what happens to the person when they realize that effort can no longer change the ending? do you ever think about it?
this question goes far beyond any sport competition but rather in our selves, the glance of the clock is something all of us eventually experience. not necessarily toward the clock but rather sometimes the clock is somebody becoming more distant from you, it is watching an opportunity disappear, realizing you studied too late, sitting beside someone who is dying, realizing, a relationship cannot become what you imagined. it is knowing that you gave everything to something and stil were not good enough that day. it is simply growing older and realizing certain versions of your life are no longer available.
there comes a moment when the human brain has to confront something it absolutely hates, which is irreversibility. humans are extraordinarily comfortable with difficult things when difficult still contains possibility; "i have a lot of work left", "we are losing 2 nil" are survivable because possibility remains, what becomes psychologically profound is the moment possibility starts disappearing. there is an enormous difference between; "i dont know whether i can save this" and "i now understand that i cannot". the second sentence requires something completely different from human nervous system. it requires acceptance and acceptance sounds peaceful when we talk about it philosophically, but in real life acceptance is often violent. because the body does not immediately agree. you can intectually understand that something is finished while every other part of you is still trying to rescue it
thats why the observation of any sportsman and example Mbappé is very powerful.
imagine all the absurdity of those final minutes, his brain may understand mathematics, that two goals. very little time, Spain controlling possession, France unable to create what it needs and yet his legs still have to run.
that is us and that is almost embarrassingly human
we continue sending message even though we suspect the relationship is over, we keep refreshing the email even though the decision has probably been made, we keep bargaining with ourselves. "one more attempt", "one more conversation", "one more week", "one more chance". not necessarily because we are irrational, but because the nervous system is designed for action.
maybe the hardest moments in life are the ones where the body is still asking "what can i do?" while reality has already answered nothing
and that is why the final glance at the clock really represents,
knowing.