Best

I was thinking the other day about the concept of being the best at something, or being the best athlete in the world, or the best actor, or looking at the best painting in the world. It's kind of a strange concept. I mean with athletics it's certainly more clear, more cut and dry. There is a best 100 meter runner-that's difficult to argue with. There is a best golfer (Tiger Woods), a best homerun hitter (Barry Bonds), a best cyclist (Lance Armstrong). But it's a more difficult concept when you think of art, or actions or characteristics. A best painting, a best leader, the most beautiful person. Arguments can be made for everything. Is the best painting a Picasso, a Monet, a Van Gough perhaps? Is the best actor Hopkins, Streep, Dench, Bogart, Bergman, DeNiro, etc. Best movie, same deal: Casablanca, Citizen Cane, Wizard of Oz, Schindler's List, etc. Funny thing about those arguments is that everyone thinks they can make them. Same thing with novels and writers. Why does everyone think they know everything about every movie, actor, author and book? Anyways, that's not my point. Arguments can be made for every "Best" thing regardless of just what that "thing" is. We have some objective measurements for things in sports and athletics. We can time races, count goals and homeruns. We have opinions about everything that can only be subjectively judged. Still though, I think the most amazing thing, the most amazing possibility is that the best movie and the best book hasn't been made or written. The best actor or actress hasn't yet acted. Maybe the best baseball player hasn't yet played. Maybe the fastest man in the world doesn't even compete. Maybe the best painting hasn't been painted or, even more mysteriously, hasn't been found. All of this is why we keep watching movies, it's why we keep reading books and it's why we keep watching sports. I mean, this is a lame and all too common example as of late, but seriously USC v. Texas, one of the best games in any sport in any era ever played. That's why we watched it. Because after all, if the best movies have been watched why would we keep going to the theaters? If the best book has been read why keep reading? If the best actor has already acted, let's just cast them as much as we can. And if the best game has been played, nothing is ever going to live up to it. The best is not only why we keep watching, why we keep returning to those things we love, it's much more than that. It's why we create-it's why we write, why we paint, why we play. The best is what drives us. Almost no one will ever be the best. It's an almost impossible feat, yet we still strive for it. It still pushes us, it still motivates us. Still, even in our pursuit of the best, we are fully aware we will never obtain that goal. Nevertheless, it's what makes every movie ticket, new CD, new book, sports ticket, and museum visit exciting. Maybe that day you'll see the best, hear the best, read the best. Probably not-but you never know.
Lyric:
"Think I'm drunk enough to drive you home now."
-Death Cab for Cutie Champagne From a Paper Cup: Used to be a lyric that meant more to me, now i just think it's funny and quite ironic.