National Sportsmanship Day

I'll admit that I'm guilty of not knowing this existed, and I founded the whole foundation!

The first Tuesday of March each year is National Sportsmanship Day, which entitles everyone to use another hashtag on social media.  And as per some of my original philosophical questioning, I ask why we need a day honor sportsmanship when it should be something we are practicing every day.  For the record, I ask the same question about other holidays such as Mother's Day/Father's Day, Independence Day/Memorial Day, etc.:  shouldn't we be remembering our parents and veterans and history all the time?

But the trick is that we need to remember we are human and need a concrete way to remind ourselves of the importance of each issue.  Just because we celebrate something for one day doesn't mean we don't remember it all year.  So when we frame these questions in this particular context, it's actually a bit comforting to see that observing the celebration is not mutually exclusive from the reflection or application intended.

To that end, a tip of the hat goes out to SUNY Oswego in upstate New York thanks to the sociology department, chaired by Tim Delaney.  Each year, around the same time that we celebration National Sportsmanship Day, Delaney and SUNY Oswego host their Sportsmanship Day Symposium to bring attention to the importance of sportsmanship.

If it wasn't a six hour drive to attend, I'd be heading up immediately!