Sportmanship

I have a confession to make.

I hate to lose.

Growing up, I hid Monopoly money in my lap to fool my opponent. In the weekly "spelling bees" my parents held in our living room to help me with spelling and vocabulary, I wrote difficult words (seriously, daughter is hard at 5!) on my Charlie Brown dictionary, just in case.

My family started off by letting me win everything, but after seeing my competitive side and tendency to be a sore winner, they had to let me to lose to teach me sportsmanship. That lesson stunk, but in hindsight, was absolutely necessary.

I believe sportsmanship is a vital lesson in our lives. As everyone does, I've had disappointments in life: I didn't make the cheerleading squad in 5th grade or the basketball team in 7th. I've lost spelling bees and gotten beaten out of scholarships. I've also had victories: out of 100+ candidates, I was chosen to participate in the Orange Bowl halftime show AND was the youngest drum major ever chosen. I made flag corps even though I was the least experienced and I've gotten great jobs ahead of many other candidates. Because of the lesson I learned at an early age, I was able to congratulate my friends on making the team and not to boast to those whom I beat out.

That lesson also translated to my marriage. You see, not only are Clay and I extremely competitive, but because God has a sense of humor, we are a house divided. We're both passionate about our teams and there's no chance of conversion, so we rely heavily on being good sports. Sure, we tease each other on occasion, but know where to draw the line. Iron Bowl week is a fun time in our house, full of lighthearted trash talk and bets. We've been through 4 Iron Bowls together and neither of us have ever bragged about a win (though I've had more opportunities- ha) and can rationally discuss the good and bad about both teams.

With Alabama holding the crystal for 2009 & 2011 and Auburn winning the title in 2010, our state has been the college football capital for the last three years. While this should be a great thing for our state, it's also fueled the rivalry even more.

When Alabama broke Auburn's 6-year Iron Bowl win streak with a final score of 36-0, the combination of bragging Alabama fans and heartbroken Auburn fans turned ugly. An Alabama fan lost his life for walking through an Auburn fan's yard while wearing crimson.

In early 2011, Harvey Updyke poisoned the trees at Toomer's Corner in retaliation to Auburn fans taping a Cam Newton jersey to Bear Bryant's statue outside Bryant-Denny Stadium and for poisoning a patch of the grass on the UA quad in the shape of 28-27 (2010's Iron Bowl score). These trees have been a cornerstone of the school, football team and community for decades, so he really hit Auburn where it hurt. Auburn officials are currently trying to determine if the trees and surrounding fauna can be salvaged and are even considering planting fake trees to prevent future vandalism.

With a baby on the way, I think about the hard lessons I had to learn when I was little and how to pass them on to my children. I see the importance of learning sportsmanship and how to lose with grace even more clearly now. It may seem silly to you that this post took a football turn, but our children will be raised in the thick of it and therefore, must learn to embrace it. They will undoubtedly spend one weekend on the Plains and the next in Bryant Denny.

Of course, the sportsmanship lesson extends far past the Alabama/Auburn football rivalry and into their lives. I don't ever want my child to pout over a loss or get in a fight for running his/her mouth about a win. Instead, I want to teach my child grace, both with a win and a loss. My prayer is that God will continue to reveal His thoughts on a good sport and teach us to pass His wisdom on.

Proverbs 27:2 Let someone praise you, and not your own mouth; an outsider, and not your own lips.

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, consider others better than yourselves.

"I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, lost almost 300 games, missed the game-winning shot 26 times. I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan

"Once you learn to quit, it becomes a habit." - Vince Lombardi