Stop the Phony Imposed Civility in Sports

Many years ago, when there was such a team in baseball as the Montreal Expos, and the Houston Astros were considered a year-to-year contender, there was a reasonably successful manager who brought success to the teams he worked for.  His name was Bill Virdon.  Known for his perfunctory, no-nonsense style, Virdon seemed to bring a sense of discipline and a corresponding cohesion to the teams he managed.  Both the Expos and the Astros did well during his tenures with them, although neither was able to get to the World Series, much less win it.  Once Virdon had on his Montreal team the wildly exuberant and enthusiastic catcher Gary Carter.  Apparently, the two didn't exactly see eye to eye regarding what it took to make a team a winner, and when Virdon established himself there, Carter had to tone down his behavior.  I wonder, though, what the point of it all was, since often it seems that, in the heat of a pennant stretch run and in the playoffs, it is the most emotionally elevated team that prevails and sweeps through on momentum.  Virdon, to me, squelched that momentum instead of encouraging it.  And now we come to 2013 and Yasiel Puig...

The Los Angeles Dodgers have been blessed with an extraordinarily talented young hitter in rookie Yasiel Puig, only 22 years old and already a standout.  Yesterday, with his team down 2-0 in their National League Championship Series with St. Louis and himself mired in an 0-for-11 slump (with 7 strikeouts), Puig got an impressive hit for a triple, breaking out of his slump and substantially contributing to his team's 3-0 victory.  Some are criticizing him, though, for standing there for a moment and admiring and celebrating his hit.  The Dodgers fans in the ballpark, though, were beside themselves in glee and excitement. This celebration and showmanship, in my opinion, helped to turn the momentum around to the Dodgers for the game...and who knows, maybe eventually the series.

Emotion and celebration should be emphasized and encouraged in professional sports, not discouraged, criticized, or even penalized as it often is.  Pro sports is entertainment: it is a big SHOW, duh.  Let the fans have what they want.  Hitters admiring their hits, pitchers pumping their fists after strikeouts, end zone antics in football in all of their varieties,....whatever can serve to get everyone's interest and attention (and FUN) going a little stronger.  Stop boring me to death with all of this phony imposed civility...