Is trash talk harmless fun or bad sportsmanship?
Do you play or watch sports? If so, is trash talk ever a part of those games or matches? Do you think taunting, jeering and disparaging your opponents makes sports more fun? Or is it just bad sportsmanship?
In his guest essay, “Hey, Losers! Here’s How to Bring Baseball’s Very Boring Era to an End,” Rafi Kohan makes an argument for bringing trash talk, or “bench jockeying” as it was once known, back to baseball:
Bench jockeying took many forms. Satchel Paige, the legendary pitcher, would do his talking from the mound. Paige named his pitches — the bat dodger, the trouble ball, the midnight creeper — and psyched out hitters by telling them exactly which one he planned to throw or by calling in his fielders, confident in his ability to strike out the side. “I’m gonna throw a pea at yo’ knee,” he’d yell toward the batter’s box. Meanwhile, as a manager, John McGraw, who was said to have “a genius for making enemies,” would go so far as to hire private detectives to dig up dirt on opponents, which served as distracting grist to be bellowed at critical moments in a game.
At the most basic level, talking trash raises the stakes of a competitive confrontation. It puts more on the line — like pride and possible humiliation — and that makes the outcome of the contest matter more than it otherwise would. It puts more pressure on the performances of all involved, both the talker and the target, and demands to know whether they can handle that added stress and expectation.
It’s not just athletes who become more invested by such bluster and abuse, though. We all do. That’s why trash talk is such a reliable tool for marketers in the sports world and beyond. When professional wrestlers cut smack-talking promos on one another, that makes fans care more about the outcome of the match and draws them into the arena. Trash talk is the secret sauce behind the viral success of Wendy’s social-media accounts, and it’s the foundation for basically all reality television and talking-heads debate shows. It gets us to tune in, to not click away.
In baseball, bench jockeying started to fade from the picture sometime in the mid-20th century. Among other factors, the advent of a players’ union and free agency cultivated a feeling of more fraternity among those in uniform. Athletes also imagined themselves as having more to lose as game checks ballooned in size: No one wanted a retaliatory fastball aimed at his head. (Throughout the bench-jockeying era, violence was not uncommon as a response to verbal abuse.) But without trash talk, baseball has lost more than the occasional dugout brawl and well-timed zinger; it’s lost some of its drama.
My students, read the entire essay and then tell me:
What do you think? Does trash talk make sports more entertaining — for players and for fans? Or is it bad sportsmanship? Explain.
Do you ever engage in trash talk in the sports you play? Do your teammates? Your opponents? Your parents or coaches? If so, how do you feel about it? Do you accept it as part of the game? Do you enjoy it and find it motivating? Or do you wish it would stop?
Can trash talk go too far? When, if ever, do you think it crosses a line?
Mr. Kohan makes a case for allowing trash talk in professional sports. Should youth sports also permit a little taunting and jeering? Or is it different for young players? Why? If you’re not an athlete or a sports fan, is trash talk a part of any other area of your life, like when you’re playing video games or are involved in some other kind of rivalry? Does this kind of taunting create more fun in your life? Or do you find it annoying — even hurtful sometimes?
Here's my two cents: I believe trash talk has a place in sports because some people believe that trash talk adds an extra level of intensity and competitiveness to sports, while others think it can be disrespectful and unnecessary. It depends on the contact and how it's done.
Trash talk should definitely have a place in sports. This is because trash talk is motivation in games. When there is no trash talk, then the players wouldn’t try as hard and wouldn't push themselves as hard. When I play basketball at school, I get trash talked at and I would normally trash talk back. This gives me motivation, and I start making every shot. On days without trash talk, I would take the game lightly and won’t care much about losing or winning. I see trash talking in a way that it’s helping me because then I would be driven and show my opponents how good I am. Trash talking is something really common in competitive sports. Often, trash talking is used when you or your opponent say insults towards your team making them seem disrespectful or stronger than you. Personally, I believe that trash talking can sometimes be used once or twice as a friendly joke, but ceaseless trash talk can get out of control and should be stopped. For example, while I was playing basketball for my school team, we lost several games and some of the opponents tended to trash talk in the middle of the game as a joke, but sometimes the “joke” was understood and taken as an insult. This caused our team and the opponents to trash talk each other more and constantly. Even though trash talking may be used as a joke, sometimes it can be understood as an insult and sometimes us or the opponent can take it personally. Not only is trash talking disrespectful, but sometimes it can affect us during a game. If the opponent trash talks your team, most of the time, the team’s mentality is affected, leading to terrible gameplay.
Trash talk is a really touchy and controversial topic in some sports. As a tennis player, I don't chirp often, but I really respect people who can. It is a unique skill to be able to dish out trash talk and be capable of accepting its consequences. Talking a big game is raising the stakes for both parties, making it more competitive. Sure, being too competitive can result in hurt feelings, but I believe it's part of the learning process to know when it's getting out of hand. And these are skills you can't learn anywhere else. I was at a baseball game yesterday that went beyond cheering, taunting, or harassment. We were worried about the safety of our players. Sport is supposed to lift us up, bring out the best in everyone of us, and set an example for others, our schools, and communities.
