Are you a sports fan? If you’re reading this, odds are probably so. As sports fans we know that no matter the sport, there is always a celebration, either after a score, a great play or at the Victory! Sports celebrations come in many shapes and sizes, whether it’s the football star that made the touchdown and performed his signature celebratory dance move, or the soccer player who ripped her shirt off after scoring the winning goal; shouting, excitement, dancing, it’s all game in sports celebrations! Celebration is good, it’s part of the game, however there are always ‘those’ players who take the celebration a little too far: the excessive celebrators. How do we determine who is taking it too far, how can we cast judgment on what is proper celebration and what is excessive? It’s a fine line and most of the time a blurred one at that. Most times in professional sports, college sports and even high school excessive celebration doesn’t get deemed so bad, unless blatantly disrespectful and disruptive, but what about when we see it in our youth sports? Our middle schools and peewee sports leagues?

The bad sportsmanship that is displayed by players at the higher level trickles down and influences the behaviors of our youth! Being a college athlete and a professional athlete is an honor, a privilege something that you devote your life to and work so hard to accomplish, but with it comes great responsibility. These athletes are role models and how they perform and act has a great influence. It boils down to having respect for the game, respect for your teammates, your peers and yourself.

Though we see excessive celebration and compromised sportsmanship in all sports, Baseball is one sport that holds itself to traditional sportsmanship values. This could greatly be contributed to the fact that baseball is held to it’s unwritten rules. In baseball if a player were to hit a bomber off of a pitcher and flip his bat, then run down the line screaming and taunting the pitcher, his following teammate up to bat will probably get the grunt of the other teams frustration.

As athletes we are held to a hire standard. Not only because of our physical dedication and talent in a sport but because we are role models to those who are following us. It is so important to always remember first love the sport and then respect it and all who love it with you.

 

Here at Recruit Reels we respect the game and appreciate the student athletes that we work with who also have respect for the game. 

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