Article March 13, 1995 Issue

True sportsmanship

This week the Sentinel looks at unselfishness and team spirit in sports.

With the approach of another baseball season in the United States, many people are thinking again about the issues in the strike that brought the 1994 major-league season to a premature close. Sandy Vance, who pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1970 and 1971, told the Sentinel that he feels the opposing parties allowed their own interests to obscure the greater good and purpose of the sport as a whole.

Recalling his own experience as a player, Vance said: "The beauty of team sports is that they are a microcosm of life. They demand sound character if we are to experience the fruits they have to offer. Many professional, and amateur, athletes forget why they began playing the game in the first place—as an expression of joy; as a test of accuracy, strength, endurance, and intelligence under stress; and, more importantly, as a test of patience, perseverance, organization, loyalty to others, and honesty. Those athletes who have conducted their careers with the highest integrity, sportsmanship, and unselfishness have found true satisfaction, lasting friendships, and warm memories.

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