Editorial: Sportsmanship above all
EVEN when grade school and younger children playing games and performing activities in their Physical Education class, the principle taught to us is to be “sports”. Fight a fair fight, shake the hands of your competitor regardless of whether or not you won the fight, and don’t talk negativities behind their back.
The training for Filipino children when it comes to sports and games is more than just physical. It also involves ethics and the values we got from our parents and their parents’ parents. The ethics and sportsmanship is more than just kindness - it’s a culture that we do not intend to come up. It just does naturally.
When halfway towards the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games and Timor Leste had not won a single medal in any sports event, the Filipinos took to social media their campaign to cheer on Timor Leste to win at least a single medal before the SEA Games end.
The tagline We Win As One was taken to a whole new meaning when netizens use it to cheer Timor Leste. @markotan143 on Twitter said, “Go Timor Leste! We, Filipinos support you! As SEA Games tagline, We win as One!”
@leencredible on the other hand admired the sportsmanship of the Filipinos. “I’m touched with the Filipinos who’s cheering for #TimorLeste to win medals for #SEAGames. I stan the sportsmanship! Hopefully all countries would get a gold.”
The hashtag #TimorLeste even trended on Twitter with most of the post cheering for the country.
Because of this online campaign and support, athletes and delegates of Timor Leste feel overwhelmed and thankful. SunStar Cebu talked to Timor Leste taekwondo athlete Jennifer Lay who said, “The hospitality has been amazing. Everyone has been great to us.”
Despite the advent of social media and the differences of priorities of the previous generation to now, perhaps what remains to be relevant and common to all Filipinos are the values we continue to uphold.
We were taught to be “sports” and good competitors when we were young, and now that we are hosting the biggest sports event in Southeast Asia, we remember what we were taught. And that’s very important.