TATCH: Trophy culture: Teaching a valuable lesson

Andrew Tatch

In 2015, former Steelers star James Harrison made headlines when he announced he would be returning two trophies his two young sons received for their participation in a youth football league.

Citing just one snippet from a lengthier post on social media, Harrison stated, "While I am very proud of my boys for everything they do and will encourage them till the day I die, these trophies will be given back until they EARN a real trophy."

Harrison's post is not necessarily unique; rather, it is reflective of how many Americans view participation trophies, and – I believe – their connection to perceptions that younger generations are inferior to those who came before.

To summarize, participation trophy culture refers to the larger social push to give out prizes, rewards or trophies for simply "showing up," regardless of whether or not the participant performed well or actually won. Advocates for participation trophies suggest that they improve self-esteem; opponents argue that the shift to a participation trophy culture has led to a "softening" of youth and young adults, who now feel an unprecedented level of entitlement.

As I see it, participation trophy culture has been used as a sort of catch-all explanation for what is now wrong with our country, as people perceive young adults as weak "snowflakes" who are unable to deal with the challenges of "the real world."

I believe participation trophy culture is seen as controversial because it runs counter to two core American values — winning and competition.

It is simply assumed that competition and a win-at-all-cost mentality are beneficial to society but is this proposition valid? When we hyper-emphasize that we must win at any cost in competition, we perhaps unintentionally encourage "innovative" strategies to reach the top.

Even for youth athletics, nearly 10% of coaches have encouraged their players to cheat or to intentionally hurt their opponent. At the college level, athletic departments have gone so far as to create fake courses to keep athletes eligible.

In professional sport, we see sign stealing, illicit performance enhancing drugs, etc. So, with these consequences, is the hyper-emphasis on winning really such a great thing?

Returning to the conversation about entitlement, are younger generations really more entitled than other generations? In an online post-game rant, a frustrated college basketball coach referenced entitlement because "everyone thinks they deserve a job. Everyone thinks they deserve a good job."

Is it entitlement to think that well-paying jobs should be available to those who wish to work? Is it "soft" to air frustrations when wages are increasingly not providing the means to comfortably live?

While median household salaries have increased by around $20k in the last few decades, median home values have tripled, median rent has gone from $600 to over $2,000, new car prices have more than doubled and any number of consumer goods have seen significant increases.

Is that really entitlement owing to being raised in a participation trophy culture, or rightful frustration that the American Dream that previous generations had is increasingly unattainable?

Andrew Tatch is an assistant professor of sociology at Troy University in Troy, Ala., and a former resident of Valdosta.

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