#1- Softball Sportsmanship
First of all, oops about the length of time between posts. It wasn’t intentional, I just let other things get in the way.
In my opinion, the greatest sports moment of all time involved three college women. Of my Top 4, this also happens to be the most recent as it only happened last year. By now, hopefully everyone had heard the story and/or seen the clip, if not here is the youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVlKtI7yd_s
On Saturday April 26, 2008, Western Oregon University senior Sara Tucholsky came up to bat in the 2nd inning of an elimination game in the Conference playoffs versus Central Washington University. With two runners on, and an 0-1 count Sara connected with the next pitch and sent it over the fence for her first career home run. In her excitement at having hit her first-ever home run she missed first base. When she turned back to tag it before continuing on to second, she collapsed to the ground in agony. Her ACL in her right knee had torn completely through. Sara managed to crawl back to first and upon arriving she laid on the ground, hugged the base and cried.
Her coach, Pam Knox rushed onto the field and began discussing options with the umpires. The umpires made it clear that if any of Sara’s coaches or teammates helped her, she would be ruled out. Coach Knox was given the choice to substitute for Sara but that doing so would erase her 3-run home run and replace it with a 2-run single. That is when Moment #1 occurred.
Mallory Holtman, argued by some as the greatest softball player in Central Washington history, as well as school home run record-holder stepped in and said, “What if some of the Central Washington players carry her around the bases?” The umpires, obviously taken aback at such a suggestion, stated that no rule precluded the opposing team from doing so. Mallory grabbed her teammate, Liz Wallace and they walked over to Sara, picked her up off the ground and carried her around the bases. They stopped at each base and helped Sara touch the bag with her uninjured leg. When they reached home plate, Mallory and Liz set Sara down and let her teammates take over while they quietly excused themselves and returned to their own teammates.
Witnesses state that everyone on the field and in the stands was in tears. When asked why she carried her opponent around the bases Mallory replied, “She hit it over the fence and was in pain and she deserved a home run.” Mallory didn’t know that Sara had never before hit a home run in her career. She also didn’t know that she and Liz’s act of sportsmanship would eliminate their team from the conference playoffs and a chance at the NCAA tournament as Sara’s home run proved a deciding factor in Western Oregon’s 4-2 victory.
That ended up being the final game of both Sara Tucholsky’s and Mallory Holtman’s playing careers.
Incredible doesn’t even begin to describe this act of sportsmanship. In an age where player misbehavior both on and off the field is reported non-stop (see previous posts on my blog regarding the NFL), it was very inspiring and refreshing to see such a simple act that carried so much power and meaning. Mallory and her teammates may not have won the game that day, but they won something much more. They taught us all that doing what is good and right even when it doesn’t benefit you, is what is most important. I hope that we all can take that to heart so that when we are presented with our own moral dilemmas we can make the right choice.
Several months later, Mallory, Liz, and Sara were honored by teary-eyed amateur and professional athletes, sportscasters, sportswriters, and notable celebrities, as they were presented with the ESPY Award for Best Sports Moment and received a 30-second standing ovation.
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
Showing posts with label College. Show all posts
09 February 2009
15 December 2008
#3- The Miracle on Ice
#3- The Miracle on Ice
Even though this event happened before I was even born, I can still recognize its massive significance and emotional power, especially when I get to see the replays. More than likely, many of you have seen the Disney movie “Miracle” so you know what I am talking about. Here’s a little background. In 1980, Olympic Hockey did not allow for the use of professional athletes, meaning that players had to be amateurs. The United States fielded a team entirely made up of college kids with most of them coming from the University of Minnesota (Brooks refused to even let a Michigan Wolverine be on the team). The players took a long time to learn how to get along seeing as how they were from rival schools. The USSR team, by contrast, was made up of “amateurs” who were really professionals hiding under a guise created by their country to allow them to play and dominate. Leading up to the Olympics, the Soviets repeatedly won exhibition games against NHL teams and blanked the NHL All-Stars 6-0, while the Americans struggled to beat Norway and other sub-par teams.
Team USA finally melded together using their hatred for their coach (Herb Brooks) as their motivation. Coach Brooks repeatedly admitted intentionally trying to make himself their enemy in order to get the team to bond. No one really expected them to do much in the Olympics considering they were only seeded 7th out of 12 teams. They turned heads by tying favored Sweden in their first game, and then blowing out Czechoslovakia in their second game. They went on to finish 4-0-1 in the tourney and advanced to the medal round.
