2021-12 Madness Of March

This time of year marks one of my favorite yearly events where 64 of the best college basketball teams match up to participate in the “big dance” known as March Madness. The excitement when your team is selected to be included in the bracket is awesome. When your team loses in the first round… well, that’s a different story. There is so much  emotion involved with players and fans as their hard work culminates to the sound of the buzzer that eventually marks either the end of the road or that your ticket has been punched to the next round. Eventually 64 teams will be narrowed down to 32, then the sweet 16, the elite 8, to the final 4, and finally the championship game where only 1 team will be the final winner.

As these games are played out live on national television and media streams, one thing I always notice is if the players and teams are playing with good sportsmanship.  Eventually you will see an incident where opposing players will get up in each other's faces. I always admire those players and coaches that don’t engage in the jeering from the opposing players or fans.  They simply regroup and get set for the next play. Emotions run high sometimes during sporting events. How you react shows a great deal about your character.

There can be bad sportsmanship shown from both the winning and losing teams.  Rubbing the score in your opponents face when you're winning only hurts you and your team. If you knock someone down as you're both jumping for the ball, help them up as the referees are announcing who fouled who. If you lose, pick yourself up and don’t make excuses. Be the better person. As the Cub Scout motto says, “Do Your Best”.

 A few points of the Scout Law that help us remember to be a good sport could include; Trustworthy, Helpful, Courteous, and Kind. As you personally play sports, be it Basketball, Football, Track, Softball, Baseball, Wrestling, Gymnastics, Cheer, Volleyball, and so on. Do your best to be a good sportsman in any event or game you participate in.