A HOLE IN ONE- SOUNDS OF VICTORY
Till date, certain sports I do not understand. Golf, baseball, cricket, rugby, polo and many others. You cannot really blame me, I am only Nigerian and the aforementioned are not exactly Nigerian sports. Soccer is popular here, maybe basketball and volleyball, definitely not cricket. I have seen these popular sports unite the gaping ethnic, political and religious divides, sometimes humanity too, over the hypocrisy and idiosyncrasies of human marks on the life and living of man.
Many a times, curiosity begets me about these alien sports, not out of interest or relevance but I pride myself in my ability to say something about almost anything and I wouldn’t want to be caught pants down if these sports came up in conversation. Trust me, I’ll still flunk questions about the technicalities but the words, man, the lexicons/language has always been my fascination and understanding these terms give me great pleasure.
A hole in one- Sounds of Victory
The vuvuzelas, trumpets, chants and the excitement, fanfares, flares; the dance and frenzy when a goal is scored is indescribable. That euphoria is maddening, deafening. It shakes the earth to its core. These moments and many moments in account of that jubilation is gleeful, colorful and bliss. I may never understand other sports, but I understand the cheers and crazed fan expression and the appearance of victory in the faces of the athletes when they’ hit a sixer, bullseye, slam dunk, homerun, birdie, smack-down, knockout and a hole in one. I personally love how those terms synonymous with victory have a sweet ring to it. Not defeat, not loss, not disappointment, not failure, not the heart sinking and the consoling applause of unimpressed fans. However on this journey, in our quest to make meaning out of life, these heart sinking words will be thrown our way and we must deal. A sad but reassuring reality I use to circumvent my frustration on occasion is the truth that no man is immune to failure, loss and defeat. There are no champions forever and a champion today is only one as long as the challenger waits.
At the PGA tours (golf tournament) in 2022, a struggling golfer, who has played for over a decade without any major achievements shot a hole in one over a crazy distance. A hole in one is an expression that ultimately means a perfect achievement, a perfect stroke; when a ball hit from the tee start mark, shoots straight into the cup. In the graceful game of golf, a hole in one is a rare feat and for that struggling golfer, an opportunity to jump into the spotlight and the leaderboard. Imagine shooting a golf ball across a football pitch, into a small hole in the ground. If I wouldn’t exaggerate, the distance was even more. The shot sent the crowd of spectators into frenzy. Truly it was a magnificent sight to behold.
While some busied themselves analyzing the speed and trajectory of that shot, my clockwork mind picked on other things. I saw the weight of his frustration and ambition behind that swing. I saw the extra hours spent in training and the sleepless dreamy nights fantasizing about a place on the podium, doing something that mattered and winning. I saw how much he wanted it and when he got it, his ear to ear smile was of that of fulfilment after pangs and bouts of hunger and thirst. If I could assert the material greatness is made of, I’d say steel. You try and fail, setbacks and seeming elements working against you. You try and fail and keep at it, till you someday hit a hole in one or a sixer. Nerves of steel and steely resolve. I saw the universe favor him, setting the elements to do his bidding. You see, there is a lot of aerodynamics in the game of golf and sometimes the golfers play against nature and its uncertainties. At this particular tournament, the wind was rogue and even the grandmasters had a bad day. I saw a man on the brink, needing a miracle and like a conspiracy, in a defining moment, everything worked in his favor.
There are subtle charges littered in context of this article. Something for everyone to take home. I know better than to glorify struggle and pain like without it, no one gets here from there. No! There are instances of people getting a hole in one at first try. Getting a goal, hitting the mark, crushing targets almost effortlessly. There’s a case for time and timing in this too. There’s a case for readiness and preparation, for location and appointment, alignment and belief. No one knows the appointed time for alignment- for this reason, we must keep moving, keep trying, improving and hoping. The first time goal getters would most certainly be those enjoying timely alignment and for the likes of us, struggling and failing, setbacks and disappointments, redundancy would be the biggest mistake. We have to keep trying, keep applying, keep writing, and keep training while we await the alignment of our own timing and purpose, a time when, like a conspiracy, in a defining moment, everything works in our favor.
So you need a miracle? Yes! How do you define miracle other than the alignment of time, purpose and location?. Go in search of it.
You need a breakthrough? Break and kick through doors and walls.
You need the sun, step out of the shade. You need the shade, step away from the sun. Whatever you do, keep moving and promise yourself when you hit a sixer, a birdie or a hole in one, you will celebrate the sounds of victory.
