The Great Acting Blog: “There’s Always Next Year”
Ronnie O’Sullivan is, by common consent, the greatest snooker player ever to have played the game. He has a natural gift, he practices far less than other players, and plays the game faster than anyone ever has. He is a genius. Now, I appreciate that snooker is not exactly a global sport and most people reading this have probably never even heard of Ronnie O’Sullivan. To put his talent into context then, he is to snooker what Tiger Woods is to golf, and Roger Federer to tennis, only more so.
On Monday, O’Sullivan lost in the final of snooker’s greatest prize, the World Championship. He had already won the tournament on five previous occasions, and was widely expected to win this year. But he didn’t win, he lost, vanquished by his opponent. In the end, he cut a forlorn figure as he missed shots he would normally have made easily. O’Sullivan is a great hero of mine, so the end, when it finally came, was painful and sad to watch.
Even geniuses get it wrong sometimes. Remember the next time you give your all and come up short, that even they stumble. It’s not the end of the world and it isn’t evidence of personal worthlessness. Besides, there’s always next year.
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