Mike Chamernik’s Question of the Week (June 16-20)

Last week, we had another “Question of the Week” from Mike Chamernik, and he’s back today with his latest QOTW.

Enjoy!

Question of the Week
by Mike Chamernik

I’ve been on sports teams my whole life. I’m sure many of you Uni Watchers have as well. As we know, the universal rule is: Don’t quit.

It’s drilled into you at a young age. Even if it’s hard, even if you’re not playing much, even if you’re not having fun, you have to stick it out. You can’t back down from a challenge, and you have to be there for your teammates.

As adults, we learn how nonsensical that can be.

True, it’s good to face adversity and build grit. The most meaningful accomplishments in life don’t come easy. But really, there is value in quitting. Knowing when to walk away from a sunk cost. Not subjecting yourself to unneeded stress — especially for a sport, where you’re supposed to be having fun.

Have you ever quit a sport or quit a team? I especially want to hear if you quit during the middle of a season. Why did you quit? What was the reaction? Did you think you made the right choice?

What are some notable instances of a pro athlete quitting? Not because of injury or loss of ability, but for other reasons.

I’ve almost always enjoyed sports (especially in my youth) and usually was pretty good, so I never quit during a season. As an adult, there were various non-competitive leagues, as well as some competitive ones, where I’ve wanted to quit after a particularly bad game or frustrating loss, but to borrow an analogy from fishing: your worst day of fishing is still better than your best day of work, so I always looked at whatever particular activity as still better than pretty much almost anything else, so I always knew the next time I played it would be better. At least in theory.

As far as pros quitting, there are several that come to mind, but one of the earliest instances I can remember was when Swedish tennis player Bjorn Borg quit the game at basically his peak. He’d won six French Opens and five straight Wimbledons until one John McEnroe finally took him out, beating Borg in the finals at Wimbledon and the US Opens in 1981. In 1982, Borg for all intents and purposes quit, playing just a handful of matches from 1982-84, and no majors. He basically walked away from the game at the age of 25. I know athletes didn’t usually compete as long back then as long as they do now, but even then I knew 25 was way too early to call it a career.

Looking forward to what the readers have to say on this one!