Rooting for a favorite team or player is like riding a roller coaster. When a team I support loses an important game, I might feel down for a whole day. While many people find joy in cheering for their heroes, I find deeper satisfaction in doing things well myself. This comes from a desire for agency. I may feel elated when those I admire succeed or disappointed when they falter, but ultimately, I’m just a spectator. Their outcomes are beyond my control. When I’m the one performing, I can influence the result. If I don’t play well in a basketball game, I can reflect, adjust my training, and improve. Success isn’t guaranteed, but at least I can act.
That said, I appreciate greatness in others and draw inspiration from it. When I see manga or illustrations I love, I pick up my sketchbook, hoping to capture that same magic someday. After hearing a moving melody at a concert, I return to practice, wanting to evoke the same feeling. Watching Slam Dunk or NBA games drives me to the neighborhood court. After binging Blue Box, I made a plan to start learning badminton.
At my age, I’m unlikely to become a professional. But if I enjoy the process, that’s already a win. There’s always room to grow, and each small improvement brings its own joy. Mastering a tough piano passage or seeing my shooting percentage rise after weeks of effort offers a satisfaction no passive observation can match. If I crave competition, I can measure myself against my past self or others in my age group. It’s encouraging to know I can still improve, defying the idea that peak performance belongs only to the young.
There’s nothing wrong with being a dedicated fan. Fans created culture, support artists and athletes, and build community. We need both participants and appreciators. But for me, the deepest fulfillment comes from doing the work myself. True satisfaction rarely comes from watching perfection, but from experiencing growth.
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. – Theodore Roosevelt
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