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On the Participation Trophy

2018-09-18 · story · John · 3:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Everyday life (also: Personal life) · mode: Personal essay · tags: self promotion

Prompted by Hank's video on sibling rivalry, John retells his 1984 t-ball 'All-Star In Our Hearts' trophy, the ultimate participation trophy his parents had made, and argues that competing means striving together: life is not zero-sum, and kids should learn to collaborate and participate.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Reply to Hank's rivalry video; the 'participation trophy generation' label

  • ★★ John says calling today's young people a participation trophy generation, expecting praise for small accomplishments and rewards for failure, is pseudo-cultural analysis that always oversimplifies. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — The 1984 t-ball season, the soccer coach, the all-star alternate and the 'All-Star In Our Hearts' trophy; praise of effort over achievement

  • ★★ At seven, in 1984, John was the oldest player on his Little League t-ball team, where the ball is placed on a tee rather than pitched. — 00:00:29
  • ★★ Though a terrible athlete, John loved sports, passionately and hopelessly. — 00:00:29
  • ★ On his middle school soccer team, John's coach told the team at halftime he had put Green on because at least he cares. (playful) — 00:00:58
  • ★★★ After a good season, owed to being older than everyone, John got a participation award and was named an alternate for the t-ball all-star team. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ The family was due to visit John's grandparents during the all-star game, which John argued should be rescheduled because the team was counting on him. (playful) — 00:01:27
  • ★★★ John's parents' solution: the family still visited his grandparents and he missed the game, but they had a trophy made reading 'John Green 1984 All-Star In Our Hearts'. — 00:01:56 · Sydney Green, Mike Green
  • ★★ John calls it the ultimate participation trophy: he did not earn it, and his parents paid for it so he would feel like a winner. (playful) — 00:02:26
  • ★★ John does not know how the experience affected him, though he thinks he turned out mostly okay. (unsure) — 00:02:26
  • ★★ John's parents always praised his effort more than his achievements; even now his mom says she knows he worked hard rather than congratulating him on an award. — 00:02:26 · Sydney Green, Mike Green

00:02:55 — Competing as striving together: life is not zero-sum, raise teammates; Hank's book out next week

  • ★★ John thinks the trophy was an extension of that; he was proud of it for a while, then it became a funny story to tell. (hedged) — 00:02:55
  • ★★ As Hank said, people often ask if the brothers are competitive; they are, in that John definitely wants to win at sports or board games. — 00:02:55 · Hank Green
  • ★★ John relays a commenter's point that 'compete' comes from the Latin 'pitere', to seek or strive, and 'com', together. — 00:02:55
  • ★★★ John does not see Hank's success as his failure: they are striving together. — 00:02:55 · Hank Green
  • ★★★ John doubts the social order should reinforce the idea that one person winning means another losing, because life is not a zero-sum game. (hedged) — 00:03:24 · the social order
  • ★★★ John does not think kids should be taught that winning and high achievement are the only praiseworthy outcomes. (hedged) — 00:03:24
  • ★★★ John thinks we need to raise teammates who know how to collaborate and strive together; in short, we all need to learn how to participate. (hedged) — 00:03:24 · collective action
  • ★★ Hank's An Absolutely Remarkable Thing comes out one week from today, and John is proud of him because he knows how hard Hank worked. — 00:03:24 · An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description asks viewers to come see Hank and John on tour next week (week of 24 September 2018), via hankgreen.com. — video description

Humor (significant)

  • John's middle school soccer coach explains at halftime why he sent John on. — 00:00:58

    “Because at least he cares.”

  • John, an all-star alternate, argues to his parents that an all-star might get chicken pox. — 00:01:56

    “Or is the alternate going to go into the All-Star game, hit the winning home run, and get a trophy?”

  • Instead of letting him play, John's parents had a trophy made for him at the trophy store. — 00:02:26

    “John Green 1984 All-Star In Our Hearts.”

  • John reflects on the trophy his parents bought him. — 00:02:26

    “my parents paid for it so I would feel like a winner even though I was not a winner.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Participation trophy

Also: People: Mike Green · Sydney Green

Works: An Absolutely Remarkable Thing

Organizations: Little League Baseball

Concepts: association football · board game · collective action · Sibling rivalry · Tee-ball · Youth · zero-sum game

Replies to

  • continues · Our Rivalry — “I really liked your video on Friday about sibling rivalry and competition”

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