Recently, I've had cause to think about sportsmanship. What is it? When and how do you appropriately use it?
Our ward YW had a basketball game and got literally slaughtered! No kidding. The final score was 38-8. I had a very difficult time remembering my manners when the other team was still doing a full-court press with less than a minute to go. Then, I must confess, I actually lost it when the opposing team took a shot at the buzzer!
Seriously, did they have to humiliate our girls? Was winning by 36-8 not enough? I guess winning by 30 points looks so much better than by ONLY a mere 28!
Yes, I was ticked. I thought it showed a lack of class. But, maybe my attitude needs adjusting. Maybe I should be admiring that team's drive and concentration. They played their best for 32 minutes and never let down. Maybe that kind of fortitude should be on display more often.
Nah. Who am I kidding? I still don't believe that.
We spent the weekend in Mesquite at my daughter's soccer tournament. One of the teams we faced (let's call them Team A) had beat another team (Team B) 11-0. For us to go in as a higher seed, we would have to beat Team B 12-0. Our coach said "no way". We got up 4-0 and the coach pulled all the starters he could (there was only 6 subs) and benched them the rest of the game. He instructed the girls to only take a shot if they are someone who has not scored in a game all season.
I personally applaud the fact that our coach would rather go in to quarterfinal play as a second seed than demoralize another team.
When do we take competition too far?
4 weeks ago
I have to say, church ball is way more fierce than school or club sports. I remember when I did YW basketball. We only had 7 people on our team and so many of us fouled out (myself included) that we had to forfeit because we didn't have enough players. It was vicious. I feel embarrassed just thinking about it.
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