Speaker 1: In today's episode, a story about a town where no
one knows what it's like to win or loose. And
that's fine, right. We all know that winning isn't everything,
don't we, even if it feels amazing and like one
of the best things ever. I mean, let's get into it. Hellol,
story time is truly not a glory time rabistand and
you'll be fine. Follow the whole storyline. Hellol, story time?
Might you love at least one time? Now? Well, story
Time Time, this is the story of having fun, because
it's not about whether you win or lose. It's about
the fun you have along the way. That's the only
thing that matters, right, isn't that what they say? The
parents of the kids in Mountain Burger were always saying
that they knew it truly mattered. In fact, in the
small town of Mountain Burger, there was no winning or losing.
The parents had made sure of it. Competition was not allowed. No,
that's not to say that the kids of Mountain Berger
didn't play any sports or other such activities, but there
certainly wasn't anyone keeping score, and no one was going
around comparing who was better or worse. If there was
a trophy to be held. Then everyone got to have
a turn holding it. Even the kids would spend the
entire game sleeping on the field. Years ago, the parents
of Mountain Berger had noticed something. Winning made kids smile,
which was great, but losing made kids cry and sometimes
they even threw hissy fits. The parents saw it happening
from a really young age. It was like the children
turned everything into a competition. Hey, I can eat more
waffles than you can eat. Uh, you want to bet?
I can eat twice as many waffles as you. Even
the babies were in competition with one another. My diaper's
bigger than your diaper. No, my diaper is bigger, eh, eh, Mom,
another baby has a bigger daper than me. And then
the parent would have to try and soothe their child
by saying things like, no, now they're there. It's not
the size of your diaper that matters. It's whether or
not you're both wearing one that doesn't leak. That's what matters.
The parents of Mountain Berger did not like having to
say now, now they're there while patting their children on
the back. It felt uncomfortable for them, so one day
they got together and decided to outlaw all forms of competition.
This way, they would only see smiles on their children's faces, unless,
of course, their childs scraped their knee, in which case
they would still have to say now, now they're there.
The parents worked hard to put a stop to their
children's competitive ways. They basically trained it out of them.
If they heard a child say, hey, what a race,
they would suggest a better way of saying that. I
think what you meant to say was, hey, friend, let's
run alongside each other with no specific goal in mind.
Wherever you both end up, it's all good, even if
you both get there at different times. Gradually, these kids
all stop thinking about competition. It even reached a point
where they didn't even remember what it was like to compete.
There you go, children, you're all winners, except we don't
actually use that word around here. Pardon me. You were
all fun havers. Bo and Bessie were two of the
best fun havers in town, though you could never actually
say they were the best at something that would sound
like you were comparing different people's abilities in a way
that might be construed as competition and therefore a big
no no Bow and Bessie may not have known anything
about winning or losing, But that didn't mean they were
always bored. These two kids found lots of ways to
have fun, and they were always smiling about it too.
Everything was fun, everything was lovely, and everything was just
perfect until they met a kid from the next town over.
Taco Pond was a small town of a similar size
to Mountain Burger. Much like how Mountain Berger got its
name for being a town next to a mountain shaped
like a Hamburger, Taco Pond was a town beside a
pond shaped like a taco. Taco Pond was a popular
vacation destination for the people of Mountain Berger. Bow and
Bessie's family went vacationing there every year, But this year,
while visiting Taco Pond, Bo and Bessie came across the
strangest thing, a boy who, instead of smiling, was crying,
and not because he had scraped his knee. Bo approached
the boy to see what was the matter. Uh, kid,
what happened must be your elbow, right, because your knee
looks totally fine. And that's the only other reason I
can think of why a kid would be crying. Fattery
dropped his cupcake on the ground, suggested Bessie. The boy
was sitting alone on a bench next to a soccer field.
We lost. The boy eventually got out. We lost the
big game. I just want to be left alone, okay.
Bow and Bessie felt bad for continuing to stand there,
but they had a feeling they might be able to help. Listen, kid,
We're sorry about your soccer game, but I just can't
see how a soccer game would make anyone cry. Are
you sure you guys aren't just doing it wrong. Maybe
you should come see how we play soccer. None of
us have ever cried. The boy tried to wipe away
his tears. You mean you guys have never lost, Bessie nodded.
We don't lose because we can't lose. The boy liked
the sound of that. You don't lose because you can't lose. Now,
that's a cool quote. You guys have the right attitude here.
