Is sport only a game?

Baseball boy beaten to death for game taunt, The West, 15 April 2005, p.28: A 13 year old boy "became enraged when his team was ridiculed for losing a game, took the [baseball] bat out of a bag an attacked." The boy's team had won every previous game, this was its first loss of the season. One person is quoted as saying, "when you know other baseball players, you give them a hard time. It's called razzing."

"Razzing", eh. Not taunting, not insulting, not trying to make a player feel like a fool and a loser. Just "razzing". Is that meant to make a player feel good? Is that meant to make sport more enjoyable? Remember: this is a team of 13 year olds, they have won plenty of games. This is their first loss.

..o0o..

Thinking Lateral
Need new thinking for your own problems? email nick leth at gmail dot com

There are other suitable words, such as: taunting, insulting, verbal bullying. It's unfortunate that a boy had to die for being such an unthinking, mean-spirited member of the mob. But his attitude to sport will be no great loss to the world.

Sport -- for children, especially -- should involve some enjoyment. So what if they lose the occasional game? So what if they lose every game? Are they enjoying playing? Are we enjoying watching the game? And what about the team that did win -- surely they deserve some congratulations?

Children's sport should be about participation and enjoyment. Enjoyment will encourage participation. Let's not lose our children -- and their sports -- to a vindictive must-win attitude. Let's encourage everyone to enjoy the game... and celebrate the play... no matter who wins.

Dockers out of excuses, The West, 18 April 2005, The Game liftout:

The Dockers have lost three games in a row. They are "out of excuses", according to the front page headline. No they're not! What about the ultimate excuse, "We are not a winning team"?

There are more AFL teams than I can remember. Must they all be winners? I'm a Dockers supporter -- and I'm happy with their performance. Sure, they don't win. But that's part of the attraction... I'm glad when they win -- and still support them when they lose.

The AFL -- and all AFL teams -- are commercial enterprises. There is no real representation of a particular area, they buy players from wherever they can, there is no entitlement to local-team loyalty. So what? I'm not betting money on the Dockers winning, I'm just enjoying claiming to be a supporter.

When it's your own child playing in the team -- whether it's football in Australia or baseball in America -- sure, you feel a strong loyalty to that team. You hope that they will win, because it will make your child feel good. But what if they lose?

If your child's team loses -- does that make your child a loser? In every game there is always one team that will lose! Does that mean that half the players are losers?

AFL players are paid to play, you expect them to try hard. If they lose, well, someone has to lose. You can hope they will do better next time...

Children's sports teams are there to learn and to enjoy. If they win -- that's great. If they lose -- well -- that means that the other team won -- and that is great for them! If you can't bear to cheer for a losing team -- then cheer for the winners.

Just don't razz... taunt... insult... bully... the players who did not -- today -- win this otherwise enjoyable game.

..o0o..

Independent Thinking
Independent analysis of your problems by Agamedes Consulting. Support for your thought: email nick leth at gmail dot com