By
Connor Doyle
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Last night, while I was watching the game between No. 4 Michigan State and No. 6 Illinois, I was taken aback by something I witnessed.
It had nothing to do with the game itself - even though it was a great one, characterized by stellar defense and clutch shooting.
It was much simpler than any matchup zone scheme and more beautiful than a three-pointer "tickling the twine."
Sergio McClain, the Fighting Illini's bruising small forward, went to the floor with a serious cramp in his leg right in front of the MSU bench.
The Spartans' Tom Izzo, one of the most intense, dedicated coaches in the college ranks, ran over to McClain and immediately began to stretch out the player's leg with the same fervor that he would use if it were one of his players.
The Spartans' trainer came over a few moments later, and both worked on McClain's leg, trying unsuccessfully to get the cramp out. When it became clear that it wasn't going to get any better, Izzo helped hoist the Illinois player off the floor, and after McClain had been taken from his hands, began applauding the fallen player along with the 16,450 fans at Assembly Hall.
So did most of Izzo's team.
Some may not be as impressed as I am. Perhaps they have been seeing this type of sportsmanship elsewhere, during the sporting events I don't get to see. I know that I haven't seen it in a while. In fact, I've seen the utter antithesis of sportsmanship be glorified. I've seen new football leagues formed on the premise that the NFL isn't bloodthirsty enough.
I've seen unskilled hockey players get on the ice with the sole intention of ending someone else's career. I've seen hall-of-fame pitchers hit batters in the head because the hitter has owned them in their previous meetings.
I've seen college coaches throw chairs across the floor and choke their players in practice. I've seen soccer matches.
All of these things lead me to believe that sportsmanship has long since given way to an attitude that only allows someone to care about themselves, or their own team. Would Pat Riley help Larry Johnson if he got a cramp? Sure, right after he was done kicking him.
I don't want to play the moralist card. Had I not been working Saturday, I would have watched the XFL debut.
I have Gary Payton on my fantasy squad.
Since I am a sports fan, I'm forced to take what's given to me. There aren't many options left for us. We've lost the civility that used to accompany rivalries like Magic and Bird. Now, our rivalries are the Knicks and the Heat, two teams that hate each other so much that a fight between them has become expected.
We also see fans in college games throwing dangerous objects at the other teams. We see videos of post-game altercations between a Raiders fan and a Chargers fan ending with a stabbing (I'll let you guess which fan had the knife).
Sports, instead of being showcases for talent and skill, have become breeding grounds for egos and outlets for testosterone. And that's not always bad, it's just bad when that's all sports have become.
Perhaps what's even sadder than the frequency of such occurrences is the fact that we now believe this is what we look to sports for.
Vince McMahon has made us believe that the NFL is populated by a bunch of powder-puff-caliber wimps. I could go on a diatribe about this, too, but I'll spare you, gentle reader.
Let it be enough to say that if you feed manure to someone long enough, they'll acquire a taste for it.
Getting back to Izzo and his Spartans, there are a few interesting notes about his team and the aforementioned game. The Spartans, last year's NCAA Champions, had made their mark as a gritty, tough and dedicated team. Both last year's team, in Morris Peterson, and this year's, in Charlie Bell, feature players who have proven ruthless when the game is on the line. This game was billed as the most important Big-10 game of the year, and it's a strong likelihood that the victor from last night, Illinois, will win the conference. Both teams saw this as a must-win game.
But through the example of their coach, it seems that the Spartans understand that victory does not trump everything else. For this, I tip my cap to Izzo, who has a better perspective of athletics better than most college coaches and sports figures in general. And here's to the hope that Sergio's leg feels better the next time those two teams come together, because I'm sure that the Spartans wouldn't want it any other way.
