"Final Reflections"

-What was your perception of US sport before you took this class?

Before this class I had a very minimal understanding of sports in the United States. Growing up in the South, college football was always a really big deal, but I paid little or no attention to it. In many ways I feel that I even left the South because of the way they put so much value on things I did not necessarily understand or agree with. Sports was one of those activities that I did not understand. When I thought about sports, my mind immediately went to the sports my friends played in high school and college football. Since I grew up on a small island, our school did not have very many sports to offer which is why there was so much attention on college football. As i’ve said in one of my blogs, many of friends decided where to go to college not because of the education, but because of the sports. 

Thus, my perception of sports was something that our society values to such a high esteem that it dictates their decisions and identities. The part that I did enjoy was the way it brings people together. It has a community-like pull to it which I found to be a very positive quality. However, with that assimilation also came aggression. There was always a few people who were on the opposing team which made people get into arguments. 

In high school I lived with my mother, who was not a huge fan of sports. She never forced me or my brother to participate which caused me to feel very indifferent about sports in society. I did not enjoy watching it and sometimes felt as though I was missing out on some part of high school by not adding it into my life. 

-Has your understanding/perception of US sports culture changed through taking this class? if so, how and why?

My understanding/perception of sports culture has changed a great deal since I have taken this class. As I stated above, I knew sports was seen as a big deal but never understood why people cared about it so much. In my first paper I looked at a University of Alabama vs. Auburn game. I chose this one because I had a friend who went to each of these schools and was able to conduct interviews about this game and why they saw it as so important. After this paper I began to understand not only why sports was important to their identities, but how the media influences how these identities are formed. Before the game even started, the commentary began by saying “This is the state of Alabama”. Immediately there was a sense of state pride and even connected its history to sports. I knew from my friends that this game was important, but never knew it could create a states identity. Through this project I began to see that sports was more than just a form of entertainment. I now see sports as extremely significant because of how the media ascribes particular definitions to identities: race, gender, sexual orientation, etc. 

-What discussion topics/new facts stood out to you the most? why?

The part of the class that I liked the most was not necessarily a topic/new fact, but how we were encouraged to look at the “dark side” of sports. Since I am an English major, I am constantly finding counterarguments and encouraged to look at things critically. By taking this class, I was able to analyze a particular part of our society that I had not yet investigated. Understanding how important sports is to our world allowed me to develop a new appreciation for its presence. It is actually a very great way to look at society because of how globalized it has become. It explains a lot about how we view identities and can be a great outlet for making statements and unveiling issues that need to addressed. For example, In the book Sports in Society, the first two sentences Coakley states in the chapter Sports and the Economy are, “Sports have been used as public entertainment through history. However, they’ve never been so thoroughly commercialized as they are today” (Coakley, 2009, 354). Although sports have always been a form of public entertainment, Coakley notes that there has been a shift in how much it has evolved: becoming highly commercialized. Due to the increase in commercialized sports the portrayal of athletic identities has also increased. Through this, sports can help aid our understanding of different identities. 

-Will you start to ask more critical questions about the US sports world once you move on from this class?

Yes, I will definitely begin to ask more critical questions about US sports. My friends have always made fun of me for my lack of knowledge about sports, but now I feel as though I have a better understanding than they do. This class did not necessarily increase my desire to watch sports but it did aid in forming a new appreciation for it. After this class it seems almost impossible to not look at sports from a critical standpoint. Even more so, I hope that my critical understanding of it can help others understand sports differently when a conversation presents itself. I now feel as though I have a particular value within the sporting world.

-Do you think you will be able to use any of the skills learned in this class in your future career? if so, how?

When signing up for this class I was mostly just looking to fill one of my requirements. Now, I am deeply thankful that I took this class because of the job I have every summer. During my summers I work for an outdoor adventure company where I lead a group of high school students on back packing trips. Since most of the companies students are from the South and since most of them are in the early stages of thinking about their college career, I now feel like I can help them in ways I could not before. Luckily I always have a male co-leader who is able to talk about this topic whenever it was brought up. Now that I have a better understanding of sports, I can now understand its weight on some teenagers. I remember a student last summer talking about the pressures he felt from his father and brother to go to a college where he could play football. At the time I did not know how to relate since this was a pressure I never experienced growing up. Now I think I can help these students in ways that my co-leader could not. I may not be able to argue which sports team is better, but I can help in bring in these critical questions in order to get my students to think differently about sports. 

