Whiz Kid Winner in National Essay Contest

Evansdale 5th grader Michael Dunbar is a winner in the national USA Today Sportsmanship Essay Contest.  He won in the elementary school division. The Institute for International Sport and USA TODAY are co-sponsors of this annual essay contest that promotes sportsmanship, and students from elementary school to college were asked to write essays of up to 500 words on the subject. The other three winners hail from Hawaii, Florida, and California.  All four received IIS certificates.  

Michael's essay can be seen below:

Nothing ruins a game more than a spoiled sport. This can be a fan, a coach or even a player. I have watched football with my Dad every Saturday since I was 7, and unfortunately I have seen a few of these sour sports. In fact, I have even been one myself. After one particular bad loss (I'm a Notre Dame fan — need I say more) where I threw my hat down and got very upset, my Dad sat me down and gave me the "sportsmanship talk". I think this is what's missing in today's world of sports and life. We need to be reminded more often of the importance of being a good sport — both on and off the field.

Trust me, my Dad could talk about being a good sport until he was blue (and green — go Irish) in the face, but if he didn't actually show me what that meant by setting a good example and fixing my spoiled — sport behavior, then I would be well on my way to becoming a 40 — year old man throwing my hat across the room every time something didn't go my way. As my Mom says, "that is not cute".

I have to be honest, I am a very competitive person so it is a good thing I've been able to take what my Dad has taught me and use it in all kinds of situations, not just sports. Like when I studied for a whole week for the school spelling bee and got out on the word "sanitary". The old Michael probably would have stomped off the stage, fists clenched, jaw tight and allowed it to ruin his whole day! But instead, I took a breath and calmly walked off the stage. I even congratulated the winner. My mom said she was more proud of me for how I handled losing (my Mom actually called it "disappointment") than if I had won the whole thing … go figure!

Some people who don't play sports might think that all of this sportsmanship talk doesn't apply to them. And just because it has the word "man" in the middle of it doesn't mean it's not for girls too. But sportsmanship is needed on and off the field, at home, in the classroom and even at your job (so my parents tell me). No matter how old you are, we all need to be reminded of what it feels like to win and lose. It's easy to be a good sport when you're racking up a bunch of "W's". The real test is when you take a loss, or two, or three. Don't get me wrong I'm not perfect and neither is my Dad (where do you think I first saw the hat-throwing?), but we've both come a long way (especially since the Irish began their "losing decade" — as Dad says). So let's all do our part to stop bad sportsmanship … before it stops us!