Blog Post #4: "Hoop Dreams"

        In the documentary "Hoop Dreams" the audience is taken through the difficult life of William Gates and Arthur Agee. William and Arthur were two high school kids dreaming of making it to the NBA. Both had to overcome many obstacles throughout their high school career, which is shown in the documentary. William and Arthur lived in the ghetto with mostly absent fathers and struggling mothers. Both Arthur and William received the opportunity to play basketball at St. Joseph's high school. William, being the more promising player due to his ability to make varsity his freshman year, was given money to help pay for his attendance of St. Joseph's. Arthur, a junior varsity player, was not offered money. This setback made playing at St. Joseph's that much harder. I sympathized for Arthur when he was forced to drop out of St. Joseph's sophomore year due to financial struggles. Arthur attended his local public school called Marshall, where he had to prove his talent to a whole new program. William continued his basketball career at St. Joseph's, but hit a severe bump in the road when he badly injured his knee. After returning from that injury, William never really healed and he continued to get injured frequently. This worried William and his family, because not only did he want to succeed for himself, he wanted to succeed for his family. William also struggled academically. He could not score an 18 on his ACT test, which decreased his chances for a scholarship. But, William overcame his obstacles and received a scholarship to Marquette University. On the other hand, Arthur's family had little to no money and Arthur's father was now out of the picture because his drug problem increased. Despite these factors, Arthur shined on Marshall's basketball team and he stayed on top of his school work. Arthur also received a college scholarship to Arkansas State. Arthur succeeded for his family, for this matter.

          A theme in the documentary "Hoop Dreams" is to never give up on something if you want it bad enough. William faced family problems such as an absent father, lack of money, and having a daughter his junior year of high school. William refused to neglect his child like his father neglected him. On top of raising a child, repeatedly getting injured, and living in poverty, William never lost sight of his goal: the NBA. William focused solely on his basketball career and made life decisions that would give him a better chance of making it. Additionally, Arthur had plenty of struggles to weigh him down and make him want to give up. His mother had no money, he got released from St. Joseph's, and his father was a drug addict. Arthur could gave given up basketball when he was thrown out of a great developmental program and thrown into an inner-city program. Arthur continued to play because he also never lost sight of his goal. He did whatever it took to help himself reach that goal, like William. Arthur also overcame the bad influence from his father because all he cared about was basketball. William and Arthur can inspire people all around the world to work harder than they ever thought possible, focus on what they want, and go get it. Do not let a single person or thing stop you. If you have a dream, never lose sight of it and never let it slip through your fingers.

Blog Post #3: Impact of Sports

        The article "How Sports Transcends Culture" by Angel Navedo explains a few of the many ways that sports has impacted our culture. Initially, sports has assisted in racial tolerance. Before sports, whites despised blacks and gave them no respect or any rights for that matter. Once blacks were allowed to play sports, respect was given to them because of their ability in that sport. Society learned that skin color does not matter in sports. All that matters is reaching that common goal of winning as a team or individual, while hopefully enjoying yourself at the same time. Additionally, sports has shown athletes to support others based on their ability and not their cultural identity. This goes along with racial tolerance. In sports, opponents will not look exactly like you or have the same beliefs as you. But, everyone is there for the same reason: to enjoy their sport, win, and succeed.  For example, it should not be considered a crime if a white man supports a black man who is considered to be one of the best baseball players in the world. That man deserves any support he receives from anyone due to his hard work to get to where he is. This leads to respect of other players. Ultimately, sports has impacted our culture using the difference of language. At times, two teams oppose each other but they speak different languages. However, if one player on one of the teams speaks the other language, he or she can bring the teams together. This can prevent any fight or confusion, so everyone can just focus on the game/match.
       Sports continues to impact our culture. It has not just stopped with time. Sports never cease to bring all different kinds of people together. At every game or match, there is always a competitive atmosphere between the opponents, but everyone there wants to do their sport its honor. Everyone is their for the love of the sport. That is the power of sports, the thing that brings people together like nothing else. Sports also inspires people to do things they never thought they could do. People with disabilities refuse to let that stop them from participating in their sport. Everyone can look at these disabled people and it can show them that anything is possible. Also, kids look up to professional athletes to push them to get to that level. Sports is full of inspiring people, stories, and situations that drive athletes to work hard and never give up.