-Would you recommend this class to a friend? if so, why/why not?

I would definitely recommend this class to a friend. It is different than all of the classes I have taken at CU and incorporates a lot of different ways of studying besides just taking a midterm and an exam. This class is very good at keeping topics interesting while also bringing in different  ways in which view sports: through debates, open discussion, blogs, papers, exams. The versatility of tasks makes the class feel different and exciting every time. I can honestly say that I was never bored because it addressed important issues that I did not know could be viewed through the lens of the sporting world. 

"Interrogating inequalities in Sports Media: Examining gender/race representation in USA Today"

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/richard-sherman-erin-andrews-interview/

“Don’t you open your mouth about the best or I’m gonna shut it for you real quick.”

This is an expert from an interview with Richard Sherman, a Seattle Seahawks NFL player after the most recent super bowl game. The interaction between him and the female newscaster provides us an interesting look into patriarchy male dominance relations. The above quote suggests, that Sherman is not only aggressive in tone but also overconfident and dominant in his demeanor. From the public views perspective, we see a small blonde newscaster, Erin Andrews, and a large black football player overcasting her. Sherman not only overpowers Andrews but also becomes quite aggressive in tone and body language, we see her physically take a step back during the interview and it is clear that Richards is the dominant protagonist in the interview. It seems as if he disregards her as a woman and a human. Unfortunately, he insinuates the negative stigmas we see in male sports in today’s society. He is overpowering and dominant over the woman he is standing next to, and in the interview he is acting in a very egotistical manner with all disregard for his surroundings. In regards to sports in society; we see overpowering males and as a result women are often left on the back burner as newscasters and fans. Males are set at the forefront of the media, and in many cases it allows the dominant behavior that seems to transpire by many male athletes. The example I used is just one instance, where the male dominate character takes priority over the female. Unfortunately, the villain like persona that Sherman characterized in this interaction becomes somewhat normalized in the sports culture. 

"Why the 'Mans Mans' Game is an Insult to Men"

As we have seen in many issues within sports, misogyny brings core issues of violence and homophobia at the forefront. Masculinity is able to sustain itself because it is the dominant form in our society in terms of power relations. Since experiences in sports are typically divided up into the binary between “boys” and “girls”, this rivalry is what allows for sports to be unsafe for LGBT athletes. When people are divided up into all-male groups, this causes a sense of rivalry to act masculine because of their group interactions.  The same goes for the feminine side. On the cover of the film Training Rules it lists three rules No drinking, No drugs, No Lesbians. This immediately aligns sexuality as being a binary between normal and abnormal. If being a lesbian is grouped into the same wrongness as drugs and drinking, then that has a huge effect on those whose sexual orientation is not heterosexual. Instead of address sexual orientation issues, sports has created an environment where discussing “other” identities is not welcomed. 

Sexual orientation is often difficult to understand because of two issues. In the book The Psychology of Sexual Orientation, Behavior, and Identity, Diamant and McAnulty state that the two issues are “one that pertains to the meaning of sexual orientation, and the other is the quality of information available for understanding sexual orientation within the framework of social institutions” (410). These two issues are important to understand because it separates meaning and understanding.  With this model in mind, sports is thus the “social institution” in which the “quality of information available for understanding sexual orientation” is yet another institution where this is an apparent issue. 

