What Are Some Ways People Use Sportsmanship in Football?

Good sportsmanship in football can be exemplified in a number of ways. Overall, sportsmanship is showing respect to your opponent before, during and after the heat of competition. You can do your very best to win the game and the individual battles within the game while displaying good sportsmanship to players on the opposing team.

  1. Before the Game

    • Before a football game, both teams usually warm up and run through a mini-practice on the same field. Oftentimes the field is virtually cut in half to allow both teams the necessary space to conduct their pre-game activities. Showing good sportsmanship includes honoring the opposing team's space and allowing them to prepare without interruption. Just before the game begins, well wishes and handshakes also show sportsmanship. Trash-talk and threats are common occurrences at all levels of football but do not exemplify good sportsmanship and convey a lack of respect for your opponent.

    During the Game

    • The rules of organized football are clearly defined and explained to players and coaches of either team. The consequences of rules infractions include penalty calls from the officiating crew. When playing an informal game without officials, showing good sportsmanship means adhering to the rules even though a referee is not available to maintain order. The rules generally prevent one player or team from having an unfair advantage; a level playing field is essential to the game. Honor the rules and calls of an infraction by an opposing player as a show of good sportsmanship.

    Injuries

    • When a player is injured during play, taunting him is a display of poor sportsmanship and a lack of regard for the player's well-being. Respecting your opponent and the game requires that you allow the player to recover and leave the field of play if necessary. Further displaying good sportsmanship would include applause and expressions of concern for the player that she may return to the competition as soon as possible. Often, in professional and college football, the opposing team and their fans will applaud the fallen player's recovery as a sign of good sportsmanship.

    After the Game

    • Win or lose, good sportsmanship should continue. In the case of a loss, praising the opposing team's effort is in order. After a win, taunting and "rubbing it in" is an unseemly approach toward a losing player or team. Maintain respect for your opponent after the game. Handshakes and high-fives are common expressions of good sportsmanship. After all, football is just a game. The players, coaches and fans of their team are people who, like you, value the competition and try as hard to prevail. Observing good sportsmanship should not be conditional; show it even in the face of poor sportsmanship.