EPITOME OF SPORTS: SPORTSMANSHIP
The much awaited Cricket World Cup has finally started and I am sure everyone is excited to watch our country win the trophy.
We are insane, and are a fanatic, in terms of cricket, even if we could n’t afford to get into the stadium, we would bring the stadium feel inside our houses by gathering all of the friends in one house, painting our face with colours of Pakistani flag, wearing a duplicate Jersey, roaring sounds when Pakistan hits a six ,and cursing sounds when a player gets out and what not.
To say precisely, it seems like a festival. The sport, the pace of the game, the players, their way of playing everything contributes to it.
This craze for cricket will never drop because its in our blood and cricket has a great part in our history as it has passed through many cultures. The English, the Africans, Indians, Pakistanis everyone has their own contribution in the game.
We all our the die hard fans of cricket but the
most important thing to discuss here is not about the rules of the game or our favourite team or player but the vital part of any sport is how the players act or behave after a loss or a win in that particular game.
We all know that life is full of successes and failures but it’s up to us to decide how we perceive the outcome as well as our identity. When we play a game, we are bound to lose or win and at that very time we have to show our upbringing, our gentleness towards our opponents, in general the Sportsman spirit.
The true meaning of sportsmanship is the thing that you have control over (in life or in sport) is your own actions. You cannot control the skill of your opponent. You cannot control whether or not the officials enforce any given rule in any given situation. You CAN control whether or not you follow the rules and play to the best of your ability.
It is true that sometimes you played your absolute best and still lose. It is not your fault. But it is not your opponent’s fault that they are more skilled. It is also not the official’s fault that you were outplayed. Sport (and life) is not about fault. It is about response. You can respond to life by trying to blame others, or you can step up, work harder, and push yourself past your previous limit to try to outplay your next opponent. You can either undermine the goals of sport by complaining, or achieve those goals after all achieving goals is good.
Sportsman spirit is commonly the act of accepting one’s success with humility, it is when you try your best on the field, but if you do lose, you should control your emotions and not do anything that is not justified.Instead you should take this anger and use it as “fuel” for the next game. If you accept your defeat, that is like giving up. And when you give up you probably don’t have any intention of winning the next game.
Sportsmanship makes everyone feel better including your opponent, you and everyone around you. It boosts your mood even if you’re frustrated about losing, showing good sportsmanship is always a must.
These are a few tips that could help to develop sportsman spirit, and they include;
1. FOLLOWING THE RULES
Learn the rules for your sport and follow them to the best of your ability. And if you make a mistake, handle it gracefully and admit you messed up. Nobody’s perfect and most people appreciate honesty.
2.PLAYING FAIR
Fairness goes beyond following the rules of the sport. Treat others as you would like to be treated. So if you are in a grey area with the rules and you are not sure if they apply or not, think about how you would feel if you were on the other team before you act.
3. LOSING WITH DIGNITY
No matter how much we would like to, we can’t win at everything every time. So we need to learn to deal with it. After a hard fought game in which everything was left on the field of play in a losing effort, it can be very difficult to look your opponents in the eye and tell them “good game” or “good job”
when you lose, keep your head up. If you gave it your best shot, you should feel pride about your effort, not shame over disappointing results or execution. Remember perspective; it’s just a game.
4. SHOWING RESPECT
If I had to pick one concept which most closely mirrors to sportsmanship, it would be respect. It is paramount to good sportsmanship.
Be courteous to your opponents. Say hello and be friendly before the game and afterwards. Be friendly on the field. There is no need to trash talk. And here’s the difficult part – stay cool and be polite even if your opponents are not as well behaved as you. No matter what the outcome of the game, you can be proud at the end that you did not stoop to the level of unsportsmanlike opponents.
Don’t forget to be respectful to your teammates also. Be kind, encouraging, and patient with them. First of all, these are your friends. Second, many young athletes are late bloomers. Or they might develop into team leaders who help the team work together .
Everyone gets to make mistakes. That includes officials. Maybe sometimes they are wrong, so if you want to let them realise that do it politely and if the official indicates that the decision is final, don’t continue arguing.Be fair, humble , respectful and keep up the good work .
Remember, Victory is cheapened when you dismiss your opponent’s worthiness and
what goes around, comes around.
5. WINNING WITH HUMILITY AND HAVE FUN
Winning is fun. It is often seen as the reward for our hard work, and it fills us with pride. When we participate in a sport that keeps score it is our obligation to do our best to win.
Constantly remind yourself that sports are designed to be fun. Practice and skill building should be offset by times of goofing off, perhaps practising with crazy costumes.
Sportsmanship is a great building developer for players. Our young players of today, need to start showing more of it on the field.
Players should always remember to ;
1. Win with grace.
2. Lose with dignity.
3. Respect the rules of the game.
4. Understand that without an opponent there is no game, so help them when they may have fallen over .
5. When you shake hands with your opponent after the game, look them in the eye and be genuine.
6.Encourage everyone, cheer, clap or hi-five, and be respectful to everyone and last but not the least have fun and make some good memories out of it because this precious time will never come back again. Learn from your mistakes, never take success to your head, cherish every moment as the time will pass, you may win or lose but these golden days will never come back to you again so enjoy every moment of life as it’s the best for you to be offered.
