History Main / CavalierCompetitor

* This trope was used as CharacterDevelopment for Amber in ''Film/{{Hairspray}}''. Her mom orchestrated Tracy's exclusion to win a call in competition for her, and once defeated, Amber gets over it ("Mom, I lost. Let's just deal with it"), Her mom didn't take it so well.

** Later on, when Hikaru begins playing Go on his own, he plays Akira again and gets destroyed. This makes Akira even ''more'' angry, because he thinks Hikaru is being so caviler, he's not even trying.

* Twilight Sparkle pulls this one off in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Fall Weather Friends." During the big Running of the Leaves race, Applejack and Rainbow Dash develop an intense rivalry and take the race very seriously. Twilight, a first-timer who is quite [[{{nerd}} non-athletic]], is seen just strolling along throughout the race, admiring the autumn leaves with a peaceful expression on her face. In the end, Twilight comes in fifth, which isn't a great showing, but her friends come in dead last because they tired themselves out too quickly (on top of being distracted [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat trying to stop each other from winning]]), whereas Twilight paced herself and saved all her energy for the final stretch. [[NotSoAboveItAll Of course]], when a game comes along that she's actually passionate about, like in "A Trivial Pursuit" where she's desperate to keep her Trivia Trot winning streak going, the [[UnsportsmanlikeGloating results]] [[RulesLawyer are]] [[OpportunisticBastard not]] [[SoreLoser pretty]].

* In ''Manga/OnePunchMan'', Suiryu, a competitor in a martial arts tournament and an audience favorite to win, is introduced with this attitude: Where others have entered to prove themselves, to show off, or for honor, Suiryu is quite open that he entered the tournament because he figured it'd be fun and he was kinda strapped for cash, and he points out to his second-round opponent Snek that he hardly ever trained and is just naturally this good. Though Suiryu has fun when he's dominating, he absolutely [[SoreLoser cannot stand it if his opponent turns out to be better than he is.]] He is also a [[spoiler:SocialDarwinist, believing himself to be superior because he's stronger and that if anyone is killed, it's their fault for being too weak to defend themselves. As a result, Suiryu has a very dim view of heroes, as they run counter to his way of thinking. It really strikes a nerve with Snek, who is a professional hero and believes strongly in protecting others.]]

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* ''WebComic/DragonBallMultiverse'': Most of the U2 participants seem to be this. They don't take their fights seriously, and when the last one of them is eventually defeated, they return to their universe, disgusted at how everyone seems to consider the tournament SeriousBusiness.

* In ''Manga/OnePunchMan'', Suiryu, a competitor in a martial arts tournament and an audience favorite to win, is introduced with this attitude: Where others have entered to prove themselves, to show off, or for honor, Suiryu is quite open that he entered the tournament because he figured it'd be fun, and he points out to his second-round opponent Snek that he hardly ever trained and is just naturally this good. Though Suiryu has fun when he's dominating, he absolutely [[SoreLoser cannot stand it if his opponent turns out to be better than he is.]] He is also a [[spoiler:SocialDarwinist, believing himself to be superior because he's stronger and that if anyone is killed, it's their fault for being too weak to defend themselves. As a result, Suiryu has a very dim view of heroes, as they run counter to his way of thinking. It really strikes a nerve with Snek, who is a professional hero and believes strongly in protecting others.]]

* Judai/Jaden from ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'' embodies this trope to the extent that, when he takes the first season finale seriously (even though absolutely nothing is riding on it and he just laughed his way through a battle for the fate of the world), he starts losing. This only lasts until the third season, when he starts taking everything seriously and has a FaceHeelTurn.
** In the real-life version, [[MindScrew this is a very legitimate strategy to take]] against some players. Having an easy smile on your face when your opponent massively overextends and is about to rush you to death can sometimes be more a more effective defense than a filled back row.

* Suzuhara Misaki completely exemplifies this trope in ''Manga/AngelicLayer''; she plays to have fun. After all, when all is said and done, it really is just a game, and not SeriousBusiness at all. Her attitude is shared by several others in the series whether they compete or not, including the creator of the game, and while she repeatedly faces opponents who take the game far more seriously than she does, this attitude also proves to be [[DefeatMeansFriendship quite infectious]].

* Suzuhara Misaki completely exemplifies this trope in ''Anime/KidouTenshiAngelicLayer''; she plays to have fun. After all, when all is said and done, it really is just a game, and not SeriousBusiness at all. Her attitude is shared by several others in the series whether they compete or not, including the creator of the game, and while she repeatedly faces opponents who take the game far more seriously than she does, this attitude also proves to be [[DefeatMeansFriendship quite infectious]].

* Twilight Sparkle pulls this one off in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Fall Weather Friends." During the big Running of the Leaves race, Applejack and Rainbow Dash develop an intense rivalry and take the race very seriously. Twilight, a first-timer who is quite [[{{nerd}} non-athletic]], is seen just strolling along throughout the race, admiring the autumn leaves with a peaceful expression on her face. In the end, Twilight comes in fifth, which isn't a great showing, but her friends come in dead last because they tired themselves out too quickly (on top of being distracted [[DickDastardlyStopsToCheat trying to stop each other from winning]]), whereas Twilight paced herself and saved all her energy for the final stretch.

* Baby{{face}}!Wrestling/SoloDarling described pro wrestling as a way to become best friends with people while earning candy money. Overtime she gained took to wearing furry costumes and her finishing is preceded by [[TheGlomp a glomp]].[[/folder]]

* Baby{{face}}!Solo Darling described pro wrestling as a way to become best friends with people while earning candy money. Overtime she gained took to wearing furry costumes and her finishing is preceded by [[TheGlomp a glomp]].[[/folder]]

* Twilight Sparkle pulls this one off in the ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' episode "Fall Weather Friends." During the big Running of the Leaves race, Applejack and Rainbow Dash develop an intense rivalry and take the race very seriously. Twilight, a first-timer who is quite [[{{nerd}} non-athletic]], is seen just strolling along throughout the race, admiring the autumn leaves with a peaceful expression on her face. In the end, Twilight comes in fifth, which isn't a great showing, but her friends come in dead last because they tired themselves out too quickly, whereas Twilight paced herself and saved all her energy for the final stretch.

* Servant Assassin has this attitude towards the Grail War itself in ''VisualNovel/FateStayNight'': He's only in it for the promise of one good sword fight and treats everything else in it with cavalier disinterest. Justified because [[spoiler:the War is rigged against him anyway; he is the one Servant who ''literally'' cannot win the War in any possible way. Consequently, the promise of one good fight is all he has.]] He also fulfils the second stipulation of 'usually winning' by being the best sword-fighter in the Grail War and occupying some very favourable home ground, and can afford to be calm about any duels that do come his way.