Former AFL player of the year Alex Rance has revealed the bizarre reason he felt winning games was ‘pretty gross.’
It is a stance that seems to be in direct conflict with the job, as players are obviously paid to do.
But the 36-year-old who played over 200 games for Richmond, has said that he felt for the opposition when winning games.
That empathy will definitely catch some fans by surprise, who expect the players to delight in winning.
In fact, in some cases, players have even said they delight in ruining their opposition’s day with defeat.
However, Rance has revealed himself to be somewhat of an empath when it comes to the emotions following the final siren.
Speaking to Trent Cotchin, Alex Rance revealed he felt winning meant ruining his opponents’ weeks
He went on to say the by-product of victories was ‘pretty gross’
The former Premiership winner also went on to say that playing the sport felt opposed to his natural personality
Speaking to Trent Cotchin on the Shaped Podcast, the 2018 McClelland Trophy winner said, ‘I just didn’t like that element, that I had to make someone’s day worse, for my day to be better.
‘And we as a collective, had to make 22 other guys, or 23 now, weekend worse and week worse.
‘So that was just this thing where it was like ‘ah man, I know I’ve got to do this, I love my mates and I love training hard and I love working with them to achieve a goal.
‘But the by-product of this is pretty gross and I don’t like it.’
Further elaborating on the way he felt about winning, Rance opened up about his own personality, ‘I am very much an extrovert and I love connecting people, love making people laugh and being creative.
‘So, when you’re playing the game of football, you need to be more decisive and task focused. Less worried about how people feel out there and need to get this job done.
‘And when I had to put on that mask on game day took energy but multiplying the effort that it took, is that I had to make someone else’s day worse.
‘I had to potentially end someone’s career, potentially end someone’s dream of being an AFL player.
‘If they kept playing on me, their career would end, that was my job and sometimes it was fortunate they didn’t play on me the whole time because it kept their career alive.’
Rance also went on to say that while it does stir up emotions, he is okay with Mason Cox following a clash at the MCG
Speaking of a clash with Mason Cox at the MCG, ‘By all reports he’s an amazing cultural man.
‘He is probably the opposite, where if you look at a typical American athlete, it’s love the show, love performance.
‘And I think that’s part of the show, part of the mask he puts on, I don’t like it, I’ve never been a smack talker, I don’t like the psychological element of the game.
‘Some players do and that’s fine.
‘I didn’t like that, I thought that was disrespectful, this is a Bronwlow medalist, a Premiership captain, you’re disrespecting and you’ve barely played any good games.
‘So how does that make me feel? When he retired I popped up in his highlight reel, it does stir up a bit of emotion but at the same time that’s part of your identity man so I’m okay with it so well done on winning a Premiership.’
Many who have played against Rance have considered him one of the top competitors, so it will definitely catch some by surprise that he has stated his mixed feelings towards winning.
But it is clear from the podcast that he is a man in touch with his feelings and used that throughout his glittering AFL career.
