Unbelievable Sportsmanship
May 1st, 2008 by joe
Bravo to the kids of Central Washington University.
Last Saturday, in an NCAA girls softball playoff game between Central Washington University and Western Oregon University, WOU’s Sara Tucholsky hit her first home run of the season over the center field fence - the game winner.
Unfortunately, after rounding first base, Sara collapsed with a torn ACL injury. And as it turned out, she had missed first base.
She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.
But then, Central Washington first baseman Mallory Holtman and shortstop Liz Wallace asked the umpire if they could assist Sara, and the ump said there was no rule against it.
So the CWU players carried Sara around the bases, ensuring she got her good leg down to touch every base, and thus assuring CWU’s defeat.
“It has been magical and crazy at the same time,” Tucholsky said Thursday. “I’m surprised at how many people have paid attention to this and how far the story has gone. But there are so many negative images of athletes now. Here is one with a positive image.”
Holtman, who had the idea to assist Tucholsky, has also been caught off guard by the ripples.
“At the time, we never thought it would be that big a deal. It just seemed like something anyone would have done,” Holtman said.
In an editorial vein, I would just say “mega-dittoes,” and hope my compatriot Redskin fans would encourage THEIR team to exercise similar sportsmanship next time Tony Romo is a bit under the weather after a week at Cancun, and shoot the boy some love.
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 10:25 pm and is filed under Culture. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:31 am
Beautiful.
May 2nd, 2008 at 6:35 am
wow, there is still hope for this country after all
May 2nd, 2008 at 8:24 am
Nice Story. Tony Romo is a big boy, he can stand up for himself.
May 2nd, 2008 at 12:34 pm
That’s sportmanship. Figures it would be girls!
May 2nd, 2008 at 1:38 pm
Great observation, ACT. Boys would have stood around laughing.
May 2nd, 2008 at 2:28 pm
They keep score so we know who wins. Great story, but they lost the game. Now, had the girl crawled or hopped on one leg around the bases I would be applauding.
Sorry, I play to win.
Sportsmanship is when to play hard within the rules to win and then congratulate your opponent at the end of the contest.
May 2nd, 2008 at 5:38 pm
“Boys would have stood around laughing.”
If this were Tony Romo, that’s what I would do !
G., Sorry, have to disagree with you on this one. I have coached enough youth sports to know that far too much emphasis is put on winning in amateur sports. The game was won when the ball went over the fence. I would take no pleasure in winning simply because the base runner went down with a torn acl. A victory with an asterisk is not a victory.
“Sportsmanship is when to play hard within the rules to win and then congratulate your opponent at the end of the contest.”
I believe this is what transpired. Two girls chose to go the extra mile.
May 3rd, 2008 at 2:20 pm
How do I see video of this?? New to this computer craze.(I know ..ten years later)
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:18 pm
Dan that is a good point.
It would still make a great Disney movie if the kid crawled around the bases on her elbows.
May 3rd, 2008 at 5:49 pm
The ending was not so good for Eight Belles.
May 3rd, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Greg,
Dan is on the money here. Once the ball went over the fence she had one the game. The torn ACL was bizarro
May 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 pm
G. - When Disney does do this as a movie that will likely be the rewrite. Imagine they will fit a Randy Newman song in there as she works her way around.
May 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Boys, you have to forgive Greg. He is the parent that will pistol-whip the umpire for making a bad call on his kid. He plays to win.
Greg-try checking out the feminine side, will ya? I think you need a fill-up on some compassion and sensitivity!
August 24th, 2008 at 10:55 am
nice read.. Tony Romo is an obvious player.
August 24th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Nice article.. Tony Romo, where did he come from?