Bizarre dance finish brings a lesson in sportsmanship

My Valentine's Day evening was spent at home watching the Wild game. Exciting and romantic stuff, I know.

As usual, I had my Twitter feed open. Then a couple non-Wild-related Tweets got my attention from the Minnesota State High School League's John Millea, who was at the state dance meet. Here are a couple examples:

5 of the 6 3A dance teams are not lined up correctly on the court. Those 5 teams may have to forfeit their awards.
— John Millea (@MSHSLjohn) February 15, 2015

Here are the other five 3A teams, not standing where they were supposed to. pic.twitter.com/42GgfTy1Ba
— John Millea (@MSHSLjohn) February 15, 2015

Faribault team has left the arena ... and now the other five teams have moved and are standing in the proper spots.
— John Millea (@MSHSLjohn) February 15, 2015

I didn't understand what was going on at first. I thought it was some rigid rule in place about lining up correctly, and if so, I thought to myself, why didn't the teams pay better attention to where they had to be?

At this point, the high kick dance controversy hadn't yet blown up social media and the internet. But it was the first story that popped up in my Facebook news feed when I checked my phone early Sunday morning.

Protest was unnecessary
By now, you probably know the drill on this. Faribault's dance team was awarded first-place in the state high kick competition after five other teams were disqualified because of poor sportsmanship for failing to lineup properly during the awards ceremony.

Once I heard that the MSHSL already investigated allegations against Faribault's routine earlier in the week and determined they did not break any rules, that was kind of all I needed. If the MSHSL gave the Emeralds the go-ahead for their routine, then that's that. Why the protest by the other teams?

It doesn't make sense to me. The decision was made, so move on. I'm not saying these dancers and coaches had to like it or agree with it. But the protest was uncalled for and indeed showed poor sportsmanship.

Should any rules be changed?
With the spotlight on this controversy, and as a result the MSHSL rules for the dance competition, we'll have to see how this plays out. Does the league take a look at the rules and make some changes in what's allowed or not allowed for dance routines? Maybe. I just hope changes won't be made simply for the sake of changes after such a high-profile protest.

Sports evolve, obviously, so if there's room to improve it with some rule changes, fine. Do what's best for the dance teams. There's a lot of talk about Faribault's routine being "original." The Faribault coach said something like it was a few counts here and there taken from another routine that inspired what the Emeralds competed with at state.

Going forward, I think there will be a lot more debate about "original" routines and defining that more clearly. What makes it an original routine? Can you take a few things here and there from different routines to, as they say, make it your own? Is it OK to use the same music along with a few similar counts?

The disqualified schools came out with statements Monday, many saying they're investigating or looking into what happen with Saturday's award ceremony. I think the real lessons here need to be in the sportsmanship. Hold these teams, especially the coaches, accountable for their display of basically being sore losers.

I wonder if *everyone* was on board with the protest
I know the five teams standing together obviously appeared united in their snub to the state champs. I'd love to know the thoughts of each individual dancer though. Did everyone feel the same way? Every single girl?

I could easily believe some of them did not want to stand there that night. They wanted to stand where they were told by the league. They did not want to take a stand or whatever the teams thought was being done. They wanted to be recognized for the season of hard work they put in to their routines and accept their award.

Even if some of them felt that way, who can blame them for holding hands with the rest of their teammates and other competitors? Whether it's right or wrong, that would be a tough decision for a teenage girl to make. Peer pressure at its finest.

Maybe I'm way off base here, but I guess I'd like to think some of the dancers on that floor felt this way.

Turn it around
It's too bad something like this had to happen. It's created an unwelcome spotlight to Minnesota and its dancers. Let's try and create a positive result out of this, "Bring It On" jokes aside. Use this situation as an example for younger dancers. Teach them about how important it is to be good sports and gracious losers, even when you don't agree with the decision.

There's no reason to let these participating teams think that what they did was OK.