Bottom Line Communications

BASEBALL ON FIELD TEACHES LIFE'S LESSONS NINTENDO DOESN'T 

KANSAS CITY SPORTS & FITNESS

AUGUST 2008

By John Landsberg
    There�s an old saying that �Sports Is Life.� As I get older I really think it is true.
    For all the drawbacks that sports on the highest levels can sometimes produce, sports at its very basic level really does reflect life.
   The game of baseball probably does it best. That�s what makes it particularly sad you can drive by just about any baseball field today anywhere in the area and not see any youngsters playing. Most are inside playing Nintendo baseball.
   Sure, young kids will play when it is an organized practice or game. Mom or dad takes them to the field and brings them home. Otherwise forget it.
   It�s sad because they could learn so much about real-life just by getting a group of neighborhood kids together and going out and playing the game. No trophies. No batting averages. Just kids interacting together.
   As an example, in a pick-up game the first thing you do is determine the two best players as captains. It�s funny, but that always seemed easy since we all seemed to know pretty much who the best players were.
   The captains then decided who would be on their team (hiring decisions?). You pretty much could tell based on when you were selected whether you were a VP, director, manager or clerk.
   Only by your performance were you going to move up the selection ladder. Sometimes the captains had to make tough decisions, particularly when it came down to the last (worst) players selected.
   Sometimes if there was just one player left he was simply not picked to play (not hired/terminated). It was tough, but real-life.
   When the game actually began that�s when you learned a lot about human nature. Some players had excuses for every time they screwed up (the guy in the meeting who justified every failure). Others simply cheated whenever they could (corporate weasel). The non-stop chatterbox (sales)?
    Other characteristics became obvious: Some players were compassionate to others; others were just mean and would slide into you and try to kick you into centerfield if they had the chance.
   Some would share their bat and glove; some were selfish. You learned that some players simply had to win at all costs. They would lie, cheat, steal and do virtually anything to get an advantage.
    What you often noticed is that even when they won they still didn�t seem very happy (multi-millionaire CEOs who demand a pay increase).
   What�s funny is that even though it has been decades since my summers were filled with daily pick-up games, I still remember them vividly and most of the players involved.
    What has always struck me particularly funny is that most of the impressions formed of the players stayed with them the rest of their lives.
    Maybe that saying about sports being life is more than just a slogan. It�s just might reveal the truth.
     It�s unfortunate so many kids will not learn basic sandlot lessons until they are grown up. You don�t learn these things playing Nintendo