Every
so often, you hear it. Buzz in the sports world about code… about
character… and more specifically, about unwritten rules.
Usually,
when it comes up, in the main discussion points there is a little
bit of bravado involved… swagger… and (more specifically) complaints
about the way things would be in an old school league. This, after
all, according to reporters and announcers and more, is not the
way they would have done it in another day.
It’s
the pitcher that would place you quickly on your behind for showboating
(and the umpire that would look the other way when the pitcher
did).
You
know the drill.
Many
of the ideas surround showboating and self-policing. But before
we drive down the road into whether or not the times are changing
the games we watch, a story…
There’s
a legendary tale about Ted Williams. (Ok, yes, there are lots
of legendary tales about Williams. And this one is so legendary
and well-told I’m even going to treat generically, without a source.
But there are plenty that have heard it and will acknowledge it’s
out there, with most believing it definitely could have a foundation
in reality.)
A
team was playing against the Red Sox, and a young catcher was
getting upset at the calls Williams was having go his way. He
complained to the umpire about it.
“Son.”
The umpire is reported to have replied, “if Mr. Williams didn’t
swing, it wasn’t a strike.”
So,
yes, reputations are earned. Status is earned. Preferences and
actions that border on having a toe over the line into rule violation
territory are granted. There is such a thing as superstar privilege.
We may not fully respect when such things happen, but we need
to understand that they most certainly do. By not acknowledging
it, we’re being quite naïve about the games we watch and
the teams we support.
That
in place… what do you think about the player, on a team down by
24, that jumps up after rushing for five yards and a first down
to deliver a cheerleading demonstration lasting three acts plus
an encore to celebrate his accomplishment?
Because
that crap bothers me.
I
want to believe that most of the unwritten rules are pretty stupid.
And, maybe stupid is a wrong word, but they definitely need to
be glanced at and re-unwritten for today. You can have a player
deliver an emotional response to an event, and there doesn’t need
to be an accusation of showboating or poor sportsmanship. Sometimes
people are just happy… or just mad. Freud might admit that occasionally
a cigar is just a cigar. Let it go, appreciate the passion.
My
issue with it is situational. I roll my eyes when a player delivers
something that appears selfish or way out of line with the entirety
of what is playing out. It’s not a call to teammates to raise
their energy. It’s dancing around because the spotlight is on.
And for me, that wears thin.
If
people want to get mad because a batter swings at a 3-0 pitch,
that’s ok I suppose. I’m going to shrug my shoulders. If people
want to get mad because the quarterback is throwing deep late
in a game with a large lead, they can kick their feet. I’m likely
to be wondering why you’re not mad the defense couldn’t stop them.
The
idea you should take from this is that I’m trying to say I’m not
prickly and fussy, nor am I set in what might be best described
as old days ways. Emotions are good. Acting like it’s not the
first time you’ve scored a touchdown or hit a home run… being
a professional… doesn’t mean you can’t smile and enjoy and even
dance a bit (literally and figuratively).
In
baseball, there are about forty-five unwritten rules about stealing
bases. Don’t do it when too far ahead. Don’t do it when too far
behind. Don’t get caught stealing third with two outs. When written
out, some of them make a lot of sense strategically. Most runners
can score from second on a base hit, so why end the inning trying
to gain a few feet that might not change your ability to score.
But most of the unwritten rules are more about respect than action.
Don’t
run across the pitcher’s mound. Don’t go for it on fourth down
with a lead. When you start investigating the possibilities in
all sports you find out that most of them… almost all of them…
have nothing to do with actual game play. Seems like they’re unwritten
because they’re more pet peeves than gameplay tactics or rules.
For
years I fully believed this about pro sports. If you want to enjoy
a professional baseball game, see it in person. Watching it on
television is horrible. If you want to enjoy a professional football
game, see it on television. Watching it in person is horrible.
I believe this to the current day.
Those
are oversimplified statements, but I stand by the realities of
them. And in many ways, they present a great summary of what I’m
trying to say.
Times
change. Better sound gathering equipment and improved high definition
cameras and all the advances of technology have moved the games
to new places. There’s nothing in that idea to discuss. It is
truth.
In
similar fashions, sticking just with baseball here, the players
of today might not even be aware of the idea of the history of
pitching mound height or other changes through the ages. Try explaining
to anyone that wasn’t around fifty years ago… before interleague
play and broadcast options delivered several games a year for
every team into your home… about why the baseball All-Star Game
had meaning and emotion. Other sports have similar moments of
seismic shifts, even if just for free agency considerations.
Unwritten
rules can exist. But that doesn’t mean they don’t need new understandings.
You can’t always judge the play of today by the rules of yesterday.
(No matter what the announcers try to tell you.)