Every athlete who becomes a professional definitely dreams of making history, but to every yin, there must be a yang.

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Image from foottheball.com

Throughout the annals of history, except for when the world was nothing but prebiotic/primordial soup, humans have seemed destined to work, operate and co-exist, as a tandem, a duo – a duality.

There has been this timeless dual existence of good and bad, yin and yang, winners and losers… life and death,

And for some reason, these existing pairs usually have some level of antagonism, from the opposite but complementary work of biceps and triceps, heroes and villains and then there are rivalries.

This is where my concept of duality is born;

The duality describes the observation that in every generation of professional sports history, there has always been a duo of teams or individuals that have dominated, or at least competed fiercely for the position of “top dog” in a particular discipline.

This dominance or rivalry is always consecutive or simultaneous and seems to be borne from the insatiable need for the universe/mother nature to have a balance or shall we say control the narrative (a little abstract, but you got to admit it has logic, appeal, and some mystery).

In the world of professional sports, this duality is manifested through rivalries.

Dating back from the epic of Gilgamesh, to the age of mythology, to modern day sports coverage and columns, rivalries have been part of human existence, and it is only within the natural flow of professional sports life that rivalries will rule every generation, for the simple reason that every sport is based on COMPETITION.

Where competition strives then skill, natural ability, experience, learned reflexes, developed capabilities, and the capacity to endure, motivate and concentrate, will definitely come into play. This particular brew is, strangely enough, the Gatorade to power every athlete’s AMBITION.

Ambition in competition means that every man/team wants to be the best of themselves, the best amongst others, the best ever… the best, period.

There will always be a best and those who want to beat the best, but form the chasing pack, there is always a standout team/individual who will become the best or push the best and him/herself to new heights, and most often than not in professional sports, that ambition, drive and dedication to being the best is matched by another.

I once heard that two lions cannot rule a pride, but I grew up watching King Kong and Godzilla battle each other for the right to be called “the king of monsters”. Professional sports are more of a Kong vs. Godzilla place to me and that’s where my concept of duality stems from.

Jack Niklaus and Arnold Palmer - image from golfhistorytoday.com

Interested in this crazy concept? You can have fun with it by trying to outdo this research and look for a generation of sports without a rivalry.

ORRR!

You could enjoy my DUALITY series here on Scorum, as we look at some of the marquee rivalries over the years from the prominent pro sports disciplines, as a means to buttress this concept.

Soccer / sports history

THE DUALITY, EXPLAINED; A THEORY ON THE WORLD OF SPORTS

THE DUALITY, EXPLAINED; A THEORY ON THE WORLD OF SPORTS

THE DUALITY, EXPLAINED; A THEORY ON THE WORLD OF SPORTS