Spirit of the Game vs Sportsmanship? Are they ACTUALLY Different?

My take on Sportsmanship vs. Spirit of the Game

[@doncarloancelotti2256]

I guess now it's the perfect time to ask you something a bit more personal: why was Florida Gators (and Florida's major club teams) looked down upon when it came to spirit of the game? Everyone points to the 2010 final vs. Carleton and some Florida United games.

[@kurtegibson]

I wasn't on that team and I was not present for any games that season with the exception of the end of nationals and I never played on Florida United so I can't speak to that. But I would say that in general people always want the best teams to lose. People always root for the top team to go down. I experienced this when playing many times on the club scene where my team was the underdog and the crowd was behind us and wanted to see the other team lose.

[@Butterfliesmetamorphosis]

For me, the major difference between spirit and sportsmanship is the fact that spirit is codified and scored, you can be the most spirited team at a tournament, to have the most sportsmanship is more abstract as it doesn’t have a numerical value on it. Also from a competitive standpoint, it’s something else to win.

[@kurtegibson]

It seems you're saying they are similar except for one is measured? Just because one is measured and another isn't doesn't imply they are the same (or different)

[@Butterfliesmetamorphosis]

@@kurtegibson yes I do think think they are similar, expect for the scoring/measurement, but I think that difference is significant. For me, sportsmanship is a much more abstract concept whereas being spirited is performing highly within the laid out criteria.

[@AngelLozadaBlindNun]

I think that the language used is far too similar, and rather than denoting a difference they neglect their relationship. The inclusion of "integrity" I think is great, but the use of the word is far too purple. The whole thing is, really. Again, this is only my opinion. I also am not satisfied with the definition of a "win at all costs attitude", nor how it is discouraged when put into context of what "spirit of the game", "sportsmanship" and the missing ingredient "culture of the sport" means. This is all to say that I think there is too much emotion in these descriptions that it is easy for them to conflate them with one another when rather than one being dependent on the existence of the other. Therefore I think these definitions should be more strait forward as to what they are deaceibing.Thinking about it too hard, this is whay I have come up with: Spirit of the Game