I have seen, and have been guilty of, yelling at the T.V. many, many times for the players to just

run through, or to just score, and saying to pass the ball already. This happens everywhere with

every season of every sport, even the Olympics. Whether someone is sitting on the couch, or on

the sidelines, it seems viewers are either too judgmental or far too excited for the players

playing the actual game. It’s entertaining to watch friends and family members jump out of their

seats in excitement after a player made a point, or gasp (and sometimes cry) when one misses

an opportunity of scoring a point. You can watch a slightly crazed sports fan the entire game

and know what’s happening.

Some people feel bad for the actual players who are receiving harsh judgement because they

missed the ball-or puck- and now have people booing at them. Some fans go far enough to say

that they could do it, play the sport that the athletes have been training most of their lives. They

have spent countless hours perfecting their reflects only to have people say they could easily do

what they do, but better.

Now when a team does win a game, everyone is cheering and hugging and saying “We Won!

We did it!”. Not  quite, the team who were actually playing the sport won. I have seen this many

times at Bingham. A sport that plays to represent Bingham will win and a proud parent and

students say the word “we” quite a lot. We supported and cheered on the players and gave

them that extra push, but technically they did all the work.

Now there is nothing wrong with being excited and happy about a sport and cheering them on,

it’s encouraged even. It gets the team pumped, it gives them a little hope and makes them that

much braver. But it becomes harsh when the viewers are comparing the players, who have

worked hard most of their life to be where they are now. So if you catch yourself doing so, turn

the situation around and shout encouraging thoughts towards the team. Everyone makes

mistakes. Be a good sport and others will follow. Also be encouraging to our awesome athletes

here at Bingham.