One must believe that losing is not an option. Bo
and Bessie did not realize that this boy was thinking
about what they had said in an entirely different way. Well,
we're just over in Mountain Burger if you ever want
to come play with us. The boy thought about this
for a moment, but seemed a little unsure. I don't know,
it's really kind of you, but you guys are probably
too good for us. By the sounds of it, you've
never lost. Then again, we could probably learn a lot
from playing a team like yours. I'll mention it to
my coach. Bo and Bessie found this boy quite peculiar.
What did he mean by coach? Was that Tacopon's name
for the funny fun fun time leader. Well after their vacation,
the kids nearly forgot all about that strange encounter. Then
three weeks later, the Tacopon soccer team showed up in
Mountain Berger wanting to play. The Mountain Burger kids were excited.
They had never played with another team before, and the
Tacopon kids were excited too, but also a little nervous
to be playing against a team that had never lost.
Just go easy on us, okay, guys, the other team
requested the parents of the Mountain Burger kids had to
pull their team aside for a little pep talk before
the game. All right, kids, we need to talk does
team you're about to play? Now? How do I say this?
Let's just say they play the game of soccer a
little differently than you guys do. You might hear and
see things you aren't familiar with, and that's okay. It's
nothing to worry about. Just get out there, have some
fun like you always do, and keep those bright smiles shining.
The parents all took their seats. Tacopon's parents were looking anxious.
They suspected their kids were about to lose pretty badly
to our really strong team. The Mountain Burker parents looked
nervous too, and for the exact same reason, which in
their case was actually valid. To cut the tension, some
of the parents from the two towns tried engaging in
small talk. So, uh, which kid is yours? Bo? And
Bessie's father asked a taco upon parent. The parent pointed
to one of the players on the field, See that
one that just passed the ball, thoughts are, Jimmy, which
one is yours? Well? Uh, see the kid climbing up
the goal post shouting yippie kaye, that's our Bo. And
the girl doing wheelies on her bike in the parking
lot over there instead of going after the ball, that's
our Bessie. The other dad wasn't sure how to respond
to that fortunately his son had just scored a goal,
giving him an excuse to stand up and cheer. Bo
and Bessie's dad tried to share even louder. You're all
doing great, kids, especially you Franklin. Franklin was a kid
on the Mountain Burger team who, instead of chasing after
the ball, appeared to be showing off some sort of
traditional Scottish dance. But like at which point in the
game had Franklin changed into a kilt. The Taco Pon
goals kept coming, and they celebrated after each and every one,
But as their goals crept into the thirties, those celebrations
started losing some enthusiasm. Now they were mostly just checking
the time and being amazed by how much time was
still left on the clock. There was just no stopping
this team. Literally. Mountain Berger's goalie had spent most of
the game on the opposite end of the field trying
to chat with the other goalie. He did block one shot,
but it was a shot from his own team. At
the end of the game, Tacopon came together for one
final celebration. It's not every day, after all, that your
team scores one hundred goals. In soccer. They had never
even done that before in basketball. As the Taco Pon
parents stood up to leave, a few had to be
slapped around a little after having fallen asleep back when
the score was sixty to nothing. Some Tacopon parents were
trying to hide their laughter, while others were struggling with
what to say to them. Mountain Berger parents, Well that
was uh hard to watch, wasn't it, mountain Berger. That
must have been so embarrassing for you guys, Like so embarrassing.
It was almost like your kids had never played soccer before. Seriously,
was this their first time? What was up with that
one kid chasing butterflies and that other kid who kept
taking off his shoes and juggling them. Well, you see, uh,
winning just isn't that important to us here in mountain Berger.
Good thing, responded the other parent, Because the only thing
your kids could possibly win is that who wants to
never win something? Competition? The Tacopon parents were making their
way to the parking lot, but Bow and Bessie's dad
just stood there, seething from in front of his seat.
Well they could win if they wanted, he finally managed
to say. But by now the taco pon families had
already left Bow and Bessie's dad looked at the the
other Mountain Burger parents, who looked back at him without
exchanging any words. The parents all knew what needed to happen.
All right, kids, gather around, we need to talk. Getting
the kids together took a little longer than it should have.
Sam climbed down from that tree. Jin put away that
gigantic sandwich. Where did you even get a sandwich? That big?