Sports is and is not a safe environment for LGBT athletes. The reason why it is not is because of the violence that sports culture maintains. Misogyny within sports creates a focus on the ways males perform in relations to their masculinity. If someone’s sexual orientation is understood as not being masculine, then the issue is placed on the meaning of sexual orientation in the sporting institution. Ironically, this could be also be why sports is a safe place for LGBT athletes. Of course it is not safe because of what I just said, but, because of the focus on masculinity, sports could be the outlet for speaking up for LGBT rights. It’s highly commercialized and those who do begin to unveil their sexual orientation could help in making this issue more commercialized/normalized. This is also how I would strategize a more inclusive American sport culture. The more athletes begin to speak up for their identities, the more masculinity will begin to lose its weight on how we define a successful athlete. It’s not a big step, but it is a start. Even this class for example has brought more attention to the relationship between sports and sexual orientation.  This discussion is clearly become more popular and it can only continue to be so. 

Similar to what we discussed with the word “nigga” become a term of endearment, words such as “fag” “cunt” etc., are also becoming words that could become not associated with something negative. Since “nigga” is relating to race, “fag” “cunt” are words relating to sexual orientation. I am in a class right now where someone read an article that said women in other cultures see the word “cunt” as a positive term. Our vernacular is process that is constantly changing over time. This can be seen through music. The song “Strange Fruit” by Nina Simone, is used in Kanye West’s song “Blood on the Leaves” on his most recent album. While Simone’s song is more about the history of lynching, West uses this sampling within his own song to bring in issues about race relations today. Over time words, styles, music, etc., are all artistic expression that are adapting themselves to issues of the present. 

Darwin's Athletes

Although the sociology of sports looks at sports, as a social activity, influences our ideas about social life, the psychology of sport is also a realm in which to view sports. Sociology and psychology can be easily understood as the difference between the public and private sphere. Since sports takes places within a public setting, it is the private setting of sports that becomes more difficult because it is hidden. When I say private setting, I am referring to that which is  internal. This internal realm exists within the individual. The internal realm works as a way of defining Sports in African American culture. It is significant because society uses sports to define African Americans as “superior when it comes to physical abilities in certain sports” (Coakley 286). Due to this, African American’s see/feel as though sports is their gateway into society or at least as an activity that allows them to climb the social ladder. 

The commercialization of sports has allowed this to become a socially accepted norm. Due to the rags to riches mentality that America uses to illustrate it’s national identity as a land of opportunity. In Hoop dreams, this is seen because it shares topics and tropes that makes blackness out to be this superior trait that is crucial to winning in the game. This is a form of scientific racism. This idea was used a long time ago to prove that the white race was superior and to justify issues around slavery. Here, sports is being used as another form of scientific racism in the sense that the black race is superior within the sporting culture. The players in Hoop Dreams are African American subjects that are successful because of the pursuit for basketball stardom. The images in the film are ones of the inner-city. This is similar to the athlete in The Blind Side, a movie in which there are frequent images of inner-city life. Due to these Hollywood portrayals, society sees African American’s in sports as a group whose success is because they came from nothing. 

I believe that sports is not necessarily damaging Black Americans but it is the media and Hollywood who is to blame for these reinforced ideologies.  However, with that said, I do believe Hoop Dreams does a good job with using this type of portrayal as a way to reference the situation at hand. The characters hardship are a course of events that leads them to this suburban school. In this way, the movie and The Blind Side could also be making a comment on White American culture. Our failure to see this issues and the how the notion of being “color blind” is false. 

Sports, (Wo)Men, and the Gender Order

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9ei0047s1I

In this commercial, Under Armour uses football players to endorse their clothing line. This commercial is set in June and is using the upcoming football season as a way to show their product. It begins with an African American player getting ready for the season, waking up early to do push ups in home. The words  “ready for august” flash across three different pictures. These scenes move quickly with the fast pace rap music streaming in the background. It is directly targeting football which means they are also targeting the male gender. Most of the players shown are African American which links to the statistics on how 70-80 percent of football players are African Americans (Coakley 309). While this is true, it again reinforces race and ethnicity issues in sports. These players also have an expression on their faces that is directly linked to the male  stereotype: aggressive, indifferent, tough, etc. Their serious look sends a message that these individuals are serious. To even further this aggressive stereotype, there is one point when two players are arguing about “who is going to step up”. Every scene is covered with gender messages especially those towards African American males.

