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Sportsmanship

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Submitted By cpkane
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Christopher Kane
MSA 560
Sportsmanship Essay

Sports events are essentially social in character. They facilitate the coming together of people from various parts of the country, at a national level, and various parts of the world, at the international level. The dictionary defines sportsmanship as the face or practice of participating in sports or sport. It is also the conduct and attitude considered as befitting participants in sports, especially fair play, courtesy, striving spirit and grace in losing. The 'golden rule' for athletes is good sportsmanship. You demonstrate this when you show respect for yourself, teammates, opponents, coaches, officials and fans. Sportsmanship does not simply pertain to players, spectators, sports authorities, media, sponsors, in fact each and every group or faction that is even remotely associated with sports is a fundamental part of sportsmanship. They are all expected to maintain a code of conduct and nurture the sporting spirit. Sportsmanship is a style and an attitude; it can have a positive or negative influence on everyone involved. Sportsmanship is the soul or heart of sports. It is a mental or psychological altitude that provokes a sense of fair play. Unless this psychological set-up is maintained, sports would become a testing ground or a show of mere physical skill with no regards to any opponent. If you're a sports fanatic such as me, you've seen good and bad acts of sportsmanship. You've seen heavyweight boxers punch each other for 15 rounds and not have enough energy to throw a punch during the last round, but they hug and respect each other after the match. I have also seen beer cans and bottles thrown at players, coaches and officials at football games. I have personally witnessed the heckling and taunting by college students and fans during college games, so now I ask myself, is this good or bad sportsmanship by sports fans? Recently there was an event at an intramural basketball game and people were heckling both teams. In my mind it was all in good fun, but the teams didn't think so. It wasn't meant to cause any hard feelings toward anyone. However, it wasn't setting a good example for the kids or people that were present. We weren't following the golden rule of sportsmanship. Not only did we disgrace the game that we were playing, and of course ourselves, but this also caused our team to forfeit all remaining games for the season. More importantly, we offended and disgraced the other team because we were trying to be funny and doing a little friendly heckling. After this event, I was asked what the term sportsmanship means to me. At first this was easy: it means play fair, follow the rules, respect the judgment of the referees and officials and treating your opponents with respect. Then, I realized it went much deeper than that. Good sportsmanship is critical to the success of all sport activities. Unsportsmanlike behavior is not only a poor reflection of an individual, but it also takes away from the enjoyment of the activity for other participants. In order to encourage proper conduct, players, coaches and fans must be held accountable for their actions.
With that being said, officials, services personnel and supervision hold the position of authority to make the difficult determination between whether or not we are practicing good sportsmanship. Their decision is final and we must respect it. What does it take to demonstrate good sportsmanship in real-life situations? First talk politely and courteously toward everyone, before, during and after games including your team, officials, fans and competitors. Second even if the other team is losing their tempers, it doesn't mean you have to. We are not professional athletes but we are college players/fans so we must hold ourselves to a higher standard because people are always watching. Third, cheer on your team with positive statements and avoid trash talking the other team. Fourth when officials make a call, accept it gracefully even if it goes against you. Remember the referees may not be right every time, but they are people doing their best just as you are. Lastly, whether you win or lose, congratulate your opponents on a game well played. The next time anyone plays a sport, they can hold their head high after the event and look at themselves in the mirror and say, "I played my best and treated everyone with respect." I know we play sports for the love of the game, but we must remember that we are all on the same team in the end.

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