        There are positives and negatives regarding sports in today's culture. One positive aspect of sports is the physical activity it provides. In a country with 35.7% obesity, sports provide the opportunity for anyone to get fit while having fun. Another positive is that sports are fun. At the end of the day, everyone started playing/participating in their sport because it was fun. Yes, the fun can be taken away once you get older and better. However, I believe you should never give up because you should always keep working and fighting for that kid that fell in love with the sport. He or she is always inside of you, deep down. A last positive aspect of sports in our culture is the feeling of winning. No one likes the feeling of losing. Winning allows an athlete to feel a sense of accomplishment with the hard work that was put in individually and/or as a team. Despite the positive aspects of sports, there are some negative aspects. One is that they cost money. The more serious an athlete gets in a sports costs more and more money due to travel and simply playing on higher level teams. In a tight economy like today, this can drive people away from sports because they cannot afford to go further or even simply join. Another negative in sports is bad sportsmanship. Some players/participants have horrible class and trash talk/discriminate other athletes. This can mentally and emotionally destroy an athlete which can ruin their experience with sports. A last negative aspect of sports is serious injuries. Serious injuries can prevent an athlete from ever playing their sport again. Not only would this injury destroy them physically, it could seriously hurt them mentally and physically. If this athlete really loved their sport, the idea of them never again being able to throw a football, shoot a soccer ball, or whatever it may be would probably force them to become depressed and angry.
        Sports has impacted my life in ways I never expected. I play soccer and run track, but soccer is my main sport. Whenever I'm on the field, nothing else matters. The only thing on my mind is the game, my teammates, and winning. At that time, my grades or relationships do not matter. I am only thinking about what is around me, which the beautiful game. All sports, not only soccer and track, have taught me what hard work is and what it demands. My sports and my coaches have showed me that nothing ever comes easy. If you want something, you have to go get it. You have to work for it. If I want to succeed, I know I have to work harder than I ever thought possible. It is exhausting, but I believe there is nothing more worth it than that feeling of success I hope to reach someday. Also, I fell in love my sport. All the times I have laced up my cleats and gone to practice is impossible to count, but I am thankful for it every single day. Not many people are as lucky as I am. I get to do what I love, which a lot of people are unable to say. In all the practices and training sessions, we can lose sight of what is really important: the love of the game and the fight inside of us to play for our love of it. However, there are always those moments. Moments where we are on the field and we just step back. We step back and realize it, how much we truly love and cherish this game. I could never imagine myself without soccer. I would not be who I am today without it. This sport has taught me more about life than anyone or anything else, and I am forever grateful for that. As for sports in general, I could not live without them. I honestly think I would be a completely different person without sports. I am afraid of that girl, and I would never want to be her.

Blog Post #2: Violence in the NFL and Super Bowl 49

Violence in the NFL has always been an occurring issue. Players frequently get themselves involved in crimes or violence. Some believe the motive of their actions is from their past before they were famous athletes. Others can argue that they commit these crimes simply because they want to, and think they will come out innocent because they are famous with tons of money. Initially, if any of these NFL athletes commit crimes because of a rough past, they should be able to control themselves. Having a violent upbringing can mess with your mental judgement in a bad situation, but as an adult they should be able to know that crimes are wrong. They could also become a better person by resisting the effects of their difficult past. Additionally, anyone that commits a crime should be found guilty and will serve their time no matter who you are and what you have. Ultimately, these football players are lucky enough to do what they do and have what they have. They make a ridiculous amount of money to play the sport they love. Yes, they have to do a lot of extra interviews/press conferences for the media, but getting payed to play the sport you love should overrule any of that. Committing any crimes or violence will only screw up these athletes' lives, and take the game away from them. 

Super Bowl 49 was one of the most exciting games I have seen in my lifetime. I love football, so I was very into this game. In the beginning of it, the Patriots were not playing as well as all the fans would want. Brady threw an interception in the end zone stripping the Patriots of being the first ones on the board. We were being stopped by the Seahawks' defense. This was when I was getting nervous and angry because I thought we might continue to blow it. However, after watching games throughout the season and going to the AFC championship I know what the Patriots can do in the second half. They started playing better, but I thought it was over in the middle/end of the fourth quarter. Kearse caught a pass that was near impossible. Lynch was yards away from scoring in the next drive. Then, Malcolm Butler intercepted the throw that would have made the Seahawks repeat. It was so amazing to see, and the Patriots did not let their fans down. The team wanted it, the fans wanted it, and we got it. 

Blog Post #1: Deflate Gate

The top discussion in sports news during the weeks between the AFC Championship and Super Bowl 49 is the Deflate Gate. Many have claimed that the Patriots deflated the footballs to make it easier for them to catch and throw them. This of course is considered cheating. I personally think this whole thing is ridiculous. The Patriots are not known as a cheating team, and they would never jeopardize their chance at going to the Super Bowl. Also, if the Patriots lost, no investigation would have happened. The "guilty" team lost, so it would not have mattered. 

People accusing the Patriots of cheating by deflating the footballs refuse to logically acknowledge the facts. The footballs were tested in a location with similar weather conditions as Foxboro that night. The air pressure dropped due to the conditions, which indicates that if the balls were slightly deflated, it would be from the weather. In addition, the footballs were checked several times by the referees. Incase people have forgotten, NFL referees are professionals and know what they are doing. They know way more about the rules of football than any fan, for that matter. Most of this controversy has happened simply because the Patriots won of course, and because people are sick of how good Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are. People are jealous of their 3, now 4, Super Bowl rings. Honestly, get over it. It is pathetic to be immature and accuse a team of cheating because you are sick of how they can play good football and win. I think it is perfect that after all of this unnecessary drama, the Patriots won the Super Bowl.