Will you draw out the best in me?

This afternoon my beloved switched on the TV.

Before us was the final of the Under 20 Soccer World Cup from Bogota, Columbia. The contenders? Brazil and Portugal. The score? 2-2 at full time. Thirty minutes of extra time were imminent. Players from both sides were sitting on the pitch, taking water and stretching, preparing themselves for another half hour of exertion, having already completed three times that.

The final score? Brazil 3-2 Portugal. But that's not the point.

What amazed me was witnessing two acts of extraordinary sportsmanship during extra time, when players from opposing sides assisted instead of contended with one another. At this point in such a match, cramps are a hazard. The finalists are playing their seventh game in 28 days (most on top of their usual club seasons), and have already played a full match before being subjected to another half hour.

The first act was during a stoppage in play. The footage streaming into my lounge room was of a Brazilian helping a Portuguese stretch out a cramp. The latter was on his back with his leg raised vertically, while the former was holding that leg, helping him stretch.

The second was a Portuguese player being substituted off for cramp. It happened after Brazil had scored what was to be the winning goal. The Portuguese player had to hop and stumble off the pitch, and an opposition player came alongside him and assisted him off the pitch. When they both reached the edge of the playing surface, the crowd's applause was not merely for the Portuguese hero, but also for the selfless act of sportsmanship.

Am I being too romantic? Were my eyes looking through spectacles a shade too rosy? I don't believe so. Of course the Brazilian players could have been assisting in order to resume the match as quickly as possible (for an advantage), but I don't think that was the motivation. Why? Because without doubt the assistance which was lent only served one purpose: it allowed the opposition players to play better against those assisting. In the case of the substitute, it only served to speed the entrance of a fresh player from the other team. Many a match carrying lesser stakes has been won by a substitute being brought on with less than two minutes remaining.

I believe the acts witnessed were amazing, selfless acts of sportsmanship. Each of them was birthed from a value of people being more important than winning. It is the spirit in which each of us hopes sport is played. And it says to the opposition I want to beat you, but I want to do it while you are at your best, because only then will you draw out the best in me.

Do we play sport in such a spirit? For that matter, do we ever conduct ourselves in such a way? Interacting with another in such a way that enables us to give our very best. Do we value the best to be seen in others the way we desire our best to be seen by others?