In his guest essay, “Hey, Losers! Here’s How to Bring Baseball’s Very Boring Era to an End,” Rafi Kohan makes an argument for bringing trash talk, or “bench jockeying” as it was once known, back to baseball:
Bench jockeying took many forms. Satchel Paige, the legendary pitcher, would do his talking from the mound. Paige named his pitches — the bat dodger, the trouble ball, the midnight creeper — and psyched out hitters by telling them exactly which one he planned to throw or by calling in his fielders, confident in his ability to strike out the side. “I’m gonna throw a pea at yo’ knee,” he’d yell toward the batter’s box. Meanwhile, as a manager, John McGraw, who was said to have “a genius for making enemies,” would go so far as to hire private detectives to dig up dirt on opponents, which served as distracting grist to be bellowed at critical moments in a game.
At the most basic level, talking trash raises the stakes of a competitive confrontation. It puts more on the line — like pride and possible humiliation — and that makes the outcome of the contest matter more than it otherwise would. It puts more pressure on the performances of all involved, both the talker and the target, and demands to know whether they can handle that added stress and expectation.
It’s not just athletes who become more invested by such bluster and abuse, though. We all do. That’s why trash talk is such a reliable tool for marketers in the sports world and beyond. When professional wrestlers cut smack-talking promos on one another, that makes fans care more about the outcome of the match and draws them into the arena. Trash talk is the secret sauce behind the viral success of Wendy’s social-media accounts, and it’s the foundation for basically all reality television and talking-heads debate shows. It gets us to tune in, to not click away.
In baseball, bench jockeying started to fade from the picture sometime in the mid-20th century. Among other factors, the advent of a players’ union and free agency cultivated a feeling of more fraternity among those in uniform. Athletes also imagined themselves as having more to lose as game checks ballooned in size: No one wanted a retaliatory fastball aimed at his head. (Throughout the bench-jockeying era, violence was not uncommon as a response to verbal abuse.) But without trash talk, baseball has lost more than the occasional dugout brawl and well-timed zinger; it’s lost some of its drama.
My students, read the entire essay and then tell me:
What do you think? Does trash talk make sports more entertaining — for players and for fans? Or is it bad sportsmanship? Explain.
Do you ever engage in trash talk in the sports you play? Do your teammates? Your opponents? Your parents or coaches? If so, how do you feel about it? Do you accept it as part of the game? Do you enjoy it and find it motivating? Or do you wish it would stop?
Can trash talk go too far? When, if ever, do you think it crosses a line?
Mr. Kohan makes a case for allowing trash talk in professional sports. Should youth sports also permit a little taunting and jeering? Or is it different for young players? Why? If you’re not an athlete or a sports fan, is trash talk a part of any other area of your life, like when you’re playing video games or are involved in some other kind of rivalry? Does this kind of taunting create more fun in your life? Or do you find it annoying — even hurtful sometimes?
Here's my two cents: I believe trash talk has a place in sports because some people believe that trash talk adds an extra level of intensity and competitiveness to sports, while others think it can be disrespectful and unnecessary. It depends on the contact and how it's done.
Trash talk should definitely have a place in sports. This is because trash talk is motivation in games. When there is no trash talk, then the players wouldn’t try as hard and wouldn't push themselves as hard. When I play basketball at school, I get trash talked at and I would normally trash talk back. This gives me motivation, and I start making every shot. On days without trash talk, I would take the game lightly and won’t care much about losing or winning. I see trash talking in a way that it’s helping me because then I would be driven and show my opponents how good I am. Trash talking is something really common in competitive sports. Often, trash talking is used when you or your opponent say insults towards your team making them seem disrespectful or stronger than you. Personally, I believe that trash talking can sometimes be used once or twice as a friendly joke, but ceaseless trash talk can get out of control and should be stopped. For example, while I was playing basketball for my school team, we lost several games and some of the opponents tended to trash talk in the middle of the game as a joke, but sometimes the “joke” was understood and taken as an insult. This caused our team and the opponents to trash talk each other more and constantly. Even though trash talking may be used as a joke, sometimes it can be understood as an insult and sometimes us or the opponent can take it personally. Not only is trash talking disrespectful, but sometimes it can affect us during a game. If the opponent trash talks your team, most of the time, the team’s mentality is affected, leading to terrible gameplay.
Trash talk is a really touchy and controversial topic in some sports. As a tennis player, I don't chirp often, but I really respect people who can. It is a unique skill to be able to dish out trash talk and be capable of accepting its consequences. Talking a big game is raising the stakes for both parties, making it more competitive. Sure, being too competitive can result in hurt feelings, but I believe it's part of the learning process to know when it's getting out of hand. And these are skills you can't learn anywhere else. I was at a baseball game yesterday that went beyond cheering, taunting, or harassment. We were worried about the safety of our players. Sport is supposed to lift us up, bring out the best in everyone of us, and set an example for others, our schools, and communities.
