Good Sport...Bad Sport

"Good game, good game, good game...", the words trailed off my tongue without thinking as I aimlessly slapped high fives with the opposing team. I performed this task at the end of every baseball, basketball, football and soccer game that I was a part of since I was in kindergarten. It was explained to me that, that's good sportsmanship. Giving your opponent thanks, or a compliment, after competition.

Coaches embedded this behavior into me. My parents commanded nothing less. And as a elementary school student athlete, my biggest concern was knowing if I didn't shake hands, that meant no after game snack of a juice box and little Debbie snack cake, so I would "good game" anybody that came into my line of sight.

But, as those years faded away, I grew older...still participating in sports and started to see the larger signs of bad sportsmanship. Things like trash talking, hot dogging, throwing equipment, etc. I'm not saying these things never happened before, but, quite honestly, I never paid attention previously.

With age, the games grew faster, more intense and still featured the routine post game handshake, but the attitudes were different across the board. Some guys whining about bad calls, complaining about playing time or just taunting their opponent for winning.

Recent events, like the latest Superbowl with Peyton Manning walking off the field without congratulating the Saints, or during the 2009 NBA Eastern Divisional championships, when Lebron James (no relation) was lambasted for exiting the court without performing the post game "good sportsmanship ritual" and the latest "poor example"...Team Canada’s women’s hockey team celebrating with cigars and alcohol on the ice after the game, have forced me to re-evaluate my idea of proper sportsmanship.

I had the opportunity to play football under two no nonsense head coaches on both the high school and college level. During my prep days Coach Robert Davis often told us to talk with our "Riddells" (helmets). It's a phrase I still use today. And at GSU, Coach Paul Johnson, preached a blue collar, bring your lunch pail to work mentality which gave me a greater respect for the game, for all the players involved and more importantly the sport.

So when I see a T.O. rant, a Manny staring out a home-run to show up the pitcher, or how the #99 car flips the #12 car because of juvenile road rage, I think back to the 2007 Little League World Series, where Team USA happened to be a bunch of kids from Warner Robins and they embraced Team Japan in one of the most emotionally televised examples of "good sportsmanship". It reminds of the old Russell rule that was enforced while on the banks of beautiful Eagle Creek during my college tenure at Georgia Southern..."Do Right!" Period. It just doesn’t take much to follow that order.

So as basketball season is winding down and baseball is coming into full swing, I encourage us all to re-evaluate the importance of "good sportsmanship". Eyes are watching. Let's just play ball!