Cleats by Bill Hinds for November 09, 2003
November 08, 2003
November 10, 2003
Transcript:
Deanna: Game! Kids: Yeeeaaa!! Katie: What was the score? Kid: Did we win? Deanna: We don't keep score, sweetie. At your age, we want you to just have fun while you're learning the game. That way, we're all winners. Man: 7 to 3. Gary: Yeah, we creamed 'em.
Sports is about competition. Period. Especially if they’re playing in a league. This kind of New Age nonsense does nothing to prepare a child for further experience in competitive sports, let alone life. If you’re just playing for fun, then don’t play competitive sports. Go to the park and just kick or throw the ball around. In any kind of sports, kids expect there will be a winner and loser, as illustrated in panel four. Winning is fun, no doubt. (See panel 6.) Losing isn’t fun, for sure; but part of a successful life is learning how to deal with adversary. Where there’s no adversity, there is no growth.
If you want to take away incentive to play your best in any sport, let alone competitive team sports, take away the potential rewards. Sports, let alone life, isn’t about participatory ribbons. Take away rewards and you take away the American (or any) dream. Take away the dream and you have nothing left but automatons, robots, “useless eaters” for the elitists.