Sunday, April 22, 2012

Win Mumby 2012: The real meaning of it??

47-42 Woodstock boys won ANOTHER Win Mumby tournament title!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BACK-TO-BACK baby!!!!!!!!!!:):):)  Girls made it to the semi-finals but Modern girls proved to be too much this year, but they gave it one heck of a fight!!!!!:)  The atmosphere was ELECTRIC once again!!! Almost every Woodstock game fans filled every seat in the gym, plus standing room only!!!  All in all both Woodstock teams played awesome and it was a very fun and exhausting 4 days!!!!!!!!

Those were the positives...........and what I'm about to write, please do not let it take away, at all, the effort and success of the teams that were playing.

But what is Win Mumby and all of these sporting tournaments purpose?? Is it only about the material outcome of winning it all and leaving with a trophy??

OR

Is it about the spirit of competition, bonding with teams from other schools, and having fun in still a competitive nature??

Either way you view tournaments, that is up to you!!  All I know is these past 4 days, there is one pending issue that upsets and disappoints me and some of the other students from Woodstock/other schools!!  That is the behavior of some of the fans from Woodstock, mostly from today's Championship games!!  Booing, swearing, making loud noises during free-throws, clapping for injuries, etc.!!  What are we, the host school, showing other schools who come to compete when we behave like this??  We show them that all we care about is winning at all costs, and if we have to be rude and unsportsmanlike we will so we can "win it all!!"

I was told today by one of the lead referee's that this is one of the most "prestigious" tournaments in all of India.  If this is true, then luckily they don't take in account for the behavior of our fans.  Now yes, for the most part, cheering was positive, energetic and fun!! But sadly what you take from most things are the negative, and even if a couple of negative incidents happen then that will stick in your mind the most.  And what is even more sad is those who do have pride in Woodstock and behaved themselves during the games, what should have been a proud day for Woodstock, with winning the tournament, now turned negative because of the rude and nasty behavior of some of the fans.

Now yes, in high school I booed as well (which I now know is wrong), but thinking back at those times I remember what that booing turned in to after most games and that was fist fights between rival students, vandalism on schools, arrests made by police, etc.  I never did any of that, but I know that definitely went on, and it's sad!! All of those came from the nasty comments and negativity that came from the game.  Which is why I ask the question again, what is the real purpose of sports and tournaments?

It should be for the healthy competition between 2 schools and enjoying socializing with friends and other students from different schools!!  I've noticed that a person's true character really comes out during a game!! Are they a respective fan, which more than likely they are respective to people everyday in life, or do they swear and boo, which probably they are disrespectful in life as well!!  One may think, oh it's just a basketball game, who cares if I act completely disrespectful, it doesn't mean anything??  Does it mean nothing? Showing disrespect to another human being means nothing?  People must think just because they're on a court, field, etc. that they are impervious to hateful comments and actions!  Wrong.  I guarantee a hurtful comment during a game, will hurt just as much as it would if that person wasn't playing a game!  We have to remember that these are regular students playing a game, which is supposed to be fun and competitive at the same time!! Somewhere along the line that was lost, with behavior similar to monkeys throwing poo!!  They don't care what comments are yelled, just as long as their team wins!!

These are not professional athletes who get paid millions, they are regular students in high school trying to have some fun with a sport they are passionate about!!  Who are we, as fans, to take away from that and RUIN their experience!!  All I can say is in the future I hope Woodstock, as a whole, shows a lot more respect and sportsmanship behavior!!  As teachers we need to be the positive role models these students can look up to for guidance!!

Congratulations again for both Woodstock teams on a fantastic effort and the Boys winning Win Mumby!!! I do hope next year, our fans will be under control and a lot more positive than negative!!!! Happy smiling and cheering!!!!!!!!!!:):):)

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