What got me so angry? What could be so bad at a soccer game? What pushes my button that way? Cheating; that's what. There were too many instances of the other team cheating.
- One kid tried to slap the ball out of our goalie's hands while the goalie was taking the ball up to the top of the box (had he been caught at this, the rules say that he's thrown out of the game);
- One kid continued to kick the ball while he was on the ground;
- Many instances of pushing, tripping, and elbows (some of which is expected and accidental...when it's done on purpose and surreptitiously, it's cheating);
- We had a penalty kick and one of the kids on the other team charged our kicker during approach...he did this in order to draw a penalty and stop game play so that his team would have a chance to get into position (not necessarily cheating, perse, just poor sportsmanship, in my opinion);
I hate cheating. Personally, I'd rather lose a game honorably than win by cheating. I particularly hate that a coach will not only allow their kids to cheat, but will actually *teach* their kids to cheat. I assume that this level of coaching is going on because multiple kids don't get to the point of cheating on this scale without that play behavior being encouraged. They also don't learn by themselves (by this age) to be able to do it in such a manner as to ensure that they routinely don't get caught.
I think that parents and coaches who teach this way should be ashamed of themselves. Is winning really that important to them? Why? How can you enjoy a victory that you know you cheated to get? How can you esteem yourself if you know that you didn't actually earn your victory?
And the kicker (pun intended, I suppose) is that their team was really very good. I was nervous enough when I saw how well they played together...excellent footwork and passing. Why cheat when you've got talent and skills?
I just don't get it.
Friggin' people suck.
On the up side, we won by a LOT.
Any time adults organize sport for kids things get out of hand. Just give them the dang ball and send them outside to play. They'll figure it out on their own. The minute you tack the word organized on to something it ceases to be fun and ceases to be sport and becomes something we would be better off without.
ReplyDeleteSoccer is my game... I grew up playing it (have trophies, played for my town, etc) and living in England for a long time, I was really into the league games and players. But it's lost something for me. Cheating and all show-y... our culture is growing nasty in many ways, and our sports seem to reflect that. It's too bad.
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about sports, but I am extremely competitive. There is absolutely no way I could cheat in order to secure a win, and feel good about it.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious what your thoughts are on icing the kicker in the NFL?
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