And Madeline put away that toy. We're trying to have
a team meeting. It's a Rubik's Cube, sir? Did you
see that I solved it during the game. Yes, I did,
very impressive. It has never made sense to me how
anyone knows how to do that, but good for you anyway. Kids,
really good game today. I could tell you we're all
having a lot of fun out there, and please don't cry.
Bo had a question, Dad, can we play that team
again sometime? But maybe after we have a shower first.
They kept telling us we stink. Yeah. I really liked
playing with them, agreed Bessie. They seemed really happy after
every time they kicked the ball into the net, though,
who knows why they cared so much about that, and
what was up with all the counting they were doing
a few of the other parents gave Bow and Bessie's
dad the go ahead nod. Well, uh, that's kind of
what we wanted to talk to you kids about. How
would you guys feel about also kicking the ball into
the other team's net? That could be fun, right, None
of the kids seemed to have any strong feelings one
way or the other. I guess we could try that,
said Bo. Can we also do wheelies on our bikes
and eat jumbo sandwich is while we play, asked Bessie
together in unison. All of the parents answered with a
resounding no. So things were set in motion, and one
week later the Tacopon team returned for a rematch. The
Tacopon parents were snickering as they took their seats, So
are we here to watch some soccer today or some
competitive butterfly catching? The Mountain Burger parents had to bite
their tongues. Instead, they called out words of encouragement to
the kids on their team. You've got this, kid's just
remember ball into the net and as many times as
you can, and of course have fun. Yeah, normally these
parents sat quietly during games, but today they were a
little more vocal. Okay, I see what you did there,
but remember you don't have to help them by putting
the ball into your own net. Though that was very
kind of you, Avery Rajan. I hope that's not a
jumbo sandwich. I see you holding out there. Did you
didn't give you that? And can someone please take that
kid's butterfly net away? I thought we had dealt with
that already. More snickering from the Taco Pond parents when
it was halftime. The score wasn't nearly as bad as
it had been the previous time, but matten Berger had
only scored one goal and Taco Pond already had fifteen. Hey,
dad called bo running off the field. Have you seen
how great we're doing out there? Bessie and I just
scored two goals each. Yeah, so I saw that, but
only one of those goals went in the correct net.
Their dad was waiting for the rest of the team
to be seated on the bench. Okay, kids, so overall
things are looking better. I thought there was anything wrong
with how you played last week, but what if you know,
maybe you scored a lot more goals than just one
and maybe, I don't know, what if we ran a
little faster out there, and perhaps we could try stopping
the other team from scoring so much. Almost none of
the kids were listening. They were busy admiring a butterfly
one of their teammates had caught. Come on, now, kids,
stay with me. You've got to want this. You have
to go out there and show them you mean business.
These kids, who knew very little about competing, had no
idea what it meant to mean business. What if I
were to tell you that if you don't score enough goals,
your shoes will catch on fire. That got everyone's attention.
The kids all jumped off the bench screaming. The other
parents shot Bo and Bessie's dad A look, dad, is
that really gonna happen? Asked I see her eyes wide now. Sorry,
I don't know why I said that nothing is gonna
happen to your shoes. Okay, kids, I was only trying
to light a little fire under your butts to get
you taken this a little more seriously. Saying that did
not help do anything to call these kids down. Now
there's a fire under our butts, asked Bo. Their dad
was wishing he knew some better expressions. Nope again, no fire,
My bad, Just trying to get you kids fired up,
I mean motivated. Please do not call the fire department
today has already been embarrassing enough. The second half of
the game was not a whole lot different than the first,
other than the Mountain Burger kids occasionally slowing down to
make sure their butts weren't on fire. Well, mountain Berger
began one of the other team's parents, I don't know
how your kids play so badly. Our kids couldn't play
that badly if they tried. At least that's something you
could be proud of. Oh it's like that, huh, said
Bo and Bessie's dad. Well, how about same time next week,
the other parents agreed with laugh. The next day the
drills began. The parents of matten Berger woke their kids
up early, so early, in fact, the sun hadn't even
come up yet. These parents had their kids practicing soccer
in the dark. Hustle up, everyone, keep it moving, keep
it moving. They did drills where they practiced passing the ball,
drills where they practiced shooting the ball, and a lot
of strange drills where they were told to do things
with their eyes closed. School was their only refuge that
day because when school ended, their parents were all standing
around waiting for them so they could do it all
over again. Jin, please don't tell me you snuck a
jumbo sandwich pass security. Where are you getting these sandwiches? Anyways? Yes,
there were even a few parents working a security detail
to make sure toys and butterfly nets did not make
it under the field. Apparently Jin just had his ways.
