Sportmanship Lives

Jump to Comments

Although I have no written a blog on sports yet, I am a huge sports fan. Particularly of football and futbol. One thing however that consistently disappoints me about most professional sports is that the lack of courtesy and respect involved for those playing the games and/or the game themselves.

When sports reaches any type of professional level it seems like sportsmanship goes out the window. As a kid, at least when I was a kid, the point of the game was fun and winning was a bonus. You would shake hands with your open before the game, let everyone have a chance to play on the field whether they were any good or not. The parents brought snacks for the kids and having fun was the main object. Now understandably when billions of dollars are invested the purity of the game gets tainted. Winning becomes paramount. I have no problems there.

Where I have problems is when you look at individuals that sacrifice the integrity of the game itself for personal gain. I’m looking at you Barry Bonds - we all know you know you took steroids and are too selfish to admit your mistake. I’m looking at you Bill Belichick - you are a cheater and although you had several games in hand, you chose to run up the score on your opponents. I’m looking at you Latrell Spreewell - your spoiled ass chokes coaches and bitches that you can’t “feed your family” on $11 million a year. There are so many others who repeatedly piss on the game that supports their fame and fortune. Too many to list here.

Part of the reason I love futbol/soccer is that some semblance of sportmanship is still incorporated in the professional game. Opponents pick each other up off the field when they fall, if a player is down and injured, either team will put the ball out of play to ensure medical attention is given, and in general there is respect for your opponent on the field that is not seen in many sports. But I want to point attention to a story I heard on ESPN the other day which showed me that there is some hope for sportsmanship. Granted this is college and a women’s game but hey, any sign of hope is good. Below are excerpts. The full story is here.

Western Oregon senior Sara Tucholsky had never hit a home run in her career. Central Washington senior Mallory Holtman was already her school’s career leader in them. But when a twist of fate and a torn knee ligament brought them face to face with each other and face to face with the end of their playing days, they combined on a home run trot that celebrated the collective human spirit far more than individual athletic achievement.

Both schools compete as Division II softball programs in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Neither has ever reached the NCAA tournament at the Division II level. It was a typical Saturday of softball in April, right down to a few overzealous fans heckling an easy target, the diminutive Tucholsky, when she came to the plate in the top of the second inning of the second game with two runners on base and the game still scoreless after Western Oregon’s 8-1 win in the first game of the afternoon.

“Sara is small — she’s like 5-2, really tiny,” Western Oregon coach Pam Knox said. “So you would never think that she would hit a home run. The score was 0-0, and Sara hit a shot over center field. And I’m coaching third and I’m high-fiving the other two runners that came by — then all of a sudden, I look up, and I’m like, ‘Where’s Sara?’ And I look over, and she’s in a heap beyond first base. “While she was doubling back to tag first base, Tucholsky’s right knee gave out. The two runners who had been on base already had crossed home plate, leaving her the only offensive player on the field of play, even as she lay crumpled in the dirt a few feet from first base and a long way from home plate.

Umpires confirmed that the only option available under the rules was to replace Tucholsky at first base with a pinch runner and have the hit recorded as a two-run single instead of a three-run home run. Any assistance from coaches or trainers while she was an active runner would result in an out. “And right then,” Knox said, “I heard, ‘Excuse me, would it be OK if we carried her around and she touched each bag?’” The voice belonged to Holtman, a four-year starter who owns just about every major offensive record there is to claim in Central Washington’s record book.

Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace lifted Tucholsky off the ground and supported her weight between them as they began a slow trip around the bases, stopping at each one so Tucholsky’s left foot could secure her passage onward. Accompanied by a standing ovation from the fans, they finally reached home plate and passed the home run hitter into the arms of her own teammates. Then Holtman and Wallace returned to their positions and tried to win the game.

“It kept everything in perspective and the fact that we’re never bigger than the game,” Knox said of the experience. “It was such a lesson that we learned — that it’s not all about winning. And we forget that, because as coaches, we’re always trying to get to the top. We forget that. But I will never, ever forget this moment. It’s changed me, and I’m sure it’s changed my players.” For her part, Holtman seems not altogether sure what all the fuss is about. She seems to genuinely believe that any player in her position on any field on any day would have done the same thing. Which helps explains why it did happen on that day and on that field.

Now I don’t know if Holtman is just being modest or really believes that what she did was not a big deal, but the fact of the matter is that this is not something anyone is used to see at any major level, college or professional, of sports. Can you honestly see Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens lifting up some just called up minor leaguer who just tore their ACL after hitting what would be their only home run in their career and carrying them around the bases? Barry would probably point and laugh and Clemens would likely throw a bat at him.

The games that these professionals play are their golden goose. They played it for free when they were kids. I am sure at that time, they respected the rules, they respected the game and those that played it. Unfortunately too many athletes are so short-sighted that they look out for their own personal gain and damn the rest. I know that I’ve stopped watching pro basketball because of the overblown egos and lack of team play and I know a lot of people that have stopped watching too. Spoiled brat athletes that do not appreciate that they are multi-millionaires for playing a game and have forgotten where they came from. Its good to hear about players like Holtman once in a while and since I know that many star athletes read my blog I’m sure it will make a huge difference in the character of players you will see at your next neighborhood game. Don’t worry you can thank me later.

1 Comment

Filed under Uncategorized

Tags: spoiled, sportsmanship, central washington, western oregon, holtman, sports, athletes