Louisville Mojo: Mankind and Trophies

As I watched members of the Saints pass around the trophy last night, smudging it up with fingerprints, I asked myself an old familiar question:

What's up with people (mostly men) and trophies?

What explains the human need to mark achievement with a glob of uninteresting metal, or acrylic or glass? For really big accomplishments, why not commission a lovely piece of art? And for smaller ones, why not settle on a handshake, a friendly slap on the back, and maybe a nice certificate printed on recycled paper?

Or a coffee mug! Hey, you can never have enough of those!

I'm really not as humorless as I sound. I enjoy a big sporting spectacle as much as the next person. And, with apologies to our northern neighbors, I just thought it was terrific that New Orleans had a great reason to smile last night.

Rooting for the underdog is always fun. It's bit more fun, when it's a underdog that has overcome a lot.

It's just the trophy I don't get.

My children are not yet old enough to legitimately participate in organized sports, (if you define the "legitimate" age as: "the age at which kids played organized sports back in my day.") and already we've got a shelf full of trophies that honestly signify nothing more meaningful than just showing up.

Tomorrow, I'm going to write about the "self-esteem" movement and children, which is at the heart of the "trophy for every child" mentality. But today, I'm a making a more BASIC complaint about trophies -- they're wasteful.

Children's programs nationwide have to amount to tens of thousands trophies every year (more maybe) and for what?

Dinosaurs died to get those trophies made, shipped and engraved. Money went to paying for them and they'll just be passed from dusty shelf to dusty shelf. A few might be donated to organization that recycles them for nonprofits and then, eventually, they'll end up in a landfill.

Obviously, no one would seriously complain if any sport wants to give a trophy to its top achiever every year. (Although I kind of prefer the Stanley Cup Model where it is passed from team to team. The Stanley Cup is, yes, ugly and useless. But at least there is only one of them.)

But the acrylic soccer trophy awarded to a four-year-old this year may well last longer than human civilization. The next intelligent life to stand on Earth will dig up trophies and believe that we must have worshiped golden cups and men holding bowling balls and fingerprint-smudged silver footballs.

There are certainly worse things to waste money on. But money that could be used to feed the poor or to teach someone to read or even just to buy kids a new pairs of shoes instead goes to something that has no real meaning and cheapens all the other trophies that actually DO stand for something.

As I understand it, it's become a tradition with that Stanley Cup that every member of the winning team gets to have possession of it for one day. They can take it back it back to their hometown, carry it with them to the grocery store, have a party with it on their deck. Whatever they want.

Apparently some have baptized their babies from it, or used it to feed their dogs. Now whatever you think of their specific choices, the fact is that having just one day to spend with an historic trophy makes the day memorable, makes the trophy seem more special.

But just churning out more trophies, by definition, makes each one less special.

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Abby Miller H. mon feb 08 2010 at 10:58 am ·


	This is a great topic because, after thinking about it, I'm split. I believe in trophies for children. It helps to build their self esteem. It should not be their only source of self esteem but it seems to represent that notion that if we do a good job it's rewarded. Perhaps too materialistically, which is why i think it's a great topic. I don't know if you've ever heard of "Upward Basketball" but I personally LOVE their reward system. They get a "trophy" of sorts after every game. They get a star that the parent (bummer on this part) has to iron on their uniform every week. For example, a red star for good offense, a blue star for good defense, a gold star for good sportsmanship, and so on. The white star is for most "Christlike" during the game. Additionally, they get a green star for every practice they attend. Every child gets a star and by the end of the season all children have received each color. I'll admit i've lost some some stars in my purse in seasons past, but I like the concept because the child is rewarded for specific task they performed well in that game. They are proud to be good sports, proud to be Christlike etc. They should be all this anyway, but it helps teach them about it. I have lots of awards and trophies and not one could I lay a hand on right now...except one...it's a key to the city of Hazard Kentucky. I keep it out because, for my career, it reminds me of where I started. Now even it seems unimportant because my real trophies are my babies.

El Speedy Loco mon feb 08 2010 at 12:21 pm ·


	wow...political correctness run amuck

Beverly Bartlett mon feb 08 2010 at 12:28 pm ·


	Abby, I have heard of Upward Basketball, but did not know about their reward system. I think that sounds like a great tradition. (Except for the part where I would have to iron something each week! Hah!) It's also helping me focus more on what it is about the trophies that bug me. I guess part of why they seem so wasteful to me is that the trophy is out of proportion to the accomplishment. An Iron-On patch seems more appropriate. Also, it doesn't collect dust and would have a natural "shelf-life" in that the uniform would be outgrown soon. Those two things would make up for the ironing for me!

Abby Miller H. mon feb 08 2010 at 12:44 pm ·


	i may have the color to accomplishment confused b/c i lose track but it is neat b/c each week the coach will gather the kids together and say, "so and so gets the best defense star b/c did you see those great blocks she had" or whatever. to me it's a week in, week out trophy system. I will say trophies are neat but I think we've become a society that can't decide what to do .... on the one hand we give a trophy for the winners, but now we feel like we have to give trophies to the losers too, so johnny doesn't cry or whatever. I don't get the logic of that. I mean, what's it worth if everyone gets one for NOT winning. i fail to get the logic. and i think it sends a mixed message to the kid.

Beverly Bartlett mon feb 08 2010 at 1:53 pm ·


	Yes, I have mixed emotions too. With very young children, it's one thing. I have sat through 3-year-old soccer games, in which the slant of the field was literally the most critical factor in scoring. In those cases, making a big deal about "winning" or "losing" seems inappropriate to me. But that would seem to be an argument for just not giving trophies at all, at that age, rather than giving them to everyone and cheapening what will happen when they're older and might actually "earn one." (If that makes sense.)

frederic mon feb 08 2010 at 3:57 pm ·


	My favorite trophy is The Almost Perfect Attendance Trophy my daughter got in elementary school. I'm not kidding--they awarded it, and she got it. I think it's cool because it isn't an arbitrary award everyone gets, but it also isn't arbitrary the way luck is--it says try hard, but don't be ridiculous. Almost perfect attendance is really good, but you know, if you're going to make yourself sicker or make others sick, yeah, stay home.

Beverly Bartlett mon feb 08 2010 at 6:14 pm ·


	Almost Perfect Attendance Trophy?? Did they actually call it that? That is just perfect -- well, almost! ;-)

frederic mon feb 08 2010 at 8:00 pm ·


	Yes, it's engraved on the trophy, which comprises a little marble base, a pair of gold wings enshrining a disk with a picture in it of books, a globe, a genie-type lamp on top of the globe, and something none of us can identify coming out of the lamp. Some sort of flaming object, 3 of them. It was Noe Middle, not elementary school. "Maybe in order to understand mankind we have to look at that word itself. MANKIND. Basically, it's made up of two separate words "mank" and "ind." What do these words mean? It's a mystery and that's why so is mankind." Jack Handey

Beverly Bartlett tue feb 09 2010 at 8:34 am ·


	It wouldn't have been as funny if they just called it "excellent attendance," but I suppose there is value in honesty! And that brings up another point about trophies, the seemingly random symbols. Thanks so much for sharing that!

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