And the winner is....

One billion people..one-sixth of the worlds population tuned in last night to watch very wealthy people who spend most of their time playing a role other than themselves, walk a red carpet in expensive dresses and tuxedos and then wait in wonder to see if they are going to win a trophy for their nominated efforts. Outside of the somewhat slit-eyed gaze of the male host and over the top enthuasiam of the female host the Oscars once again prove that the world-or at least billions of people in the world-love a winner-and the "losers" while nominated for their performances have to wait to see if the Hollywood hand of fate will grant them the opportunity to thank their entire family and neighbors in less than two minutes. You can probably tell that I am not well versed in Oscar Land even though I made a last hour dash to see "The King's Speech" so I would know what was going on if I was able to hang on until midnight to hear...and the winner is...

I kinda knew that the male host was the guy I saw in one of the Spider Man Movies and the female host-who mentioned she took her clothes off in a flick (missed that one) was someone I had seen before-but not sure where. Thought the best part of the show was the opening when they were apparently in a dream of some kind and Alec Baldwin ( I know who he is) and Morgan Freeman (ditto) were like their guides or something-very clever. I was lost after that for the most part. So all that aside my thoughts today are not about the glitz, glamor and gushing-but rather how much we love to win-a war..a card game..an Oscar or an argument.

Vince Lombardi the legendary Green Bay Packers football coach said "Winning isnt everything-its the only thing." That pretty much explains how the Packers racked up so many titles in the 1960's-unfortunately for the Coach after he left Green Bay and went to Washington-his teams did not fare so well. They lost alot of games-Coach Lombardi also said that "winning is a habit and unfortuntely so is losing" and that "winners never quit and quitters never win." Kinda of a yin-yang deal there-doubtful that his players in DC were quitters but thats for another time. Sometimes you just lose no matter what effort you put out.

Coach was also quoted as saying that "winning isnt everything-but the will to win is." Now that brings it down to a different if not more comprehensive level that explains the deep need humans have to prove themselves as superior in some way over another. In the process of "going for the gold" as it were we have the opportunity to find qualities in ourselves that can sustain us when the inevitable life losses come our way-and for all those Oscar nominees that "lost" last night-my guess is that not only have they paid their dues to get to the point in their careers that they are recognized by their peers-but also they know the secret to really being a winner. How you accept defeat. My guess is that all of those nominees have "lost" more than they have "won" in climbing the ladder of "success" because while the taste of victory is sweet-its knowing how to lose that creates and builds character that keeps one moving forward inspite of the temporary set backs.

I faded in and out of the brodcast-at one point the hosts swapped clothes and that was...interesting. I caught a glimpse of the tribute to the show business icons that died in the past year and was a bit concerned when the female host introduced the most popular talk show host on the planet by exclaiming "I cannot believe I am breathing the same air as Oprah!" To which I shouted "WE ARE ALL BREATHING THE SAME AIR AS OPRAH" a knee-jerk tribute to my 5th grade science teacher Mr. Zielinski lessons- but no one but the cat heard me.

For the "winners" of an Oscar they will be forever be connected to the crowning achievement and be remembered as such. The also-rans will be remembered as "Oscar nominated" which brings with it kinda of "made the playoffs but didn't win" label. As I thought about how winning has been drilled into my head from coaches over the years I realized that in truth the wins and losses in my life have been about even. The drive to be one's best self and the strength to carry on are not only byproducts of victory-they are hallmarks of defeat as well. I have learned that "losing" brings its own gold along with it..just have to dig a little deeper to find it.... Imagine a show where they say...and the loser is...we could all relate to that one.