly competitive stance the idea of fair play was introduced. In our lives too, there are versions of fair play at work in every relationship/friendly competition.

Using the El Clasico example again, there was one game where the sabotage act was in full glare to the point opposing teams tried to harm each other. Messi dribbled and was chopped down by a Madrid guy. Why he was still on the floor writhing in pain, Pepe moved towards him, dragged his hands out, placed them on the turf and stepped on them. His aim was clearly to harm Messi to the level where he won't be able to continue. Or how does a dude with broken digits continue to play? That was Pepe's plan. That was a result of unhealthy competition.

But, can competition be healthy? You decide.

Every top football team has at least two players vying for the same spot in the first 11. Even at the grassroots level, most teams have more than a player per position. These players train together with the knowledge that some of them will not play. Yet, they have to support themselves to achieve a common goal. Else, they will fail together. Friendly competition is possible as long as the focus is on clear rules, fair play, mutual respect and progression.

Finally, to keep the balance, competitors must check on regular occasions why they are competing. Is it to grow, prove a point or pull someone down? A clear answer to the question will decide if a competitor will be willing to embrace teamwork or become the cancer that infects a team. Whichever one a person chooses, there will be rewards to be reaped.

[Source](https://pixabay.com/photos/men-run-sprint-competition-sports-8016782/)