Since we're all hunkering down...and suffering from cabin fever...we pulled out some old box games. With my 4-yr-old granddaughter we played Chutes and Ladders, I'm sure you are familiar with the game. The first two games my granddaughter won, but the third time I won, and just as I was about to suggest we play again she got terribly upset. She went from sadness to anger, she even shoved the board away "I don't want to play anymore. I don't like this game!" Of course we counseled her not to act that way. You're not going to win every game...blah, blah, blah.

Afterwards I asked myself where she learned that behavior. She has not been around me, er, very much when I watch sports on TV. And besides, I have chilled a bunch in recent years. Although my wife blames me for such things, I honestly don't believe she learned that from me. So, I pose a question: are humans just naturally competitive? Maybe the intensity of how it manifests is a learned behavior, but the basic instinct is present in everyone.

Today we see youth sports' leagues TRYING to play down the competitive side of sports. Some youth leagues don't keep score...although I have often seen the kids do! Yep! most of the kids, even as young as 7 or 8, know the score of the game they just finished, even as their parents pretend "no one won." I personally think we are doing kids a disservice playing down the competitive nature of sports. I do think they should be taught to be good sports, to congratulate the other team, and to accept they won't ever win every game they play...learn to live with that.

Comments? Are people just naturally competitive?