That was where they met the Soviets. As improbable as it was, Team USA kept with the Soviets the entire game and took the lead 4-3 on Captain Mike Eruzione’s goal with 10 minutes to go. They held on to win the game and that is where the historical significance comes in. The 1970’s had been rough on the US, and patriotism was hurting especially with the perception that the US was losing both the Cold War and Olympic Sports to the Soviets. Team USA’s win rekindled patriotism all over the USA and some have even credited the game with turning the tide in the Cold War. Al Michaels’ call of the game, “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” was immortalized and earned him Sportscaster of the Year. Team USA won numerous awards from Sports Illustrated including “Sportsmen of the Year” and “Athlete of the Year.” As part of its 25th Anniversary, ESPN named the game as the top sports moment, headline, and game between 1979 and 2004. Lastly, the wildly popular U-S-A! U-S-A! Chant now shouted at just about every international competition in every sport featuring a US athlete or team, was popularized at that game.
How could anything possibly top this moment? You’ll have to check back next week for #2 of the Top 4 Greatest Sports Moments Ever.
Even though this event happened before I was even born, I can still recognize its massive significance and emotional power, especially when I get to see the replays. More than likely, many of you have seen the Disney movie “Miracle” so you know what I am talking about. Here’s a little background. In 1980, Olympic Hockey did not allow for the use of professional athletes, meaning that players had to be amateurs. The United States fielded a team entirely made up of college kids with most of them coming from the University of Minnesota (Brooks refused to even let a Michigan Wolverine be on the team). The players took a long time to learn how to get along seeing as how they were from rival schools. The USSR team, by contrast, was made up of “amateurs” who were really professionals hiding under a guise created by their country to allow them to play and dominate. Leading up to the Olympics, the Soviets repeatedly won exhibition games against NHL teams and blanked the NHL All-Stars 6-0, while the Americans struggled to beat Norway and other sub-par teams.
Team USA finally melded together using their hatred for their coach (Herb Brooks) as their motivation. Coach Brooks repeatedly admitted intentionally trying to make himself their enemy in order to get the team to bond. No one really expected them to do much in the Olympics considering they were only seeded 7th out of 12 teams. They turned heads by tying favored Sweden in their first game, and then blowing out Czechoslovakia in their second game. They went on to finish 4-0-1 in the tourney and advanced to the medal round.
That was where they met the Soviets. As improbable as it was, Team USA kept with the Soviets the entire game and took the lead 4-3 on Captain Mike Eruzione’s goal with 10 minutes to go. They held on to win the game and that is where the historical significance comes in. The 1970’s had been rough on the US, and patriotism was hurting especially with the perception that the US was losing both the Cold War and Olympic Sports to the Soviets. Team USA’s win rekindled patriotism all over the USA and some have even credited the game with turning the tide in the Cold War. Al Michaels’ call of the game, “Do you believe in Miracles? Yes!” was immortalized and earned him Sportscaster of the Year. Team USA won numerous awards from Sports Illustrated including “Sportsmen of the Year” and “Athlete of the Year.” As part of its 25th Anniversary, ESPN named the game as the top sports moment, headline, and game between 1979 and 2004. Lastly, the wildly popular U-S-A! U-S-A! Chant now shouted at just about every international competition in every sport featuring a US athlete or team, was popularized at that game.
How could anything possibly top this moment? You’ll have to check back next week for #2 of the Top 4 Greatest Sports Moments Ever.
25 November 2008
Unsportsmanlike Conduct III: Hockey, A Beacon of Hope
Many of you are probably thinking something like, “How the heck can Hockey represent sportsmanship with all the fighting?” Here is what makes Hockey different from the rest.
While it is absolutely true that Hockey is one of the most physical sports (Sports Illustrated says it is the 2nd toughest sport [Boxing #1]), it is also the one where those who play can also see the big picture. In the other major sports where ones-self and ones-own are glorified in success, Hockey stands in stark contrast by showing respect to those who came up short. If you have ever been to a youth, high school, college, or playoff series deciding pro game, you have seen the handshake line.
After almost every game growing up, no matter where they are in the world, both teams line up and shake each other’s hands, win or lose, champion or not, to congratulate each other on their efforts. It is a tradition in-grained into the sport. Some of my proudest moments being a Hockey fan have been watching Stanley Cup Champion after Stanley Cup Champion follow this model. Buzzer sounds, throw gloves, sticks, and/or helmets into the air, mob the goalie, hug teammates (sometimes cry), put on champs cap, and then automatically like it has been built into their very being, line up as a team and shake hands/hug every player and coach on the team they just defeated. They don’t celebrate their victory during the handshake line; they celebrate the game, and the grit, passion, and determination it takes to play.
