Let’s get on with the game

EACH weekend The Chronicle sport team jumps on its Saturday Soapbox and voices its opinion on some pressing sporting issues.

This week the team talks about sportsmanship.

Jason Gibbs: Oh know the Australian cricket team is in trouble for sledging again.

But this time we didn’t have to say a word.

Apparently the “four fingered salute” shown by some of our players in the Ashes celebration images is being labelled as “ugly and undignified”. Really?

How utterly ridiculous worse has and will be said on cricket fields yet we want to complain about this.

What has the sporting world come to?

Aside from the fact that I think it looks plain silly I see nothing wrong with what a select few cricketers did.

It’s certainly no different to league players making the “number 1” sign with their pointer fingers when they win a final. The other “number 1” aka “the bird” is obviously offensive so let’s steer clear of that one.

Right here in this column I’ve talked about how modern sport is lacking in character and colour.

And if we continue to chastise our athletes and players for these silly little things it will only make the game bland and boring.

Glen McCullough: I think sportsmanship is a little bit like manners.

It’s nice to display but it’s not a pre-requisite to lead a happy and fulfilled life.

Have you noticed how good manners are lacking in so many areas these days?

Good sportsmanship is probably headed down the same road, particularly when it comes to professional sport.

In the eyes of many Queenslanders, Hurricanes’ captain George Bailey didn’t show much sportsmanship on Wednesday night when he stuck by his team’s call to send Alex Ross packing for “obstructing the fielding team”.

But the Hurricanes won the game and that’s probably all that matters to the Tasmanians.

What is sportsmanship anyway?

It seems to be what each of us perceive it as, so there are no rules really to be broken.

I see Gibbo referred to some post-match stuff on Monday following Australia’s Ashes Series win.

Apparently people took offence to parts of the celebrations.

Don’t get me started on the new-world right of people to be offended.

Madolyn Peters: There is nothing better than seeing good sportsmanship on the field.

It silences crowds when you see a player turn his back on the play to check if the opposition is ok.

I saw it a lot between the Fiji and Tonga teams in the Rugby League World Cup.

And we have all seen those viral videos of runners turning back from poll position to help the person who fell on their face and finish the race together.

I think it reminds us these athletes are still human beings.

And there is nothing wrong with a team or athlete celebrating success.

I’ve seen a number of teams across all codes throw up two or three fingers to signal how many premierships in a row they have won.

But apparently there was a problem with the Aussie cricket team doing it after the Ashes?

All I can say is I hope we get to see them throw up a hi-five next season.