This article first appeared on SportsLook, JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website.
Decades ago, the American comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello weighed in on a universal longing: having a purpose in life. They choose a specific word ("niche," pronounced by many as nee-sh, and by others like "rich" but with a different consonant at the start) to lightheartedly make their point.
The two men's dialogue on their popular 1940s radio show brings to mind 23-year-old keirin cyclist Mina Sato's career to date, which includes back-to-back silver medals in the women's final at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships.
Abbott: "If you're lucky, you'll find your proper niche in life."
Costello: "You're right. Why, if I can find my ― What will I find?"
Abbott: "A niche, a niche. You'll find a niche."
Costello: "Abbott, when I find an itch, I scratch it!"
Abbott: "No, no, I'm talking about a niche in life. A niche is what everyone is looking for. Anyone who is successful has found a niche."
Sato finished runner-up in the aforementioned tournament on Sunday, October 16 in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, France, near Paris. She placed 0.042 seconds behind German champion Lea Friedrich in the final.
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Author: Ed Odeven
Follow Ed on JAPAN Forward's [Japan Sports Notebook] here on Sundays, in [Odds and Evens] here during the week, and Twitter ＠ed_odeven, and find him on JAPAN Forward's dedicated sports website, SportsLook.