This type of sportsmanship is rarely if ever seen in the NBA, NFL, or MLB. When one of those sports crowns a champion, the winners are mobbed by reporters and other officials looking for that chest-thumping, self-boasting sound bite / video clip, and the losers are left to maybe congratulate a former teammate before disappearing into the mob and going to their locker room. When a big name player loses, he gets interviewed about why he and his team failed, and oftentimes he congratulates the other team but berates his own.
The question to ask here is which image do we want to send to kids? Do we want kids to realize that you can interrupt / put off celebrating long enough to show respect to your opponent, or do we want them to see that winning isn’t just everything, it really is the only thing.
Lastly, I want to cite some statistics about success beyond sport. What follows are the graduation rates among NCAA Div. 1 male student athletes as reported by the NCAA and its member institutions in their 7-year trend report of Sept. 2008. I also injected my own opinion by including their most likely career after sports in [brackets]. The statistics didn’t surprise me one bit, did they surprise you?
Ice Hockey- 84% [Manager/Entrepreneur]
Football (1-A)- 67% [Car Wash Attendant]
Football (1-AA)- 65% [Burger Flipper]
Baseball- 66% [High School Gym Teacher/Coach]
Basketball- 61% [Drug Dealer/Gangbanger]
Check back soon for my next article: Top 3 Greatest Sports Moments Ever
While it is absolutely true that Hockey is one of the most physical sports (Sports Illustrated says it is the 2nd toughest sport [Boxing #1]), it is also the one where those who play can also see the big picture. In the other major sports where ones-self and ones-own are glorified in success, Hockey stands in stark contrast by showing respect to those who came up short. If you have ever been to a youth, high school, college, or playoff series deciding pro game, you have seen the handshake line.
After almost every game growing up, no matter where they are in the world, both teams line up and shake each other’s hands, win or lose, champion or not, to congratulate each other on their efforts. It is a tradition in-grained into the sport. Some of my proudest moments being a Hockey fan have been watching Stanley Cup Champion after Stanley Cup Champion follow this model. Buzzer sounds, throw gloves, sticks, and/or helmets into the air, mob the goalie, hug teammates (sometimes cry), put on champs cap, and then automatically like it has been built into their very being, line up as a team and shake hands/hug every player and coach on the team they just defeated. They don’t celebrate their victory during the handshake line; they celebrate the game, and the grit, passion, and determination it takes to play.
This type of sportsmanship is rarely if ever seen in the NBA, NFL, or MLB. When one of those sports crowns a champion, the winners are mobbed by reporters and other officials looking for that chest-thumping, self-boasting sound bite / video clip, and the losers are left to maybe congratulate a former teammate before disappearing into the mob and going to their locker room. When a big name player loses, he gets interviewed about why he and his team failed, and oftentimes he congratulates the other team but berates his own.
The question to ask here is which image do we want to send to kids? Do we want kids to realize that you can interrupt / put off celebrating long enough to show respect to your opponent, or do we want them to see that winning isn’t just everything, it really is the only thing.
Lastly, I want to cite some statistics about success beyond sport. What follows are the graduation rates among NCAA Div. 1 male student athletes as reported by the NCAA and its member institutions in their 7-year trend report of Sept. 2008. I also injected my own opinion by including their most likely career after sports in [brackets]. The statistics didn’t surprise me one bit, did they surprise you?
Ice Hockey- 84% [Manager/Entrepreneur]
Football (1-A)- 67% [Car Wash Attendant]
Football (1-AA)- 65% [Burger Flipper]
Baseball- 66% [High School Gym Teacher/Coach]
Basketball- 61% [Drug Dealer/Gangbanger]
Check back soon for my next article: Top 3 Greatest Sports Moments Ever
11 November 2008
Unsportsmanlike Conduct II: College Game Day Edition
Every week the SEC, Florida St. or Miami (FL) provide numerous examples of the behavior mentioned in the previous post and now they go unpenalized. And nothing in my recent memory surpasses Michael Vick’s little brother Marcus’ actions in what proved to be the final game of his college career (Google: Marcus Vick stomps on opponents’ leg).
There are two major differences between the college game and the NFL. One is that school bragging rights are often on the line and because of this; the players are often encouraged by more than just their own egos, such as having thousands of their fellow classmates egging them on. The other major difference is that all NCAA student-athletes sign code of conduct agreements stating that they will exhibit good sportsmanship both on and off the field. I don’t think that chest-thumping and taunting the other team fall in line with that code of conduct.
