Unsportsmanlike Cheers
Image by lbgll via Flickr
Incessant Hum of the Cheer
Softball is wrought with an incessant hum of the cheer . It is at times enlightening, at times motivational, at times informative, and at times funny. But, it should NEVER be unsportsmanlike.
Rules Violations
Some cheers are naturally unsportsmanlike. I don’t know if coaches don’t recognize this or don’t care. Either way, they are unacceptable. Rule 4.06(2) states that "no manager, coach or player, shall at any time, whether from the bench or the playing field or elsewhere, use language which will in any manner refer to or reflect upon opposing players, manager, coach, an umpire, or spectators."
This rule effectively eliminated the "chatter" we used to do as kids. Remember, "hey batter , batter, batter, batter, hey batter, batter, batter, batter, SWING!". This was a motivational thing the coaches used to keep their kids focused more than a tactic to distract the batter. But, our PC world will not tolerate such actions, so it has been banned.
Some Offenders
The cheers I hear coming out of some softball dugouts are in blatant violation of this rule. Some that come to mind?
"3 and 0 now, whatcha gonna do now, walk her, walk her"
"We’re #1, we’re never #2, we’re gonna beat the woopsies out of you, the woopsies out of you"
And the worst of all:
"We stole on you, yeah we stole on you, while you were picking your nose, yeah, we stole on you"
Those are the three I can think of off the top of my head, there are plenty more that are obviously in violation of this rule and definitely unsportsmanlike.
Essentially, any cheer that is derogatory to the other team is unsportsmanlike. Why would you want to taunt a team you were beating, or awaken a team that you have under control? Regardless of the situation, cheers should not berate the other team.
All for Positive Cheers
Now I am all for cheers! Love them! Love the team spirit, love the comraddery, love the way they bring the team together. But ALL cheers should be just that, positive cheers FOR your team, or player, and YOUR team or player only. I don’t care if Little League had that rule or not, this should be a common courtesy and respect between teams, I shouldn’t have to mention it here. But, I do.
Respect your opponent, treat them with dignity, and, win or lose, always conduct yourself with pride.
Do you know a disrespectful cheer? Let’s get a list going!
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Boo! Hiss! I cannot believe that “Swing, batter, batter!” and “No bat-TER!” have been banned from Little League. Seriously?
I’m all in favor of sportsmanlike behavior, but rules like this try too hard to legislate character–and it’s just not possible. Even with this rule, coaches and players with unsportsmanlike attitudes will find ways to behave in unsportsmanlike ways, and they will get away with it.
And without the rule, players who chatter at the batter (Hey! that rhymes!) aren’t being unsportsmanlike–they’re just engaged in the game, showing spirit. Do we really think that we were being unsportsmanlike when we chattered on the diamonds of our youth? We didn’t expect that the chatter would actually influence the batter, hurt her feelings, or actually cause her to swing.
Is there one person out there in the Land of The Little League Coach who got her (or his) feelings hurt by the un-PC chatter we used to fling around? You could tell the difference between unsportsmanlike behavior, and harmless chatter.
Sorry, coach. I know you have to stick up for the rules. But this is one Little League Mom that misses the chatter.
Seriously. This has been 15 years ago at least. When my oldest son, who is now 24, was playing it was not legal so it has been at least that long.
I do agree that banning this didn’t stop unsportsmanlike behavior. Lord knows I see enough of that on a daily basis!
Today’s world has more “unwritten” rules than real rules! It is hard to keep track of them all, that’s for sure!
Everyone is dying to know how your season has turned out? How about an update?
Wow, dude. Fifteen years. I had no idea. I feel old.
I feel like I have missed most of C. Peevie’s season this year, because I’m always driving one of the other (younger) kids somewhere. But we’re nowhere near done with our season, so I will try to put together a truly compelling post about getting dirt stains out of white baseball pants, or what it feels like to FINALLY be on a winning team. Or how great it is to have your favorite Italian ice shop as your team sponsor.
I know I speak for everyone here when I say I can’t wait!
Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog.
Cheers! Sandra. R.
Thank you!