Persuasive Essay On Trophies In Sports

Imagine that you see a sports team of kids getting trophies just for participation. Then, you see another team getting trophies, but instead of all the kids getting trophies, only one kid got one. Which side would you be on: the one with all of the kids getting trophies, or the one with only one kid having a trophy? Recently many sports teams have been giving young athletes trophies just for participating games. Trophies should only be given to the top three winners because coaches spend too much money on trophies, having too many trophies increase selfishness and narcissism, and awards can make athletes underachieve. Coaches spend too much money on trophies. First, author Ashley Merryman of “Losing Is Good for You” says,”Trophies were once rare things -- sterling silver loving cups bought from jewelry stores for truly special occasions. But in the 1960s, they began to be mass-produced, marketed in catalogs to teachers and coaches, and sold in sporting-goods stores.” This is how coaches started to spend all this money on trophies and other awards.

First, Ashley Merryman states, “In June, an Oklahoma Little League canceled participation trophies because of a budget shortfall. A furious parent complained to a local reporter,”’My look forward to their trophy as much as playing the game.’” This expresses how much a trophy is worth for an athlete, but usually it is playing the game that matters and not getting the trophies. In addition, Jean Twenge, author of “Generation Me” also states,“Having studied recent increases in narcissism (having an excessive interest in oneself; an over-inflated ego often due to parents’ overvaluation) and entitlement among college students, she warns that when living rooms are filled with participation trophies, it is part of a larger cultural message...” This fabricates narcissism in young athletes as well as college students. In short, narcissism and selfishness can affect