By the following week, this team was not the same
team they were before. They had ball control, they knew
strategic place, and most importantly, they were hungry for victory.
What are we here for to win? And why do
we want it? Because our parents told us we have to?
All right, now, get out there and make us proud.
Oh yeah, and of course have some fun too. Bo
and Bessie normally smiled while playing soccer, even when they
had lost one hundred to zero. But to day, for
the first time, neither they nor anyone else on their
team was smiling. Maybe it was because none of them
had had a full night's sleep in over a week,
or maybe it was all a shouting coming from the
parents who were watching. No, not like that. What were
you thinking pass it? Pass it? Not to that kid?
The other kid? Watch out, he's behind you. He's behind you.
Do you see that he's behind you? Up now he's
in front of you and he's got the ball. Well okay,
but it wasn't just the Mattenberger parents. The Tacoupond parents
were laying into their players too. Are you kidding me?
The game is still tied. How are you're not in
the lead by now? This is the easiest team to beat,
and they're making you look bad. Even the referee was
taking heat from some of these overbearing parents. Come on,
reff what kind of call was that? Did you forget
to wear your glasses today? By halftime, suffice to say,
none of these kids were having fun. The boy Bo
and Bessie had met weeks earlier while visiting Taco Pond
came over to tell them how good they were doing. Wow,
you kids have really improved. It's like you actually know
what you're doing out there now. A few other players
apologize for telling them they stunk before. Well, something still stinks,
said Bo, gesturing toward the crowd of parents. Yeah. I
even feel bad for the referee, said Bessie. Those parents
are being so rude. The referee overheard the kids talking, Ah,
don't worry about me, kids, I'm used to it from parents.
I just wish they could feel what it's like. This
gave the kids an idea. Ref, are we to make
some player substitutions before we start the second half of
the game. Ten minutes later, the ref called the names
of the players who would be starting the second half. Uh, ref,
how come you're calling out the parents' names. The ref
blew his whistle to let everyone know the game was
about to continue. Bo helped out by shouting hustle, hassle, hussle,
move at parents, let's go now. The parents looked befuddled
as they wandered onto the field. Losing is not an option,
Bessie called out, but don't forget to have fun. The
game resumed, but at a much slower pace. There was
a lot of grunting and groaning and huffing and puffing.
Come on, guys, you call out a pass. One of
the kids called out. Jin tried to holler something as
well from where he was sitting, but his mouth was
full of sandwich. Even butterfly net Kid had something to say,
I've seen butterflies play better soccer than this, But the
kids had nothing but praise for the referee. You're doing
a great job out there. Ref only one on the
field who doesn't look like they're about to drop to
their knees. The referee blew his whistle with ten minutes
left in the game and told all of the parents
to get off of the field so the kids could
come back on. The kids finished the game without having
to hear one peep out of the parents, and it
wasn't just because they were completely out of breath. These
parents were ashamed of how they had behaved. They had
gone too far the other way and had lost sight
of what truly mattered. As the kids were now free
to play how they wanted to play, their smiles came back,
and even though only one team could win, the entire
world did not come to a screeching halt. Feelings were
felt and everyone eventually moved on. After the game, Bo
turned to his sister, you know, I kind of like
this version of soccer too. It feels good trying to
win something, even if there's a chance you might lose.
I sure didn't care for those early morning soccer practices though,
but it's cool to see how much better we got.
Bessie was chuckling to herself, Well, brother, I don't know
if he really got that much better in just one week.
I think the only reason we won today's game is
because some of their players were trying our version of
the game. Boa looked out onto the field. A player
from the other team was still running full speed, but
with a butterfly net. Another kid was climbing the goalpost,
and Jin was talking to some girl who was scarfing
down one of his sandwiches. This jumbo sandwich is fantastic.
Is this pastrami? And what kind of sauce do you
put on this thing? The end? That's the story, And
here is your question of the week. What is something
that brings out your competitive spirit? Thanks to Bow and
Bessie and showed out too, Louis from Philadelphia, Lera from
Hood River, Oregon, Well from the USA, keen I from Boulder, Colorado, Jasper,
Judah Jackson and Riyla from Southern Illinois, Boe from Scoresby, Australia,
Atlas and Para from Seattle, Washington, Lucy from Dublin, Ireland,
and Kai from Chateaugay, Quebec. Thanks so much for listening,
and I'll catch you on the next one.