Let me just start by saying that I felt compelled to write this article because of what I have experienced here as a Power Soccer player. There are two ways to be a winner in Power Soccer without actually winning any games. You might ask, how is this possible? Well, as we all know, skill is one of the main ingredients in a winners arsenal. It takes a great deal of practice to become one of the greats in this game. Few of us will ever make it to the day when that big beautiful gift box lights up with the magical level 99 to the left. No matter how hard it is to hear, I will say that some of us have been given natural ability and some of us have not.

I have come across so many different players in this wonderful game. Some with a great deal of skill and some that are lacking in the skill department. This article is dedicated to all of the players out there that think winning is only about skill. Like I said before, ability is something that you are born with or that you develope through years of practice. What we don't normally understand is that there are ways to be a winner without actually having the ability to win on a consistent basis. One of the most important attributes of a winner is attitude. Attitude is something that you should always hold in the highest regards. Without the right attitude, it is very difficult to advance in this game. I know how frustrating it can be to lose all the time and believe me I speak from experience. The thing that keeps me winning is my winning attitude.

You will always be a winner in Power Soccer if you follow these two simple rules: 1.) Don't take the game too seriously. 2.) Don't take yourself too seriously.

I myself have oftened wondered what the point is in loosing all the time. Why would I want to play a game that I stink at? Why would I want to sit around and watch other players advance in rank while my rank steadily descendes into the depths of Power Soccer doom? Let me give you the answer. Who cares! That's right you read correctly. Who cares. This is a game for all who love soccer to enjoy. Are you being payed to win? No. Will life come to an end if you don't win? No. Take the game for what it is. It's a place that we can all come to in order to escape the stresses that life deals us on a daily basis. It's a place where we can all make new friends and share interesting insights with each other. It's a place where with the right attitude we can all be winners.

Now I'm sure the high level guys are calling BS right about now. They are probably saying wrong duke you need skill and wins to be a winner. You guys are great and obvisouly possess a great deal of skill which I congratulate you on. This article is for the player that thinks he is talentless because he doesn't have 1500 ranking points. This article is for the guy that repeatedly says "sorry I suck so bad" during match play. This article is for everyone out there that has ever considered leaving this beautiful game because they don't win most of the time. Maybe not even some of the time.

The second winning characteristic that I would like to talk about is good sportsmanship. I realize that everyone is different. Some people are extraverts and some introverts. Not everyone likes to say hello and good luck before a match begins. Let me just say that by not acknowledging your opponent, you are setting yourself up for sportmanship failure. A winner always holds his opponent in the highest regards no matter what the scoreboard says at the end of the match. A good sportsman not only displays pride in himself but he also shows a great level of respect for his opponent.

Being a good sport is more than just saying hello and good luck at the beginning of every match. Being a good sportsman means that you are respectful not only on the field but also in the forums. Good sportmanship is a direct reflection of your true real world personality. If you are a good sport in the game then I would bet that you are a pretty good person in the real world. Do we get upset sometimes after loosing five games in a row? Yes. Do we get upset after someone in the forums provides negative feedback to one of our posts? Yes.

You will always be a winner through good sportmanship if you follow these two simple rules: 1.) Respect yourself enough to respect others. 2.) Always try to help or encourage others whether on the field or in the forums.

I hope this article has been helpful to some of my brothers out there who feel that winning is only reflected through your stats page. We can all be winners at Power Soccer regardless of what level of skill we are playing at.

Thank you for reading.

duke4

Well written and very Marx Brother-like. Deserves a star of a week to remind us all what we are doing here

You are a very talented writer duke4!
I think you should apply to be a reporter with this article (if you aren't already one.)
Nice article and I hope you earn Star of the week (SOTW.)

Yes very good article! I hope that this article brings back the fun of power soccer not the stress of losing rp.

Thanks mf and rice. I hope that it inspires all who read it.

Sounds like SOTW ;)

Thanks tyrklane. I know you hate to read long articles but thanks for taking a look anyway. :)

Great article. One of the best. Good job!

Hehe duke, how do you know so much about me? :D

Because I read your other posts. lol

this has changed the way i look at rp :)

Nice Article....

Wow, Very Nice article Good Job man.

SOTW talksssss :D

great...can i point the way to another similar article...very ancient but i think very useful and maybe abit easier to read!

search for winning and loosing by justdoit7 in general discussion. you will find a hilarious illustration of different forms of winners and losers!

but this could turn into one of my favourites! its soo good.

my favourite article of all time is Winning and Loosing, and this reminded me of it!

Yes they are both very good threads but I'm starting to like this one more!

@Kentax, Thanks man. I don't know about one of the best but I'm glad you liked it.

@reddevilgoals, I'm glad you got something good out of it. Your the best kind of reader to have. By the way, gteat job your doing in Power Soccer Extra.

@1_unlimited_1, Thanks for the positive feedback.

@bosnian000, I appreciate that comment. I'm glad you liked it.

@powerzak, Thanks! I think. lol

@rice, You know what I like about you rice? You always have something positive to say. Thanks man!

wow what an article... well done...!!!

deserves 2 stars of the week!! :D

@abdulah007, You rock man. Thanks for the kind words.

Let it be knownst to all. I wrote this article soley for the purpose of inspiring a few of you chaps. I did not write this article for any kind of official recognition nor do I care to receive any stars for my article.

My STAR is that you fine gents took the time to read and understand what I was writing about. Your responses are valued, respected and admired.

Thanks for the support guys!

Very nice post duke.. I want everyone even ppl who doesn't visit the forums to read this post

Well done

@shank05, Dude that means alot to me. I am glad that you enjoyed it. :)

@adewitya, Thanks for the positive feedback.

Five minutes of my life not in vain! A well written positive text (hmm, I need to save some of my positive words for a XXXXX)

Thanks sipwell. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

hey duke! i didnt mean anything by what i said earlier!

this is an excellent post i promise you!

No worries powerzak. I didn't think you said anything wrong. You were being honest and that other article was a great read. I'm glad you mentioned it because I never would have found it.

Nice post duke.
I agree. Attitute is alot in this game.
Sore losers go nowere, the ones that lose, and still have a great game, thats who I like to play against because they are polite and become more determined to win again.
The ones that lose, and still there they are better than everyone else, they swear during games, or cheat to get a win, thats not the way to do it.

You explained everything great, well done. And i agree with what mfsoccer94 said, SOTW and you should apply to be a reporter :)

This is an excellent post!
I agree with you totally, and it should be SOTW!

When the oppenant's card comes up before the start of the game, the only star I really look at is sportmanship.
If you see stars over 3 you know you'r going to have an enjoyable game whatever the outcome.

I think sportmanship is the most important part of a person's game.

Well done on such a good post and I hope it does inspire many people!

In my opinion, there are flowers in our world ... some say is like, we can not make everyone happy ... If the world were perfect, there would be no war ... The pleasure of defeating an opponent from another country, is what many to continue in that game, I feel great when they won a game against a strong opponent ... when lost, not speak anything, just accept the defeat with thirst for revenge ... From 0 to 10 for your article, I would give you 5.

just that it is my opinion, but I am not wrong ... in real life, there is so, how many games ended in fighting in the world ... many!

But not disagree with you .. is what I spoke: the rivalry is that keeps many in that game ... this is a truth ...

yes rivalry is important in sport, and is important in this game.
I think you are right, but I think speaking after losing is very important too.
(Very well done on reaching over 7,000 games massimomarimorino! Amazing feat!)