Refreshing

Good Morning,

 

This weekend friends of ours from Charlotte, North Carolina, came to visit with us. I hung out with my friend ‘Kiwi’ who is originally from New Zealand while the girls kept the home-fires going. One of our treks was to see a vintage baseball game played between the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Cincinnati Buckeyes http://www.cincyvbb.com/.

 

They played baseball as it was played back in 1869. They did not use baseball gloves, pitched underhand, and followed the rules of the game which were very different back in the day.

 

What I found most refreshing was the attitude of the players.

 

First they introduced themselves to the fans watching the game, with each team captain first saying they hope to give a good game and thanking everyone for coming out, followed by each player introducing themselves.

 

Then they cheered each other on. All good plays were followed by applause from both teams. Even when a batter from the Buckeyes flew out with a long high fly ball to the outfield with a one handed catch (bare handed, and it was loud, so it must have hurt), both teams stood to cheer the catch (even though one team just had a player fly out).

 

When a player was tagged out after trying for another base, both players shook hands no matter if the runner was out or safe.

 

At the end of the game, both teams came and presented themselves to the fans once again and thanked them for attending. The losing team captain apologized for not giving a better game, gave kudos to the winners and then as a team cheered them. Then the winning team captain thanked the fans and the losing team for the game, and then they, all players included cheered the losing team.

 

After the game, some of the players stayed behind and hung out with the fans and some even played catch with the kids who came to see the game.

 

It may sound vanilla and lame to have such camaraderie, but I found it refreshing and enjoyable to watch a competition which was not about egos, was not about winning at any cost, but just plain athletic ability, teamwork and respect.

 

I’d like to think that all competitions could be held this way:  with respect, with camaraderie, and with spirit of fun.

 

It was a good game.

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.learnandgrowdaily.com

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/

 

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