Sportsmanship Vocabulary
ADJECTIVES
athletic
physical
lucky
unlucky
partisan
Sportsmanly
proud
competitive
ambitious
courageous
brave
tough
resilient
gracious
generous
magnanimous
fair
gentlemanly
honorable
self-respecting
respectful
honest
courteous
polite
cheerful
mature
Unsportsmanly
arrogant
boastful
resentful
petty
disrespectful
impolite
rude
lazy
sullen
sour
bitter
self-pitying
fragile
discouraged
defeatist
egotistic
immature
PEOPLE’S ROLES
athlete
opponent
teammate
referee
adult
gentleman
good sport
poor sport
sore loser
quitter
baby
bully
braggart
cheater
loser
winner
OTHER NOUNS
ego
honor
superiority
inferiority
character
virtues
values
dignity
effort
one’s best
all-out effort
struggle
sweat
determination
discipline
drive
will power
endurance
excellence
glory
the upper hand
courtesy
manners
consideration
fairness
fair play
generosity
respect
disrespect
self-respect
self-confidence
teamwork
jive talk
trash talking
victory
triumph
defeat
luck
success
failure
disappointment
grudge
obsession
goal
ambition
courage
challenge
risk
pride
self-pity
behavior
attitude
motivation
VERBS
win
defeat
lose
save face
lose face
behave
react
Unsportsmanly
quit
give up
fail
blame
resent
envy
make excuses
complain
whine
cry
sulk
mope
pout
gloat
brag
boast
talk jive
talk trash
cheat
play dirty
hit below the belt
press an advantage
insult
disrespect
taunt
belittle
humiliate
Sportsmanly
compete
attempt
risk
dare
struggle
persevere
go for it
go all out
play by the rules
challenge
outdo
succeed
overcome
get over
shake hands
admire
respect
Sportsmanship Interview
Write (verbatim or paraphrased) an American’s answers to the questions.
Put the short answers on this sheet and the long ones on a separate sheet.
Your American’s age: ___; gender: __; hometown: ____________; religion: ___________.
Fill the blanks in these seven common sayings:
G_
f__
i_!
_ _ _’_
__
a s___
_ _ _ _ r.
It’s not _ _ _ _ _ _ _ you _ _ _ or _ _ _ _ ; it’s _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .
__
_
sp _ _ _!
__
_ _ _’_
_ _ _ _ till _ _’_
_ ay
___
____
_ _ _ _.
_ _ ’_
___
w__!
____
_
_ _ m _.
1. Define “good sportsmanship” in 10-15 words (either several short definitions that
each cover a different aspect of it or one long one).
2. Define it in 2-5 words.
3. Give an example (i.e., an action in a situation) of routine good sportsmanship.
4. Give an example of poor sportsmanship.
From here on, you can talk about sports contests or non-sports situations.
5. Give an example of good sportsmanship in difficult circumstances.
6. Give an example of very poor sportsmanship.
7. Give an example of sportsmanship that evokes admiration to a jaw-dropping degree.
8. Give an example of terrible, despicable, low-down-dirty, petty sportsmanship.
9. Describe a situation in which you (the American informant) were a good sport.
10. Describe a situation in which you (the American informant) were a poor sport.
11. Other than physical effort and competitive effort, what is required by good
sportsmanship that isn’t required by the Golden Rule?
12. Describe a situation in which someone should be a good sport even though no
other person is involved. (This philosophical Q is difficult. It and Q 13 are optional.)
13. a. How does playing sports develop sportsmanship? b. How does it damage it?
14. Define “good sportsmanship” again in 2-5 words.
15. Name a virtue that is more important than sportsmanship.
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HW due [MONTH, DATE]:
Write an essay whose title or subtitle is "Why Is It Hard to Be a Good Sport?"
Include both a title and a subtitle.
(If you don't know what it means for a person to be a good sport or a poor sport, ask an
American the 15 questions on the previous page. To be a good sport or a poor one
isn't a matter of athletic skill.)
Write 375-400 words, typed according to the specifications in p. 0's first paragraph.
Include three, four or five situations (scenarios). Include at least 30 of the vocabulary
words in p. ##'s list of sportsmanship vocabulary. Underline the vocab words in your
essay. I'll count the number of underlined vocab words when deciding your grade.
Recommended reading: some of the 36 famous quotations about sportsmanship that
are below and some others that are at a webpage whose URL is below (above the 36).
==========================================================
Famous Quotations about Sportsmanship
"Life is a game like any other; we just don't take it as seriously."
-Babe Ruth
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“It is good sportsmanship to not pick up lost golf balls while they are still rolling.”
-Mark Twain
(This Mark Twain quote wasn’t at either of the two webpages below. A different one by
him--a good one--is.)
Name of webpage: National Sportsmanship Day
(173 famous quotations)
http://www.internationalsport.com/nsd/nsd_quotes.cfm
==================================================
36 Sportsmanship Quotations
The following 36 quotations were found at a webpage that no longer exists,
<http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Bench/6823/shellk.html>. The name of the
webpage was "Sportsmanship Quotations."
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"I can't play being mad. I go out there and have fun. It's a game, and that's how I am going to
treat it."
