Behaving Like Champions

Behaving Like Champions

By Dylan Bailey

Sentry Staff Reporter

 

Sporting events are exciting and a great way to spend an afternoon with your family or friends. Going all out and rooting for your team is exactly what sports fans should be doing. This being said, how far is too far in supporting your team?

There is no doubt that some fans tend to get a little more involved in sports than others. Some fans will paint their faces and bodies which is a great way to show support for your team. Other fans can be insulting, destructive and rude when their team loses. It is those people who bring shame to sports and make it seem like an uncivilized affair.

A lot of this unsportsmanlike behavior comes from the athletes themselves. For example, recently in a soccer match Luis Suarez of Liverpool bit an opposing defender’s arm in the middle of the match. He has repeatedly violated the rules many times yet he is still one of the team’s best players. It is this type of incident that sparks a lot of controversy in the sports world. It is people like Suarez that make sports seem like talent comes before sportsmanship, but in fact it should be the other way around.

“Bad sportsmanship tends to ruin the sport that is being played because sports are traditionally supposed to be played with fairness and passion. When someone plays with anger or frustration, it just brings the focus to them and not the actual game,“ said sophomore Aaron Lee.

It is true that strong rivalries enhance the enjoyment of sporting events but these rivalries should happen on the field, not in everyday life. Constantly, there are stories of people getting into fights over whose team is better. Let the players and coaches decide who is better, not the oversensitive fans.

Sometimes fans will mimic the poor behavior of their role models in their favorite sports. When someone sees their idol trash talking or fighting, then they might think it is alright for them to do the same, when it is definitely not. Yorktown needs to keep this in mind at sports games and not be too mean spirited like some fans at professional sports.

“When people take things too far is when sports becomes less appealing. You always hate to hear about people getting hurt over some silly game,” said Lee.DSC_0055

Much of the rivalries have moved from the field to social media, primarily twitter. All of the time now, athletes will take shots at each other or throw insults using twitter. Even in Arlington, after a Yorktown vs Washington-Lee game, there are many tweets written from both sides directed at each other. Usually these types of tweets are just funny and playful, but occasionally they can be offensive comments.

“Often times I see professional athletes get into fights on twitter. On one hand it can be very entertaining to read what they have to say. On the other hand, I feel like social media could take away from the actual sports, which should be about competition, not name-calling,” said Lee.

There is also the idea that fights on social media can actually make a sport more interesting. Sometimes rivalries can bring more energy which can make the actual game a very competitive atmosphere. Sophomore Anaca Reed can agree with this, saying:

“Social media definitely intensifies sports rivalries, because with it, you have access to a ton of new perspectives. It is easier to engage in friendly trash talking which can fuel rivalries and enhance the experience.”

Having good sports etiquette is a must when it comes to sporting events at Yorktown. Yorktown sports fans tend to have tons of enthusiasm and for the most part they take the proper steps to display it correctly. It may be tempting to yell hurtful things at Washington- Lee, but keep in mind that there are families and children there too.

Yorktown should be a model for what well-mannered fans are like.  We should show our opponents how much we support our team while still showing how civilized we are.

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