Sportsmanship in SOM Net-play Leagues

by Thomas Fischer
July 24, 2005

Sportsmanship is defined in the dictionary as 'fair play, fairness, honesty and honor'. A good number people do not stop to consider these things whenever they sit down to play a SOM game. Fair play could be determined by allowing the same opportunities to everyone in a league, but then if that were to occur everyone would have nine Barry Bonds in their lineup, everyone would have Pedro Martinez on the hill, and all defensive players would have a one range with a negative throwing arm.

Fairness could be regarded in the same manner but again there is that problem that there is only one Barry and only one Pedro. Honesty is a necessity required when playing a game, pure and simple, no one likes a cheater. Honor is defined as 'high respect and reputation' as in the high respect owners in SOM leagues should hold for one another and those who are closely associated create reputation.

The motivation for this essay is not to make anyone feel bad and it is for a certainty not one of those feel good papers that essayists continually write about rainbows and puppies. Most SOM owners play the game because there is a competitive fire that burns inside each person. A fire not quenched by playing little league baseball. A fire not put out playing Pony league or even a little college ball.

Owners join a league with the ultimate goal and dream of winning a title. That is what many little boys dream about, winning the World Series in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven by hitting a dramatic two out grand slam into the upper deck seats. The most important thing that they forget about along the road to a championship is to have fun. This is the impression that little league coaches try to instill at the first practice of every season. The same concept parents try to teach their children about, when playing a game of any sort. SOM is primarily a game and games are intended to be a recreational pastime.

Perhaps the notion of fun has escaped adults, since most games are played in youth, but it should be remembered that fun is an important part of sportsmanship and maybe the dictionary definition should be altered to reflect that. SOM owners ought to remember to have more fun when playing their games and they should be encouraged by their league officials to remember sportsmanship when playing their games. In net-play leagues owners face their opponents one on one and usually there are no witnesses to these sometimes-dramatic events that are played out in cyber space.

Sportsmanship is perhaps more necessary under these circumstances than any other because there are no tones or inflections in language when it is typed out on an instant message. Words are sometimes taken at face value and an intended message might mean something entirely different to another person. Sportsmanship should always be remembered and put foremost before winning or losing.

Another term that perhaps should be included in sportsmanship is the word gracious. It means being kind and indulgent toward others. This idea fits rather nicely into games because without graciousness one might be considered to have no honor or sense of fairplay. Being gracious does not necessarily mean that owners have to be nice to the point of absurdity but having some sense of tact or understanding for what an opponent may be facing in their long 162 game schedule without the likes of a top tier player would be a good place to begin.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and seldom does it rain on the Internet. One further concept that can be explored within the premise of sportsmanship when playing SOM is that any team can beat any other team on any given night. This is conceivably more true in baseball than any other sport because there are so many games in a season.

Even the record setting Seattle Mariners lost 46 games the season they won 116. It should be noted that an owner could never just take for granted they will win a game because the deck is stacked in their favor. Sportsmanship requires that every team play out their games and that a team cannot just throw their jock out on the field and expect to win.

Scottish poet John Dunne, once wrote, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." This should be something every SOM owner should consider when participating in a league.