The problem extends beyond the players too. School officials, government officials, and sponsors/boosters are also involved in these unsportsmanlike behaviors either actively or by inaction. Kudos, to Virginia Tech for kicking Vick off the team, but shouldn’t it have happened sooner? His Wikipedia page documents his frequent brushes with the law in significant detail. Vick spent his entire freshman year suspended for numerous criminal convictions. He was allowed to play his sophomore year, but had several more incidents occur both on and off the field (including the leg stomp). That still didn’t get him kicked off the team. It wasn’t until he was again convicted of various misdemeanors that VT finally had enough and gave him the boot.
In 24 career games at Virginia Tech, Vick threw for 2,868 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while also running 184 times for 492 yards and 6 touchdowns. My favorite one of his statistics occurred off the field where he was arrested 9 times!
Every time Michigan and Ohio State play each other in Columbus, we get to see unsportsmanlike conduct at its best, and not by the players. In 2006, when both teams entered the game 11-0 and ranked #1 and #2, the hotel Michigan was staying in conveniently had its water and power shut off. Then when the Wolverines arrived at the Horseshoe, Ohio State Troopers stopped the bus and illegally searched each player’s person and belongings “for drugs”. I don’t know whether those events affected the outcome of the game or not, but conveniently for OSU, the final score of the game: OSU: 41 UM: 38.
If I was a college administrator, I would ask myself what is more important, winning football games or teaching boys how to be men and contributing members of society. I would hope that everyone who knows me knows how I would answer. It is far more important to me that collegiate athletes become contributing members of society than champions or Heisman winners.
Enough is enough! College sports are supposed to be about giving a student a chance to also be an athlete, hence the ordering of the title student-athlete. As a society we must stand up for sportsmanship and demand that the NCAA and its member institutions enforce their codes of conduct, and punish athletes, school and government officials, and sponsors/boosters who violate them.
Stay tuned for the conclusion: Unsportsmanlike Conduct III: Hockey, a Beacon of Hope.
There are two major differences between the college game and the NFL. One is that school bragging rights are often on the line and because of this; the players are often encouraged by more than just their own egos, such as having thousands of their fellow classmates egging them on. The other major difference is that all NCAA student-athletes sign code of conduct agreements stating that they will exhibit good sportsmanship both on and off the field. I don’t think that chest-thumping and taunting the other team fall in line with that code of conduct.
The problem extends beyond the players too. School officials, government officials, and sponsors/boosters are also involved in these unsportsmanlike behaviors either actively or by inaction. Kudos, to Virginia Tech for kicking Vick off the team, but shouldn’t it have happened sooner? His Wikipedia page documents his frequent brushes with the law in significant detail. Vick spent his entire freshman year suspended for numerous criminal convictions. He was allowed to play his sophomore year, but had several more incidents occur both on and off the field (including the leg stomp). That still didn’t get him kicked off the team. It wasn’t until he was again convicted of various misdemeanors that VT finally had enough and gave him the boot.
In 24 career games at Virginia Tech, Vick threw for 2,868 yards, 19 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while also running 184 times for 492 yards and 6 touchdowns. My favorite one of his statistics occurred off the field where he was arrested 9 times!
Every time Michigan and Ohio State play each other in Columbus, we get to see unsportsmanlike conduct at its best, and not by the players. In 2006, when both teams entered the game 11-0 and ranked #1 and #2, the hotel Michigan was staying in conveniently had its water and power shut off. Then when the Wolverines arrived at the Horseshoe, Ohio State Troopers stopped the bus and illegally searched each player’s person and belongings “for drugs”. I don’t know whether those events affected the outcome of the game or not, but conveniently for OSU, the final score of the game: OSU: 41 UM: 38.
If I was a college administrator, I would ask myself what is more important, winning football games or teaching boys how to be men and contributing members of society. I would hope that everyone who knows me knows how I would answer. It is far more important to me that collegiate athletes become contributing members of society than champions or Heisman winners.
Enough is enough! College sports are supposed to be about giving a student a chance to also be an athlete, hence the ordering of the title student-athlete. As a society we must stand up for sportsmanship and demand that the NCAA and its member institutions enforce their codes of conduct, and punish athletes, school and government officials, and sponsors/boosters who violate them.
Stay tuned for the conclusion: Unsportsmanlike Conduct III: Hockey, a Beacon of Hope.
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