The benefits of playing sports are quickly dwindling in America and it’s a sad time. Just in case Michele Obama stops by to read the Pass the Salt Shambles blog it should be mentioned that of course there are still the health benefits of playing sports. Lots of chunky fat kids have peeled of the pounds from low calorie school lunches followed by a nice gym session dodging, dipping, ducking, diving, and dodging their way to survival.
The benefits that I write about today are the far greater and more powerful attributes gained from playing sports. The art of winning with dignity and respect while at the same time learning how to lose and remain proud with your head held high. In a world where now every kid gets a trophy for trying and there are no winners or losers it is a hard thing to teach children how to accept defeat and grow from it. I could go on like a Southern preacher here all about the ‘generation of winners,’ but I will save the masses* from a lecture on what they undoubtedly already know.
Maybe it is my quickly approaching wedding in two weeks that has me thinking about the future and being a good husband and someday father, but watching sports events this last week has me doubting the ability to counteract what my kids will be learning from society and the sports stars of tomorrow. Sure I can teach my son to hold his head up high when he strikes out, but it’s a little hard to teach him to shake hands with the first place team after a hard loss if everyone gets a trophy. In the same way I can teach my kids all about sportsmanship and respect, but as soon as they turn on the game on TV they are met with contradiction from their favorite athletes and role models.
This week with the Heat playing the Bulls it has been a horrible and disgraceful display of the lack of respect and sportsmanship that is turning role models into bad examples and televised sports into something that needs to be censored. The players didn’t shake hands before the tip in a game…Nazr Mohammed lacked complete self-control with his shove…that crazy fan in Miami flipping off Joakim Noah. In a much bigger scope there are steroids…full, bench clearing brawls in baseball and football…fans getting killed by other fans…biting (Suarez and Tyson)…the list goes on and on. So this weekend I turn to a civilized sport and tuned in for the Players only to find Sergio truly acting like El Nino and pouting around the course until darkness cut the pity party short. At least Sergio and Tiger shook hands after the round.
In a society where everyone who plays sports gets a trophy, the only thing to win might very well be found in character, respect, and sportsmanship. It is with these very benefits that the best role models in American sports are setting the worst examples. Can't we all just have a little World Peace in sports.....OR maybe not....
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