Or when I a tennis player calling the ball "in" despite the line judge called it "out," giving the point to their opponent. It also feels great to watch a golfer give a big clap, congratulating an extraordinary feat pulled off by an opponent in a title match.
Only those who possess the spirit of sports and who are beautiful of heart can display these kind of sporting behaviors.
In a long-distance running event in Spain in December 2012, Spanish runner Ivan Fernandez Anaya had a great opportunity when Kenya's champion Abel Kiprop Mutai made a miscalculation. Mutai, bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics who made the move to marathons, mistakenly thought that he had crossed the finish line.
Instead of exploiting Mutai's blunder to overtake and supplant him to claim the victory, Anaya stayed behind. Making gestures, he guided the Kenyan to the finish line and let him cross first in the cross-country race.
Later, the Spanish, then 24-year-old, said, "He was the rightful winner. I didn't deserve to win it. I did what I had to do. He created a gap that I couldn't have closed if he hadn't made a mistake. As soon as I saw he was stopping, I knew I wasn't going to pass him."
Anaya placed honesty above victory. Honesty is, for sure, the mother of all human virtues, serving the key spirit of every sport.
Like Anaya, Ernie Els, veteran South African golfer, showed an incredible act of sportsmanship at the 2017 European Tour's flagship event. The scrupulous player called a two-shot penalty on himself after chipping an eagle. What he had done surprised worldwide golfers, pleasing golf lovers to their satisfaction.
In the first round of the European tour's BMW Championship, Els pulled his second shot into the bank of a greenside bunker on the par-5 12th. As the ball became plugged, he alerted his playing partners and picked up his ball to check after marking the lie. Then, Els replaced the ball and chipped for an eagle.
Els, however, felt uneasy about his new lie and eventually talked to an official. He felt he might have given himself a better lie when he replaced his ball. After a candid talk with officials, Els penalized himself two strokes for playing from the wrong spot. The decision turned his three-under 69 into a one-under 71.
"I called it on myself. The game of golf, it is what it is. I know deep down the ball wasn't quite where it should be and, you know, I wouldn't be able to live with myself," said Els.
Typically, dishonesty is foreign to those playing sports. Anaya and Els did worldwide sports lovers proud with their honesty and true displays of sportsmanship. I am confident they could not bear dishonesty. And as a sports lover, I admire them and their good conduct. They live deep in my mind as true sportsmen I want to model myself on.
The author (kimjstar@hanmail.net) lives in a rural village near Seoul, studying and teaching golf.