Sportsmanship is often defined simply as “fairness in following the rules of a game”, but it is a complex word, and new meanings of the word have grown in the last fifty years.  It clearly incorporates the philosophy that rules are meant to be followed, not broken, but there are numerous other aspects of sportsmanship. 

Sportsmanship in and of itself is a noun, but there are real implications of action in the word, and the word now takes new meaning.  Sportsmanship can be patting someone on the back after a tough game, passing the ball more often, becoming more concerned with the success of the team than your own individual success, shaking hands with opponents, settling disputes fairly and with words not fists, and so on.  There are more examples of sportsmanship than could fit in an entire book.  Today, though, sportsmanship is most often referred to in a negative sense, such as “You lost the game, and broke your leg, but you’re handling it well, what a good sport you are”.   That usage becomes the example that most people become familiar with, but there are so many more.  The most important usage that often gets overlooked is found in the qualities of winners.  To be able to lose graciously is tough, but it can be just as hard, if not harder, to win graciously.  Practicing good sportsmanship means being able to win with honor and respect and means that you never gloat, taunt or talk trash to your opponents, especially after the game.

There are two very interesting and unusual examples of sportsmanship that come out of the winning and losing side of the field.  The examples come from a game in which one team is beating the other team by an embarrassingly large amount.  This is a situation many of us have been involved in, and it can be tough to maintain the principles of sportsmanship in a setting like this.  But what does the truly good sport on each team do?  Well, on the winning team, someone practicing good sportsmanship would continue to pass and play hard, but maybe focus a little more on the defensive aspect of the game instead of trying to run up the score and embarrass the other team further.  On the losing team, the player practicing good sportsmanship would never give up, and continue to give their full effort, treating the game as if it were much closer.

Sportsmanship is a word that is best defined by looking at a bunch of different definitions from different people.  Here are a few of them:

"Individual glory is insignificant when compared to achieving victory as a team." 

 - Dot Richardson

"If there is a mutual respect between players and coaches, that keeps the team honest and makes for a very healthy environment which in turn promotes other important qualities such as work ethic, integrity and a positive atmosphere for competing and winning."

- Jillian Ellis

"Sportsmanship is not just about being nice. It is much more important than that. It's about realizing that you could not compete without an opponent and that she has the same goals as you."

- Stephanie Deibler

"Sportsmanship for me is when a guy walks off the court, and you really can't tell whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either way."

- Jim Courier

“One man practicing good sportsmanship is far better than 50 others preaching it.”

- Knute K. Rockne

That last quote is very important to understand, because actions speak so much louder than words.  Your teammates won't want to listen to you about how valuable sportsmanship can be, but if you show them, they won’t be able to deny its power.