Stop Celebrating!!!!

Stop Having Fun!!! Don't Get Excited!!! Knock Off All That Celebrating!!! No, Really- Stop Celebrating!!!!

That is what many high school educators and board members are telling high school athletes all over the nation. This rule outlawing displays of excitement or rejoicing in triumph has reared its ugly head in Boston when High School QB Matt Owens, raised his arm in a moment of triumph, was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Really? How is being excited about the biggest play in your life- a breakaway, game clinching touchdown run in the state championship game- an act of unsportsmanlike conduct? I would have flagged the kid for not being excited! I would have flagged him for not being overjoyed about the most thrilling play of his life that led to a state championship.

The school appealed to the high school athletic association, who created the rule, to seek out justice in this horrendous call. Surely, the association must understand that in a brief moment of joy that a kid is bound to get excited. The adults that created this rule, of no taunting, must know that this jubilant celebration was just a kid that was caught up in a moment that he had probably dreamed of, but never thought would ever happen. Owen's was rapped in the elation of winning a championship for his teammates, who also double as his best friends, and raised his arm while running to their ultimate goal- A State Title. The overseer's of the rule book should understand Owen's was not taunting, but was being an excited teenager. As an adult they must be able to, at some point, remember back to a time growing up as a high schooler a feeling of achievement that made them break out in celebration? A tremendous athletic performance of their own? Making honor roll? Having the the girl you always liked saying "yes" when you asked her to a dance?  Factoring all of this in the association had to have overturned this call, right?  Nope. The call was upheld. Owens and his team had lost the state championship game because he celebrated an amazing moment.

Imagine this for a second- You are a student that had a huge test, the biggest test of your life; a test that you would only get one shot at taking. You are determined to ace that test. You stay up late and study for weeks; hour upon hour of constant studying to ensure that you are prepared to be successful. You even pass up hanging out with your friends just to make sure you get a great grade on this test. Then you take the test and when you get your test back you see for the first time a grade of a hundred percent. Yesss!!! Best score in the class. You stand up and you shout in excitement. All of your hard work, dedication, and sacrifice had paid off as evidence of your perfect score. The teacher comes over to you, rips the test out of your hand, and tears it up. The teacher is incensed at your excitement in front of the class and promptly gives you an F. The teacher says that your celebration hurt the feelings of the other kids in the class that had not faired as well on the test. What?!?!?!? Essentially that is what happened in this championship game where an A effort was turned into an F for fraudulent call.

Luckily, no flags will be thrown for celebrating a good grade because the classroom is a place where you can excel and your exploits and effort can be lauded by not only yourself, but the faculty as well.  Why can't the same idea of celebrating a great play on the field be conveyed in the same context as getting a great grade in the classroom. Isn't the field of play just an extension of the classroom for the student-athlete? Where you work hard to provide and gain successful results. That is what we are conditioned to do, right?

However, in our society of extreme sensitivity and trumped up overreactions we coddle the feelings of parents and kids in an effort to not make them feel like the targeted kid in a game of dodgeball. We can't celebrate victory, triumph, or success because it may make Johnny BallGame not feel so good about himself. Hey, the thing of it is that we don't always win. There will always be kids who are better than other kids at sports. Call it Darwinism, call it genetics, call it luck,  but its a fact that some people are better at sports, or school, or playing an instrument, or what have you than other kids. And its not just in adolescence, but in adult life, too, where someone naturally will be better at a given activity or subject. Point being, we need to teach our kids how to watch someone else celebrate their achievements without envy or jealousy or hatred because our child was not as good in that particular moment. Kids can't always win trophies and ribbons because in giving everyone a prize we rob them of a basic truth of life- You don't always win. Yet, we have rule books and guidelines that rob young adults of success, while sparring the feelings and rewarding those who are not as good.

Kids are robbed by adults that are not only allowed to "create the rules", but also are allowed to "interpret the rules"in a manner they see fit- for that given moment. Instead of admitting the rule(s) are flawed adults just hide behind the sorry adage of , "Well, the rules are the rules." Well, the rules are not always right or "interpreted" correctly. What we need are adults admitting fault and being held accountable for mistakes because it is not always correct that adults know best. Sometimes even adults should refer to a rule book on how to be exemplary role models to kids, especially when you make a mistake. Adults admitting fault- Now that would be something to celebrate.