Game Recognizes Game
The expression game recognizes game is often used when two performers have mutual respect for each other.
Leaders, athletes, and performers who are highly skilled and experienced look for signs that others understand what it takes to perform at the highest level. They look for people who have “game,” which is another way of saying they recognize others who appreciate the ingredients of top performance and who have begun mastering the skills associated with those elements.
The secret high performers know is that distinguished and consistent results depend on very specific details and actions. These details are often invisible to those with less skill and highly elusive to those who have not yet broken through to top performance.
In most sporting endeavors, for instance, what separates professionals who play for a living and high amateurs who wish to are not drastic differences in skill but a distinctive focus on less obvious processes, actions, and details that are hidden from view.
When less experienced performers can point to these details, display that they value them by incorporating them into their processes, and work hard to master the actions connected to them, they are thought to also have “game.” This is often true even if their skills are rudimentary and only reflect a growing potential to excel.
Those less experienced who have game usually spend a lot of time observing top performers looking for the ingredients that give them a performance edge. They ask loads of questions and seek the wisdom of those more skilled than they are but with an eye toward nuance and process, not skills and results.
Excellence at the highest level of any field or discipline shares common routines, behaviors, and practices that promote that elite performance. When you have game, you have come to learn of some of these actions and details and have built them into your daily practice and preparation. Those who already have game recognize this and are more likely to invite you into their tent to explore and discuss what makes special so special.
It's not a phrase I've heard before! I've definitely seen it in action though.
The professional respect I've observed in this game is more about 'I'm not going to go up against you because I know I can't beat you', which is more a disgruntled respect. My recollection is seeing professional respect but not personal 'like' in these situations.
I love this topic. I say all the time, all I want is for someone to return the ball back to me after I serve. But what I really want is to find people who can take my best serve and smoke it past me (figuratively speaking). It's an absolute pleasure when you find someone you can play and learn the game from. Harder to do working from home these days.