It frames sports as a way from rags to riches in society because it follows one player who is in a poor living environment and then suddenly having success on the field. Since the video ends with the words #Iwill, it is sending a message to young people that if you committed and work hard, this can be their future too. There is even one moment where the camera pauses on a young African American child looking out the window towards the players practicing. This has a lot of negative consequences because it is making a message more so for this targeted group than the product itself. In fact, the only time you actually see the products name is at the end of the commercial. This is negative because of this rags to riches idea. Sports is often seen as a way for society to integrate and improve issues around race and race relations.  However, it is actually suggesting that “young blacks, especially men, grow up believing that the black body is superior when it comes to physical abilities” and this commercial seeks to “inspire some young people to believe it is their biological and cultural destiny to play certain sports” (Coakley 286). 

"Once the cheering stops: The life of a retired pro-athlete".

In my opinion, this has been the most interesting blog articles to read. I have never truly thought about the difficulties retired athletes go. At least, I didn't think it was this extreme. The ESPN article started out very mundane and I thought to myself, "hey, watching tv shows on netflix in a Manhattan apartment sounds pretty good to me". However, this was not the case. Being so fixated on sports and sports only for so long makes this sudden and dramatic change very difficult. This quote "You can retire from football but you can't retire from living" has a huge impact on the article. Retirement at such a young age puts these athletes in a huge identity crisis. Football is their living and once football is taken out of the equation, living is not so easy.

These players are told what to do all the time. Having a schedule is important to the human routine to create stability but when there is nothing on the agenda, it is not surprising that these athletes go into an identity crisis. In the NY times article, Mr. Lee says about this issues  "I was witnessing my own social funeral". Going from being a star, having lots of support and fans, then having no one know who you are or even care is heartbreaking. Their worth, not only in a financial sense but in personal sense, is lost. I could not believe that 78% of athletes go bankrupt, among multiple health issues and emotional trauma.
Although these numbers astounded me greatly, I can understand why they are. They grew up focusing on just football. Not knowing how to handle their money is a typical thing for athletes. They spend constantly during the season and don't realize how much their money will be gone once its all over. There is a lot  that goes into retirement and trying to discover your self aside from being an athlete is like starting over completely from scratch. Trying to learn basic skills that most people at their age have already developed.

This is an aspect of sports that is not drawn on upon in the media. There needs to be some sort of program for athletes post-retirement in order to prepare them for the real world. Sports is highly valued in the United States. Being apart of this "value" is a huge ego boost. Once their ego is gone however, its no surprise that depression kicks in. I have never considered the true perils of life after sports because I think people think that it is the sports career in general that would be more difficult and dangerous. Greater awareness and support should be implemented and contracts should be reassessed.

"A kiss is not just a kiss: Sports, Politics, and the Sochi Olympics"

The issue illustrated in all of these articles are ones associated with sports and politics. Similar to the separation of Church and State, sports and politics are no different. Although we say that these two things are not in accord with one another, they most certainly are. The political issues surrounding these articles are ones related to sexual orientation. In the "Open Letter to David Cameron and the IOC" article by Stephen Fry, it becomes clear that this sports-politics relationship has happened many times in the past. Fry brings up the incident in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, when Jews were "banned from academic tenure or public office" causing the police to avoid any acts of violence towards this minority group. The Olympic movement also "paid no attention" to this discrimination and is again doing the same thing now with LGBT Russians.

The Olympics being used to frame this political debate can be seen in the Washington Post article, when Inouye states that the U.S. delegation "represents the diversity that is the United States". The "Accomplishments" he talks about later are directly correlated to "civic activism, and sports". This statement, parallels with the issues of gay rights in 2014 Olympics in Russia because it is being used to explain why President Obama is not attending the Olympics. While this may not be the entire the reason, it does appear from the article to be something that is a factor in the Presidents decision.

Standing up for these issues is a big deal. In terms of what should be done, I think this recognition and discussion about the issue should continue to remain open to the public eye. However, this could bring the "established" binary between politics and sports closure together. Awareness should be at the forefront because laws always have loop holes and/or are avoided.