-Ken Griffey, Jr.
"In the end, it's extra effort that separates a winner from second place. But winning takes a lot
more that that, too. It starts with complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire,
determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes a great deal of love, fairness and
respect for your fellow man. Put all these together, and even if you don't win, how can you lose?"
-Jesse Owens
"Do not throw in the towel; use it for wiping the sweat off your face."
-Unknown
"I can accept failure. Everyone fails at something. But I can't accept not trying."
-Michael Jordan
"It's not the will to win that matters-everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that
matters."
-Paul "Bear" Bryant
"The purpose of any athletic endeavor is to challenge human limits both on and off the playing
field."
-Unknown
"The man who can drive himself farther once the effort gets painful is the man who will win."
-Sir Roger Bannister
"Victories in life come through our ability to work around and over the obstacles that cross our
path. We grow stronger as we climb our own mountains."
-Marvin Ashton
"If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change
the outcome."
-Michael Jordan
"Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement."
-Matt Biondi
"Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself,
vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those
who believe."
-Gail Devers
"The Spirit of Sports: The spirit of sports gives each of us who participate an opportunity to be
creative. Sports knows no sex, age, race or religion. Sports gives us all the ability to test
ourselves mentally, physically and emotionally in a way no other aspect of life can. For many of
us who struggle with 'fitting in' or our identity - sports gives us our first face of confidence. That
first bit of confidence can be a gateway to many other great things!"
-Dan O'Brien
"The most important lesson I've learned from sports is how to be not only a gracious winner, but
a good loser as well. Not everyone wins all the time, as a matter of fact, no one wins all the time.
Winning is the easy part, losing is really tough. But, you learn more from one loss than you do
from a million wins. You learn a lot about sportsmanship. I mean, it's really tough to shake the
hand of someone who just beat you, and it's even harder to do it with a smile. If you can learn to
do this and push through that pain, you will remember what that moment is like the next time
you win and have a better sense of how those competitors around you feel. This experience will
teach you a lot on and off the field!"
-Amy Van Dyken
"I always tell kids, you have two eyes and one mouth. Keep two open and one closed. You never
learn anything if you're the one talking."
-Gordie Howe
"Sports creates a bond between contemporaries that lasts a lifetime. It also gives your life
structure, discipline and a genuine, sincere, pure fulfillment that few other areas of endeavor
provide."
-Bob Cousy
"The answers to these questions will determine your success or failure. 1) Can people trust me to
do what's right? 2) Am I committed to doing my best? 3) Do I care about other people and show
it? If the answers to these questions are yes, there is no way you can fail."
-Lou Holtz
"Follow your dreams as long as you live! Never be afraid to go out on the limb to live up to your
expectations. Always do things your way and Have Fun!"
-Picabo Street
"Competitive sports are played mainly on a five-and-a-half inch court, the space between your
ears."
-Bobby Jones
"An open mind opens doors."
-Unknown
"Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to
handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss."
-Doug Williams
"The will to prepare, the guts to risk, and the desire to be the best...these are the trademarks of a
champion."
-Unknown
"Champions aren't made in gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside
them: A desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have late minute stamina, they have to be a little
faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill."
-Muhammed Ali
"In order for there to be ups, there must be downs. Remember all your failures, so when you
succeed you can look back and have pride that you had strength enough to overcome."
-Unknown
"When champions fail, they get back up and try again. They don't let failure discourage them."
-Mary Ellen Clark
"Set your goals high, and don't stop till you get there."
-Bo Jackson
"Whoever said 'It's not whether you win or lose that counts' probably lost."
-Martina Navratilova
"Struggle and survival, losing and winning, doesn't matter. It's entering the race that counts. You
enter, you can win, you can lose .... but it's all about entering the race."
-Pam Grier
"The will to win is not worth a nickel unless you have the will to practice."
-Unknown
"Simply trying to define sportsmanship, I think most folks would agree, responsibility and self
respect, qualities that today seem in short supply at times. If character is what you do when no
one is watching, then perhaps sportsmanship is that conduct with everybody watching. Frankly,
the sports industry would probably survive without sportsmanship. It's so large and so well
financed, but it would be refreshing if more parents and coaches, more administrators and more
journalists, and especially more players realized there is room to win with flare and style and
even get rich and still keep the values that first brought us here to the games."
-Bob Ley
"There are no gains without pains."
-Benjamin Franklin
"Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising each and every time we fail."
-Confucius
"Champions do not become champions when they win the event, but in the hours, weeks, months
and years they spend preparing for it. The victorious performance itself is merely the
demonstration of their championship character."
-T. Alan Armstrong
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn."
-Benjamin Franklin
"The best inspiration is not to outdo others, but to outdo ourselves."
-Anonymous
"Each Warrior wants to leave the mark of his will, his signature, on important acts he touches.
This is not the voice of ego but of the human spirit, rising up and declaring that it has something
to contribute to the solution of the hardest problems, no matter how vexing!"
-Pat Riley
"The mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that you can do something, you
can do it - as long as you really believe 100 percent."
-Arnold Schwarzenegger