What a great time to be a sports fanatic. We just crowned a new champion in major league baseball, the NBA season is getting underway with the Chicago Bulls looking like they are finally mortal and the NFL and college basketball are in the midst of their seasons.

But even with all this, there are still a lot of things that could be better, most notably, sportsmanship.

Last night, ESPN had a special “Outside the Lines” production about this very subject. There is a trickle-down effect from how professional athletes conduct themselves both on and off the field to the youth of America.

Young athletes try to act in the same fashion as their idols, and all too often, these superstars do a poor job of maintaining a respectable standard.

Recently, a poll conducted by ESPN asked if people felt the level of sportsmanship had fallen off. Over 70 percent of poll participants said that there had been a decline in recent years.

It angers me every time I watch a Dallas Cowboys game and see the antics of Michael Irvin. He is a fantastic player, no doubt, but the crap he does is sickening. He spikes his helmet or throws a temper tantrum when he doesn’t get the ball. When he does finally manage to catch a first down or score, he goes into some little dance taunting the defender without good reason.

Honestly, if I were a defensive back and saw this, I would love to come up and lay his ass out. The 15-yard penalty would be a small price to pay to teach that guy a lesson.

The taunting and degrading of an opponent has become so commonplace that often people find no fault in the actions and sometimes even relish the event.

It is hard to say when this decline began, but it is increasing at an alarming rate. Even during highlight reels, after a thunderous dunk or a monstrous home run, the “in your face” taunt or long drawn-out pose at home plate is almost always shown in a favorable light.

Certainly not all athletes act this way. It is refreshing to watch Barry Sanders. Probably the best running back in the NFL and one of the greatest ever, he never has to put down another’s performance in order to enhance his own greatness.

There also are players such as Cal Ripken, Matt Williams and Will Clark who still come out every day and play hard and fair. They are people who you can still respect.

It would take too long for me to go through all negative things athletes do, but people who say athletes do not serve as role models are sorely mistaken.

These people possess something that millions of youths want for their own lives. Whatever they see stars doing, they too will try their best to emulate those actions, both negative and positive. Kids think that is the way you have to act if you intend to make it to the top.

It is truly a travesty when young people feel they have to go through some great production after every good play. Parents and coaches need to take a stronger role to relay this idea to these kids.

Today, sports have become such a big deal that some may feel they have to act in this way for entertainment purposes, but it would be nice to see people go back to the basics of playing hard, as well as fair.

Scott Johnson is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Holstein.