London Calling: The Globalization of the NFL

I have to admit that I have a particular advantage with this blog entry. I've said in my previous blogs that I grew up on island off of Georgia, which is extremely close to Jacksonville, Florida. In fact, it is the airport I use to fly to and from home. I also have been to Jacksonville enough times to understand why Shahid Khan is doing this. My community knows a lot about him because he has funded a lot of charity events on Saint Simons Island (where I grew up).

I have already stated one factor facilitating this expansion to London: the location of Jacksonville. It is easier for the Jacksonville Jaguars to make this bold move than say the Denver Bronco's because of the airport. Jacksonville is directly on the East Coast. Travel wise, going to London from Jacksonville is a lot easier.

Khan wants to do this for many reason. He is a very recent owner of this NFL team and the Jaguars are not too far from loosing their team. Jacksonville has the smallest television market of any NFL team because it is a small place. In terms of land mass, Jacksonville is the largest metropolitan city in America but that means nothing because their population is extremely small. Khan knows he has problem. The NFL wants to expand their market and oversees is where they go because London is starting to like the professional American football, even though soccer is their sport. If he can does this, they will be the first NFL team in London. Khan does a lot of business out of London so he has a particular advantage because he already has ties there. London is the most "valuable sporting enterprise on the planet" (1). This could attract a lot of people but of course there are many consequences.

As of right now, they are playing a few games in London and will expand if it goes well. Jacksonville is the obvious candidate for this because they are doing the worst, they are small, and because of their location on the east coast. However, there are a lot of negative consequences besides just the logistics of the travel. This could fail tremendously, it is an extremely bold move of Khan to do this. If he does, it will alienate a lot of Jaguar fans. Some have season tickets, and if that switches from say 8 to six, that is huge for their fans and it may cause a lot of anger for the people in Jacksonville. Traveling would be really hard also, this will for sure cause anger not just between fans but for the players as well. The solutions offered on page three on the article are valid, but they are not perfect.

Khan is also a very powerful man. His story is not one that should be avoided because it does illustrate that this idea may not be too ridiculous as it sounds. Khan came from nothing. He went to Northwestern University, got into a fraternity which would have normally (during that period of time) rejected him because of his Pakistan nationality. He came from nothing and made himself into a billionaire against all odds. He is clearly a very smart man but this "london calling" may not be the right answer. His other option is to go to LA.

Sociogenesis of American Saddlebred Horseback Riding

The United States horse showing did not begin until after Britain because of Britain's Jockey Club founded in 1750. The Jockey Club was in charge of all British racing until the end of the 19th century. The American Jockey Club was later formed in 1894. The first rules were formed in 1894 in the American Stud Book, for the official record of Thoroughbred breeding in the United States, as well as Canada. My focus will be on American Saddlebred Horseback Riding instead of Thoroughbred, but these rules began with Thoroughbred's and then to the American Saddlebred.

American's innovated the way in which jockey's ride horses. It was their idea to push the saddle forward and shorten the stirrups and the reins. They also created dirt tracks, which were much smaller in Britain and did not have a good arena for showing.

The American Saddlebred is an extremely tall, flashly, and gaited horse. It rides much differently than the jockey's we see today on TV. They have very animated steps and instead of riding down low, their heads are raised high and the rider sits very tall. Much taller than the thoroughbreds, American Saddlebred are about 15 to 16 inches tall. While Thoroghbreds were originally bred for racing, American Saddlebreds were used for showing because of their ability to slow gait and rack (which is a faster version of slow gait).

Originally, the Saddlebred was a workhorse used for ploughing. Then their owners began to brag about which horse was faster which led to raises and then showing because of their resemblance to the Arabian horse.

During shows, balance and harmony were key. Back in the day Men would wear white-tie, black-tie, and women would wear ball gowns. Today, people still dress up, but not to this extreme. The riders outfits have not changed very much except for quality.

