Sportsmanship, feelings and honor...

[Len]

Didn't want to hijack the bullying thread, but reading about the 91-0 football game reminded me about a high school baseball game, years ago.

We were an average team. In our league was a team that had a pitcher who eventually went professional, after a stellar college career.

He was beating us like a rented mule, the score at the top of the ninth was 18-0 against us. [No mercy rule then...]

I had the misfortune of being the top of the ninth batter, stepping up with two outs already.

The pitcher eased way up on his fastball, and you could tell he was trying to be merciful. But that just made me angry. I knew we were going to lose. I knew I was probably not getting a hit off this guy.

But the last thing I wanted was the humiliation of the guy easing up on me!

I stepped out, yelled at him to "pitch the dang ball, and stop fooling around."

He pitched, I struck out, and I had no problems with it. At least I hadn't been babied, and I struck out playing the game.

Len

 

[Smoke]

Yup I'd rather have my butt handed to me fair and square than win because the other guy let me

 

[ACP230]

Way it should be.

And I say that as one of the worst baseball players to ever be thrown out
at first.

 

[Leslie Sapp]

And I say that as one of the worst baseball players to ever be thrown out
at first.

Thrown out? You actually got a hit? No joke - My nickname in little league was "Charlie Brown" That should give you an idea of my baseball talent!

 

[rojodiablo]

I have been very blessed to do a couple of things in life; at a given time, I could actually say I was near the absolute top of the hill in 2 endeavors for a short time. I found that if I held back, people felt I was patronizing them, and they did not like being made a mockery of. In fact, they liked it LESS than a couple of times when I simply 'Ran away with it' and made my point brutally clear.
In several other endeavors, I have had the misfortune of being : Too slow, too short, not strong enough, not well funded enough to compete at the level I found myself. I have found myself in the strange position of beating a fleet of wrestlers in a tournament like a big rig thru a Prius parking lot, only to advance to the next part of the tournament which brought me to the mat with NCAA top tier wrestlers; I wound up in a match with a 2 time national champion from Kansas. Oh, that was FUN............ I had beaten 11 wrestlers in 2 days, and 9 of those were pins. And then this guy was SMALLER than me by a bit, but I think he had been hustling haybales from the time he was 2 years old. And I think he fornicated with unwilling BULLS in the off season, just for spite. I have never- EVER been so utterly outclassed in anything I have ever done.

He mercy pointed me (15) without using any riding time. I actually scored an escape of my own volition; the score was 18-1...... and he did it about 20 seconds into the second period.
He later congratulated me on giving him 'A helluva good fight for a younger guy'. I did not know who he was, until I saw him in the final. He won, easily with a pin in the second period. The other wrestler and him were rivals. The other wrestler was the ONLY guy to beat him in the last 5 years. In the tournament, he had 2 people score a total of 4 points against him. I was one of those points. The other wrestler had battled him maybe 10 times??

At first, I felt he was mocking me- saying I did well to score a point on him. Bah. Then, after finding out just how good he was, I was quietly happy to have at least given it my best shot.

So long as the team is not being outwardly disrespectful and making a mockery of their opponents?? Play the game as it was meant to be played. Play to WIN. For far too many people, there is a 'buffering' which is meant to soften the blow.
The problem is, when real life starts??? Life is not out there pulling punches to make you feel better. Losing a good job to a person with better work ethics or skills is VERY painful. Learning that doing a c- kind of job holds you back, and is NOT really adequate is a painful and never ending lesson to learn. And much, much harder to take when the stakes are high; when your kids are young and you NEED that job.

Lord help those who are homosexuated/ emasculated by society who go into the armed forces; they are bound to find that when your adversary is meaning to eliminate you from the face of the planet..... there is no such thing as losing, or second place. There is the Victor, and the other person is going into the ground.

Before it's too late...... EVERYONE should be shown that a loss is not just a loss. It is the most truthful learning experience you can go thru. Painful? Well, somewhere from a little bit of a bummer, all the way to soul shattering. Yes, losing SUCKS. But without failure and loss, there is no extension of ones' ability to adapt and elevate their own abilities and performances.

The Wright brothers did not fly on their first attempt. And, they crashed many, many times even AFTER they had successfully flown; all in the name of expanding their abilities and their quest for their goal. Competition elevates the sport. Competition elevates the breed. Simple enough. (A bit painful, but simple.)
Good post Len.