For those of you who don't follow college basketball, last night were the "final four" games leading to the championship game on Monday night. The University of Kentucky (UK) was widely expected to win its game against Wisconsin last night because of its perfect season and previous wins. But -- horror of horrors -- UK ends up with an Epic Fail. For one account of the horror, see: http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2015/04/04/final-four-kentucky-first-loss-wisconsin-ncaa-tournament/25297217/ UK students were so shocked by the loss that they rioted after the game; see: http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25136373/kentucky-fans-riot-after-losing-to-wisconsin-in-the-final-four
So, this raises the question of what positive psychology has to say to people who will be known for the rest of their lives as being spectacular failures -- even if they go on to professional careers, how often will a sports commentator say that a player was "part of the Kentucky team that was supremely upset by Wisconsin in 2015!"? Sports and sports fans can be very unforgiving, especially when their heroes experience epic fails or a fall from grace (I can't wait to start swearing at the TV when Alex Rodriguez comes out to play in a Yankees Game; the season starts tomorrow). Can positive psychology provide a helpful way of dealing with this situation that doesn't sound like a rationalization for being a loser? ;-) If so, somebody provide it to the NY Knickerbockers. :-( Tomorrow night: Wisconsin goes up against Duke. Question: Do they really call people who go to Duke "dookies"? ;-) -Mike Palij New York University m...@nyu.edu P.S. A search of scholar.google.com for "positive psychology" and "epic fail" turned up no hits -- seems like a ripe area of research for somebody. :-) --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: arch...@mail-archive.com. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=43628 or send a blank email to leave-43628-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