Sport in the Ancient World

The Sports in Ancient Greece were more than just sports, but functioned as a job, entertainment, and first and foremost as a tribute to the Gods. Before any Greek Athlete could compete, he had to swear to Zeus that he had been through intensive training and that he was prepared to work a final month under the supervision of Olympic Judges. Olympic judges played a big part in the sports. For example, if one of the runners in the sprinting event crossed over the line before it was time to start, the runner would be whipped (like a slave) in front of the whole crowd by the Judge. That however is just one rule for one event.

In the video, sprinting appeared to be the main and longest living sport among the Greeks. I found it extremely interesting that the Greeks found such direct correlation between the athletes body and religion. Everyone has come across or seen examples of Greek sculpture and the perfect bodies displayed. This is how the Greeks thought the human body should look and athletes went under a lot of rituals before and after practice. Before the athlete practiced, someone would rub oil all over their body and sprinkle yellow dust in order to form a cloud-like image around him. This was a symbol of divinity because of the sweet smelling body odor it created. After practice, someone would use a scrapper and scrap off all of their dust and sweat. These remnants were then used in medicines.

Another thing I found extremely interesting was the participants in Greek sports were all freeborn Greeks that were aristocrats and laborers. People from the poorest background made full time commitments to athletics which proves just how important it was to the Greeks.

As time went by, the Greeks added a dozen more sports. There was the discuss thrower, the triple jump, boxing, race in a helmet and armor, a four horse chariot race, and the Javelin. At these sporting events, the only woman that could attend was a priests goddess, which was the sister of zeus. The Greeks invited the first multi-sport event in olympian games which was called the Pentathlon. The first event was the triple jumpers who carried weights as they jumped. Then came the Discuss throwers who threw their disc's without spinning like the modern players. Last was the Javelin throwers. If one man won the race was over. However, if one man did not one win, there was a race and wrestling match to break the tie. During the Boxing match, the object of the game was not to kill the other man because if he did the dead man would be buried with and olive wreath.

At the last even there was a race of athletes with armor. Then there were ceremonies to celebrate the olympic athletes. All of modern day olympic games stemmed from the Ancient Greeks.

Sports, Society & Me

At first when I read question 3A, I began to contemplate how much I would be able to contribute to the class. I rode horses in high school but in terms of the major sports that we have discussed in class, I have almost zero connection to them. However, I realized although it may not be considered a "sport", the most important connection I have is backpacking. It is a sport in the sense that it creates a unifying and dividing affect. There is an element of teamwork, trust, costs, physicality, motivation, determination, identity, competitiveness, etc. All of these characteristics can be attributed to a sport such as football; and although no one pays to watch people hike, it is a spectacle that is all enveloped in the experience.

Backpacking and the outdoors plays a huge role in my life. I never thought about in this way but it has dictated a lot of my decision. I grew up on and island off Georgia, but I came to Boulder to be surrounded by those who also felt a desire to close to the mountains. It also is the root of all of my biggest accomplishments. In high school I did three week backpacking trips every summer and successfully climbed the Grand Teton and Mount Rainer. When I got to the top of the Grand Teton, there was a photo taken of me which ended up being on the cover of the magazine for the company I was a student for. This developed a deep sense of positivity and fearlessness for me. I now work for this company and try my hardest every trip to give my students the motivation and positivity I felt from my own leaders.

Being on a mountain is not only a personal struggle but a group struggle. Everyone has to be aware of the dangers and outdoor ethics just as every sport in society has to be cautious of. I remember on Mount Rainer there were multiple moments when I had to check in with myself and my group about going back down. Getting to the top is not nearly as important as making it back down. The outdoor ethics behind backpacking is called "Leave No Trace". This contains seven long written out guidelines for how to behave in the outdoors in order for others to be able to have the same experience and keep the wilderness clean. In a sense, one must leave the places they go as if they have never been there before.
I developed this connection from my leaders. They were fantastic role models and I owe all my achievements and my ability to accept my own failures to them.

