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.