From the archive

Participation Trophies Are Worthless

October 22, 2013

At some point in time, somebody somewhere decided it would be a good idea for every kid to get a participation trophy.

This must have been about 30-plus years ago when this started to happen.

In my day (Yeah, I know I sound like an old man), you only received a trophy if you actually deserved on. Just showing up at the right ballpark at the right time wasn’t the only necessary requirements to win an award.

You may be asking, Vin, so what? Let the babies have their bottles, let the kids have a souvenir. What will it hurt?


I told you that to tell you this. The something-for-nothing crowd has grown up. They’re now entitled adults.

If it wasn’t an isolated event, I would let it go and chalk it up to chance. But, I’ve noticed a trend of laziness. There’s a whole crowd out there who want to get paid and do as little as possible.

If they could get away with doing nothing at all, they would.

What ever happened to taking pride in a job well done? What about an honest living for a hard day’s work?

Thirty or so years ago, we began giving kids trophies for successfully picking their noses. Those kids looked around and said, “Huh, I must be pretty great. All I did was maintain a pulse, and now I’m a winner!”

Those kids grew up to be snot-nosed teenagers, and then aimless adults.

When it comes to your health and fitness, don’t assume “just showing up” will lead to success. You have to put in the effort. You have to work for it.

There’s no magic pill. And there is certainly no diet or exercise participation trophies.

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