Letter: League went kaput because of bad attitudes

My roommate has played baseball for as long as he can remember. He played co-rec (combined men's and women's) softball for three years and played men's softball for one year. This year of men's softball converted him to co-rec softball. Growing up in sports, he loved to play for fun, friendship and winning (in that order). He made several friends along the way and sports brought him things like teamwork, perseverance and mental toughness. He loves sports and helping people and having fun. These are the things that he failed to see in the men's softball league.

To the Editor:
My roommate has played baseball for as long as he can remember. He played co-rec (combined men's and women's) softball for three years and played men's softball for one year. This year of men's softball converted him to co-rec softball. Growing up in sports, he loved to play for fun, friendship and winning (in that order). He made several friends along the way and sports brought him things like teamwork, perseverance and mental toughness. He loves sports and helping people and having fun. These are the things that he failed to see in the men's softball league.

Teamwork and fun seemed to go out the window, and a serious and sometimes-bitter tone seemed to overshadow the games. People would argue, complain, lose their tempers, and everyone seemed overly focused on their personal performance. In many ways, it reminded him of years of video-game playing and Nintendo controller throwing. After one year of this, he realized that this wasn't why he played softball, and his manager steered him toward a co-rec league. He enjoys himself a lot more and - win or lose - he always seems happy when he comes back. Those are the reasons he plays softball, and that's what sports mean to him personally.

That's why there's no Athens men's league this year in his opinion. The co-rec price is $425, but he says the business sponsors are pretty easy to come by with little effort involved, and anyone can get out there and find someone willing to help pay some of the registration fee if not the whole thing. He feels the fee isn't much to ask for the help of the umpires and the use of the facilities and lights.

Many people in the co-rec league love the fun they have and don't think of it as just a competition. This is not to say that they don't care, but it's not the only thing on their minds, and people from the men's league often played co-rec softball as well. There is competition since it is a sport, but people in general are more relaxed and friendlier, focused more on helping each other improve and doing so in a more constructive manner for the most part.

There is no real reward for winning other than satisfaction, I suppose, but if that satisfaction already comes from teamwork and having friends and family around you, then there's no need to throw the bat when you don't hit a home run. If you take something meant to be fun and lose focus of those positive aspects, making it into a temper tantrum of a game, of course, people are going to stop playing with you.
Winning is definitely fun, but when that's your only concern, you become that kid who can't stop throwing controllers who wonders why his friends don't ask to play video games anymore.

Emanuel Gonzalez
5th-year senior at OU
Athens