Supremacy follow-up

Over the July 4th week/end, I was fortunate to have played at the inaugural US Open Ultimate Championships (that's me in the top picture on USA Ultimate's home page). While at the US Open, I had a lot of fun with my team and with players from other teams. One of my conversations with a new friend inspired me to write this.

This post follows up roughly on a previous post of mine about the use of confidence and supremacy, especially in sports psychology. I am actually calling myself out for what I did during my conversation with Paolo at the US Open and how I've since reflected on the mistake :-/

Let me set the stage: Paolo and I are on day two of the four-day tournament, seated between two endzones of games going on while we wait for our late afternoon games. Sun is out, guns are out, and I wanted some low-key time, so we're reclining and looking off into the distance. Paolo and I start talking about the competition at the tournament and where our teams fit.

Paolo's side, Kie, a squad based out of Medellin, Columbia, is seeded next-to-last in the eight team tournament -- and Paolo was describing the mentality from previous opponents at this tournament. He was dismayed first with his team's record so far, losing most of their games.

Paolo also mentioned an heir of superiority from one of the American squads that beat them handily on day one, like they just expected to win because of who they were. In the same breath, he talked about another American squad that played the Colombians hard, avoiding the crutch of supremacy of that first team. I commented on how encouraging that second team's philosophy was - a philosophy that every game deserves their full effort (instead of taking the Colombians for granted as a victory, as Paolo's first opponent did).

This kind of full-effort-at-all-times mantra, while also recognizing the humanity of your opponent, is the kind of thing only possible when you leave behind any premonitions of superiority. Let me say first that confidence and self-trust are very different from supremacy (thanks to Lisa for her explanation). Some confidence in sports and life is important; supremacy is mis-guided.

So amid this conversation about the tournament and competition, I also tried to explain to Paolo that my up-bringing in Atlanta has taught me that supremacy (in particular white supremacy) is the root of huge problems, including American slavery, Jim Crow laws, and legacy that continues to deny humanity to humans today.

SO, in a third game, Kie got their first win of the weekend against last-seeded and local squad Inception and Paolo expressed reserved pleasure in having won. I immediately responded to this news by saying "of course you beat Inception! that team shouldn't win a single game at this tournament!" And immediately I had reverted to some useless oversimplification and false construction of the mind... Supremacy.

Not that I shouldn't be glad Kie won. I can celebrate that. But in my mind I was denying Inception the space to win, while thinking (ignorantly) that my phrasing would support Kie's case for being good and valuable. Glad that Paolo called me out on it -- and that I have had some time to reflect and now share. That kind of false supremacy is unwelcome and wrong. Little lesson I learned through my mistake.