In elementary school, the first thing students do in the morning is rise and say the Pledge of Allegiance. Schools indoctrinate children to feel patriotic, to feel a union with their fellow students, to feel pride to live in this great country. Children rise, they place their hands on their hearts, and they learn to feel a kinship with their fellow countrymen.
Saying the Pledge is a great practice, which I thought about today while at my daughter’s softball game. Like the Pledge, we indoctrinate our children to learn many moral lessons through simple repetitive acts. Today, I thought a great deal about sportsmanship.
After every umpire pitch softball game, no matter if my girls have won or lost, they get excited to line up and slap the hands of the opposing team. There is something rewarding about repeating “Good game, good game, good game.” The girls see it as a way to congratulate the other girls for a good hit, a good throw, or a good out. It almost means as much to them as a win or the post game snack provided by one of the moms.
Kids are taught sportsmanship from three years old– soccer, basketball, baseball– it does not matter the sport, kids are taught that no matter how well you win or how poorly you lose, the right think to do is to tell the other team it was a good match, a fair fight, and you appreciated their efforts.
Like the Pledge of Allegiance that pitters-out in high school, I assumed the post-game congratulatory slap ended in high school. However, I saw something very surprising last week that almost made me giddy. I watched the Kent State Golden Flashes win the Super Regionals to get into the College World Series. After much adulation and jumping around, the boys lined up and congratulated the Oregon Ducks for a game well-played. Many of the boys not only slapped hands, but moved slow enough to pat the back of a familiar player, give someone a small man hug, or just look the other players in the eyes. No matter how excited they were that they had gotten into the College World Series for the first time in history, they still had enough integrity to look their opponent in the eye and acknowledge the friendly rivalry and the work they put into the game.
I was moved, to say the least. I got chills up my arms and neck, and I felt an inner turning of emotion. As much as we love to win and hate to lose, I find great importance in the fact that teams are willing to put the trials of the game aside and acknowledge each other’s efforts. It shows integrity. It stands for principle. It represents honor and sincerity.
Wouldn’t it be great if men who are paid exuberant amounts of money would leave their egos on the sidelines, off the court, or on the bench and do the same thing? I think I would have so much more respect for my beloved Indians if they made an effort to tell their opponents that they played well. I know I would have more respect for megalomaniacs like LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. If they could remember that they are being paid to play a game, maybe they would remember gamesmanship once more. I would love for them to put their fifteen-million-dollar-a-year salaries aside and get back in touch with their roots– slap the hands of the opposing team and tell them “Good game.”
It’s a pipe dream to think that professional players will ever perform this practice again. However, like the Pledge of Allegiance, I have to believe the deep-seeded honor of slapping hands is only dormant; the spirit of sportsmanship exists.
Life As I Understand It. 