I believe the roles of sports in US society are of course positive and negative. They are only negative if they are taught and drawn out in the wrong way. Sport teaches us how to take care of yourself physically, mentally, and emotionally. Going off of that, it also teaches other group members this as well because behaviors of the group affect the individual. It also teaches extreme discipline on and off the field. I have noticed that when I become more sporty, I am able to recognize other areas that I need to work on personally.

Sports in American Society are extremely important. Like I said at the beginning of this blog, I was intimidated by this question at first because I did not think I played a "sport". When I think about United States, sports is one of the first things that comes to mind and something I do not feel apart of. Athletes are role models. Since I do not know much about sports, in my mind they are very much valued. I would be really interested to hear about what others think about the value of althletes.

The Sport Ethic

Although everyone is familiar with the word "ethic", sports ethic seems to be a very particular phenomena in which athletes are so committed to their sports ethic that it becomes problematic. Sports ethic is an "exclusive guide for their [athletes] behavior, sport and sport participation" (Hughes & Coakley 307). With Sports ethics there are four major points that go along with these guidelines: 1. sacrifice for the game, 2. seeking distinctions, 3. taking risks, and 4. challenging limits. Although these are positive ethics, its normativity has itself become a way for it evolve behavior. When Hughes and Coakley discuss Positive Deviance, and its relation to Sports Ethics, they are not using deviance as a negative word. It is more so to describe how athletes positively stick to these ethics so much that they care too much for sport to the extent that they begin to neglect their family. Athletes are committed to what they have learned from these ethics and look up to those who are exemplary sportsman. 

Athletes conform to these set of beliefs because of the "thrill" that comes when playing a sport and the desire for a sponsor and other perks that are given to star athletes. There is so much embedded in the hope of being recognized that they stick to these ethics soo strongly. Athletes are major members of our economy. The pressures they face and the "uniqueness" they feel, increases their ego (Hughes & Coakley 313). Hughes and Coakley argue that there is a need for the abandonment of these ideal values and instead add more value of "moral" behaviors. 

"Sport(s) in the USA".

Hello traveler! Welcome to the U.S. I hear you want to know about sports in my country and I am going to do my best to describe them to you. Although I was never a major athlete myself, I did grow up surrounded by friends who were. Where I grew up, the main sports were Soccer and Basketball. Both include a ball and the goal of the game is to score as many points as you can by kicking or shooting the ball into the goal. Being physically in shape is a major element to both sports. They are mostly team orientated and separated by gender. Therefore, there is always a boys team and girls team. Football and baseball are two other main sports in America. They also contain a ball but a baseball is a lot smaller than a football; and a football does not have a round shape like all the other sports have. As I said before, all require a sense of teamwork and cooperation. Players are typically very goal driven, determined, and a successful sports player is generally highlighted for being best all around.

My high school had a soccer player who was one of my good friends and won the Gatorade Woman of the year award when I was a senior in high school. This was my real first impression of what it meant to be a star athlete because Morgan was not just a fantastic soccer player but she was great in school and did a lot of community service. In other words, she fully encapsulated the meaning of determination.  Sports in high school differ a lot in my opinion from the sports in college. Sports can be a deciding factor for many students in trying to decide which school to go to. I grew up in the South and from what I can tell there is also a huge geographical difference in the way people react to sports.
For example, when I came to Colorado, although we had big sports, it did not seem as big of deal as when I went home. When I came home for Christmas break, I could not involve myself in any of the conversations with my friends because of how much sports had influenced their college experience.

In a sense, sports has become a major aspect of "the college experience". On a typical gameday, one will often find a lot of inebriated college students, wearing their teams colors, some will have their faces painted, there is lots of cheering, there is frequent moments where the fans will sing their sports theme song. It's pretty rowdy but can be one of the greatest memories a student will have in college. Like I said earlier, sports at many colleges is one of the main things students think about when trying to decide where to go (next to education of course :]).

Sports in the U.S.A. are important because they bring people together and have a tremendous effect on our economy.  They donate to charity and big games bring in tourist. A successful athlete is mostly someone who has been apart of the sport for a long time and has won a lot of memorable awards. Money and awards are not just the only thing, it is also about character and being a good role model to their fans.