Last night, as the Miami Heat exited their home court following their surprising Game 5 loss to the Boston Celtics, they were some words of encouragement that were offered by one of the younger fans in the form of “Good game! Good effort!” Innocent words from a kid who undoubtedly had such behavior drilled into him by little coaches. Unfortunately, the well-meaning kid was attending a man’s game where such words of encouragement ring hollow.
When it comes to winning a championship in professional sports, the mentality of “we’ll be satisfied if we play as hard as we can” goes out the window because these teams (and players) care about one thing, and that’s winning. Playing hard and giving maximum effort, especially in the NBA Playoffs, is a given, which explains why traditional sayings like “good effort” ring hollow when you lose. Sayings like that, no matter how well intentioned they are delivered, don’t mean much when the loss means your team is facing elimination the next time they play.
As for the kid raining down “good effort” cheers on his favorite team, it’s hard to fault him. He’s simply repeating the behavior that has undoubtedly been drilled into his head by little league coaches: respect your opponents and always be a good sport, even when you lose. Too bad that mentality doesn’t really apply when grown men playing professional sports take the field. Perhaps the lone exception to this is hockey, which follows the “line up and shake hands” tradition after every game, even the deciding game of the Stanley Cup Finals.
Not only did the kid’s chant stand out, as you can probably guess by the fact someone captured the moment on YouTube, the saying quickly became an Internet meme that blew up on Twitter. For example:
Laugh all you like, but “Good job, good effort” kid has already proven himself qualified to be an ESPN analyst.
Did any1 hear the kid yelling @ the #heat after they loss: “Good Job, Good Effort”: This is cold but funny!!! #Playoffs http://t.co/zINnDcn8
Williams’ tweet features a link that goes to this incredible picture of the meme in action:
I’d like to believe “Good job, good effort” kid in Miami is actually a 10 year old from Boston who’s already an expert at mocking.
These guys would agree:
“Good job! Good effort!”
To everyone who got out of bed today: “Good job. Good effort.”
The “Good Effort” T-shirt in Heat font is now for sale http://t.co/iQqE5l7W (from @polkpanther)
It’s true, it’s true:
Be sure and buy one for all of the Miami Heat fans you know.
