Interview question: What's the best side of sport and what's the worst?
Answer: I believe the purest form of sport is found in childrens' play when no adults are nearby. The ugly side of sports occurs when fans and parents identify with a team.
I recall several years ago, I was attending a granddaughter's high school Cheerleading State Finals. Considering the competition began with nearly eight hundred teams, I would believe the remaining twenty-five finalists were happy to reach that plateau. Of course, my novice eyes thought my granddaughter's team completed a flawless routine. The scoring of cheer competition is subjective much like gymnastics, dance and ice skating. Well, word circulated that 'our team' did not make it to the trophy round due to a 'head-dip' by one of three girls involved in basket catches from mounts. Too bad but hey, as the say, 's*#t happens.' I've seen fumbles on the one-yard line, missed free throws and bases loaded strike outs.
But HOLD THE PHONE ! A group of parents were gathering in the galleria with cell phone videos of the routine performance. These parents were determined to identify the squad member who was at fault...they must know which youngster cost the squad advancement to the final trophy round. It appeared these parents needed to exonerate their kid for the the purpose of affixing blame.
As I walked from the event venue, I thought maybe school districts should consider accommodating needs of the sports' fans. Perhaps after activities, we could have all players and coaches return to the center of the arena for post-game public humiliation. Fans could scream admonishments at various participants therefore getting full measure for their $4.00 admission fee.
History books remind us that Rome did something similar and folks really got into it.
No comments:
Post a Comment