Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Fatt
My turn to write stories
story telling - rise and fall of a fun playground
A long time ago, there was a regular 6-a side football competition in the Delphi playground. A few boys starting from humble beginnings got together and play. Along the way more teammates from different background join in the team and they played together having fun. Things got better and the playground got upgraded and renamed to Sammyboy playground.
Among them, there was one whom played better than anyone else. He scores more goals, assists and steals opponent balls. He began to seek for rewards for his performance, and also grew proud of himself for his achievements. If there is no rewards, he would feel that it is unjust to him after all his efforts and competence in a bunch of mediocre mates. Slowly he began to feel that his teammates are not good as him. He even chides them for having fun and not serious instead of being competitive.
He began to openly criticize his teammates, this one cannot shoot, that one cannot cooperate and pass the ball, that one is having family problems so cannot concentrate on football. Maybe it's true that not all team mates are perfect, but the theory of 1+1>2 still stands and being in a group and team is fun and people need to enjoy the fun factor
But He is thinking "It's all me holding onto the team and winning the games". Situation grew bad as it progresses. For eg a teammate was dribbling a ball towards goal and he pushed the same teammate away and grabs the ball and shoots for goal himself. If he scores he says he is accurate sharpshooter. If he failed, he said the teammate don't know how to pass earlier to him and he has to try to save that chance, blaming the team.
Slowly the team culture isn't happiness anymore. Initially teammates tolerate, but slowly as the camaraderie reduces to zero, the team cracks. Before it was 6 against 6 and today it's 11 against 1. And that very 1 person thinks they all can go play for the other team. I am fine where I am and I will make them pay, make them suffer and they will lose and all the animosity, aggression and arguments. There is no real football competition in this playground, all are amateurs and nobody really gets paid. Nothing is tangible but people argue for their pride. Slowly the audience don't come, no new players join, and old players also decided to go other playgrounds.
There is no right or wrong answers. No one is right when the playground gets burned down after a big fight. Then all don't get to play.
The important word is toleration and accommodation. No one is perfect. We all forgot that the Sammyboy playground is for all to enjoy and have fun. This is not a court, not a police station and not a  . 
I hope all catch the drift. |
The rise and fall of a fun playground part 2
The 1 person who was hogging the ball and scoring all the goals thought he was great, always criticising his team mates. Why you all so lousy? Can't you all contribute the same way that I do to the team? He always grumbled and grumbled.
As time passes, some new fresh members were added to the team by the managers to spice things up. These new members had new moves and patterns that were greatly appreciated by the soccer fans. Each new player started to get their own following. The 1 person wasn't happy. In his mind, he felt he was the best, the others shouldn't be getting the same attention and regard he was getting. First he criticised their style of play saying it wasn't the right way to kick the ball and that their new style was spoiling football. After a while, he realised the new members continued to play their own way to the roars of the crowd, and did not listen to him. Then he started to get more personal instead to tear down his "competitors", and attacked their character, in hopes that they would lose fans and he would regain the stardom, attention and "authority" he craved.
As time goes by, he lost some of the endorsements from sports and health brands that sponsored him. He was no longer treated like a VIP at prestigious clubs. Even the many women that flocked to him seeking his favour were now paying more attention to the newer, younger players.
As he became more obsessed with being the star that he no longer was, he decided that the best way to win would be to destroy the reputation of those he disliked and even went to the extent of trying to scare them into retirement. He started to spread fake rumours about the players that he felt were a threat to his fame, he tried to dig out more info about them searching for a way to discredit them, he even started putting on disguises and would heckle them at some of their fan club or media events.
As his methods seemed to work, he created more and more disguises to wear and wreak havoc on the newer players. Sometimes, he even appeared at other player's events to shout that he was the best or publish fake news articles about his continuing success in football and that he had adoring fans, when in fact he was in sharp decline. Or maybe he wasn't even that good in the first place.
As time passes, he got found out but he refused to admit defeat. With what was left of his money, he tried to hire goons to threaten and intimidate those who exposed his lies and deceit. But to no avail.
Soon no one wanted to watch the team anymore with all these incessant politics. Good players left for other teams, and fans stop coming to watch the matches. Many who depended on the team's success lost their jobs and the stadium that housed them soon closed down.
Moral of the story: Sometimes, accommodating different personalities in a team may sound like a good idea. But other times, some destructive personalities need to be removed so as not to drag the whole team down. Keep those that keep the team spirit going, and kick out or give a reduced role to those that always crave the spotlight and want to boss others around.
Hope you all enjoyed this story.