In the philosophy of the I Ching, nothing is eternal. Yang is born in Yin, Tai is born in Silai. The world of sports, with all its enthusiasm and cruelty, is a clear mirror reflecting the rule of "Hardness is harmful". There, the boundary between an arrogant "hunting" position and a "prey" is sometimes ridiculed just because of a saying or action of "premarital chasing".
Following social networks is enough to list into a book the stories of opponents "flirting" with each other, the winner saying veiled words, mocking, teaching, even directly criticizing the opponent. Many people can ignore it because it is an emotional matter. However, that is also when "Yang" reaches its peak, so that contempt when it reaches the ceiling, destiny changes direction. The price of glory is directly proportional to the height of glory.
When Klay Thompson (Golden State Warriors) mocked LeBron James that the NBA is "a game of men" at a time when they were leading 3-1 after 4 games, he pushed complacency to the extreme. And then, the unbelievable comeback (Cleveland Cavaliers won 4-3) turned the Warriors into the only team in history to lose the final despite holding the advantage. The "bragging" suddenly turned into a painful slap. That is when "extreme", everything going too far will reverse to find balance.
Teasing opponents is often considered a spice, a psychological therapy. However, the boundary between "confidence" and "offense" is very fragile. When using success to belittle others, they inadvertently create a "profession" in the opponent's psychology and even in the eyes of fate. The glee creates some loophole that makes them forget, the peak is also the starting point of the downward path.
Like the story of players in the V.League recently evaluating the opponent's playing style, and then receiving a humiliating defeat a few days later, the words spoken became "counter-attacks".
So, whether you are in sports or in life, when you are at the peak, keep yourself humble. Exceeding the limits of gloating and scorn the defeated will only make the "extreme of adversity" cycle come faster and more cruelly.
