How far is too far in competition?

It is safe to say that I am a big sports fan – with the two most favorite sports being soccer and basketball. Rec soccer through travel soccer, Varsity soccer, college soccer, Pro and National team – male and female – have seen and followed them all. We have traveled to see games all around the northeast and as far Washington, DC. My kids have met and had photos taken with members of the Women of ’99 – the US Women’s Soccer team that won the World Cup and brought soccer to a new level. My kids have played on every soccer field in the Capital Region, they have played travel soccer since they were in 2nd and 1st grade. It wasn’t just that I wanted to be a supportive soccer mom, I just really love the game!

On any given night when a soccer game is on TV, it’s on in the house. My husband is even more of a soccer fan than I. Last week he came home to talk about the female player from New Mexico who went overboard in a soccer game. I point out overboard because in soccer, elbows fly, slide tackles happen, occasionally, you’ll see the ‘accidental’ body collision … it’s part of the game. Turned on the TV, and there it was being covered on CNN and on ESPN. For those who may not have seen it, this is the video clip of what is not acceptable on the soccer field. It was incredibly disturbing to me to watch. I go to a lot of RPI college hockey games and seen less disturbing acts of aggression (and the hockey game motto is, I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out). Because of her loss of control, she is now banned from playing for the college – which most likely means a loss of scholarship money as well.






A couple nights later, in Rhode Island, another act of stupidity happened in a high school game. It obviously wasn’t enough that the players had to fight on the field, but when the awards were given out at the end of the game, the parents and fans broke out into a fight.





This just brought back a memory of when my youngest daughter was 6 years old and it was tournament day for Rec Soccer. She has always approached sports with a give all attitude, and as her mom, I say she’s talented athletically. Anyway, it’s tournament day – 5 and 6 year olds are playing micro soccer (3 on 3 plus a goalie). Due to illness, there were only 5 players for her team that day. She scored 3 goals before the 1st half. The coach from the other team (a soccer mom) went ballistic. She started screaming at her players to, “Take her out! GET HER!” (picture screaming and getting red faced with the force of the scream) Wait a minute, WHAT?! You’re talking about my daughter! Apparently, her players listened to her, on a run down the field, one of the boys went after my daughter, started to pull her down from behind. In her own defense, Adriana grabbed the boy’s shirt from behind and beat him in the pull down. It was her first “yellow card” (and I think only to date, she’s now in high school).

Competition is part of the game – and everyone plays to win. I’m just so sad to see these acts of stupidity on the field. As skier A.J. Kitt said, “You have no control over what the other guy does. You only have control over what you do.”