"Sports aka Life" - Time Out #23

As sports go, so does life. Put another way, as life goes, so do sports. Really??? Yes, yes, yes and yes. Our modern world and our social systems are under constant attack. Outside pressure factors never seem to let up, forever pressing, squeezing and calling out for change. Let's merely pause to examine one small aspect of our society. Sportsmanship, dear people, sportsmanship; or more correctly termed, MAJOR lapses in sportsmanship. To the untrained eye, it would appear this aberration in sportsmanship, with many headline-catching examples the last several months, is a recent occurence. No, it has been a festering issue that has been gradually losing ground for years, no different than many other examples of changes in our society. When I began my now almost half century of athletic officiating in 1967, there were certainly minor lapses in sportsmanship, whether it be the football field, basketball court or baseball diamond where I roamed. For the most part, the respect for authority far over rode any major complaints. As the years slowly moved forward, the player's athletic skills, strength and endurance steadily improved, the media continued to expand their in-depth coverage of athletic events, and American families chose more and more to become helicopter parents and grandparents to their beloved children. Hovering over their aspiring athletic offspring, these parents/grandparents many times take the paths of being their "friends", rather than providing much needed guidance and teaching respect for authority and personal responsibility. Another huge society factor figuring into the spectacle of decreased sportsmanship has been the various media sources in their sometimes bold, other times subliminal ways of shaping their audiences' opinions. It is a rare live broadcast game, one or more of the "knowledgeable" announcers, don't openly criticize the officials over a call or non-call, and, thus, incite their audiences into believing an major error has been made. This usually takes the form of an official's judgement, but also, rarely, a rule interpretation/enforcement. The reality is, most of the time, the announcers are totally wrong, but, again, the audience believes them because if they are broadcasting the event, and, therefore, they MUST be "knowledgeable"! This fact is easy; it is not a foul/penalty UNLESS the on-site game official says it is; everything else is pure announcer speculation, and a form of "shock-and-awe" chatter by them to attract attention to themselves. Of course, along with this attention comes a boost to their egos. The same exact things may be said of print media writers who also occasionally make incorrect rule statements or misinterpretations about intent in their covering athletic events. Instead of "editorializing", a much better choice would be simply writing about the game. But, then, it wouldn't be sensationalism with lots of shock-and-awe or that ego factor previously mentioned, would it?? A valid concern about today's lower level sports contests are the officials don't seem to be as competent as we expect them to be. Point well taken, but a very easy explanation. The numbers simply are not there. That is to say, the demand is there, but the supply is not, Who wants to do those jobs anyway? And, less we never forget, without officials, the sporting events would be pure, utter chaos, at best. Officiating entails work with many unreasonable youth coaches, ill-mannered players, out-of-control parents/fans, potential society crazies, the public's ignorance of the rules and personal responsibility, and a host of other negative factors, not the least of which is little money for their work. Easier to understand the difficulty in attracting and retaining good lower level officials now?? So, too often lately, we have been shown situations where two Texas high school football players deliberately contacted an official from behind during a game, a working soccer official was killed in Utah last year, and most recently, a junior high basketball coach body-butted/head-butted an official, knocking him over, while in another game, a major college basketball player deliberately tripped an official during a fast-break play when the official was running, causing the official to take a hard fall on the court. Let's get excited, cheer loud and thoroughly enjoy our favorite sports. Enjoy does not mean misbehave. Hopefully, our positive behavior will benefit society for many generations to come.