Sports Pages #15: Final Reflections

Before I took this class my perception of US sport was basically what I watched on TV or played in high school. I didn’t think too much about money and politics and the impact they have on the actual game, the athletes and the fans. I don’t think my attitude towards US sports culture has changed per se, but I have definitely learned a lot and have been introduced to a different outlook. The topic that stood out to me the most was when we discussed the lives of retired athletes, especially retired NFL athletes. On TV and in magazines they look like they live the perfect lives, but behind closed doors and after their time to shine is over, they live lives far from perfect. It just goes to show that the media can make anything look how they want it to. To be honest, I’ll probably look at the US sports world a little different after this class. I’m not going to change which sports I watch, but I’ll definitely think differently about what goes on when the athletes aren’t on the field. This class improved my research/writing skills and helped me look outside the box on topics I wouldn’t have done so before. I believe I’ll take a more analytical approach when looking into subjects that seem basic at first. I already have recommended this class to multiple people. I believe it’s a good class to take if you’re interested in sports and it’s influence on society and society’s influence on sport.

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

Professional sports are extremely competitive and can be life changing not only for the athletes but the people around them as well. Being drafted into the NFL or NBA at age 21 or 22 is an extreme life change. Being 21, I couldn’t imagine depositing a check for $500,000 into my bank account. One thing I found shocking was that on top of being paid tens of millions of dollars, most of the athletes aren’t educated in finances; this is a disaster waiting to happen.  After two years of retirement, around 78% of NFL players have gone bankrupt or are under financial stress (30 for 30). How is that even possible when they’re contracts are worth millions of dollars?

These athlete are not just competitive on the field or court, they compete with one another at the clubs, restaurants and other business deals. They spend thousands of dollars each night at the clubs. One former athlete spent $57,000 on one dinner (30 for 30). The problem isn’t what they do after retirement; it’s what they do when they first sign their contract. Buying five cars, five houses, spending millions on jewelry and making horrible investment decisions digs them into a financial hole right off the bat. An NFL player will play professional football for ten years if he’s lucky. That means that by the age of 33 he has already hit retirement. What is he supposed to do financially for 50 more years?

Once these athletes have hit retirement, they’ve got some serious shit they need to deal with. They’re wives divorce them within a couple years; they need to pay child support (some athletes had ten kids with up to eight different women). Now they’re not getting paid and they have to pay their ex-wives child support every month. This type of lifestyle is the perfect recipe for disaster. On top of that, these ex-professional athletes have to deal with injuries and surgeries. Professional football is one of the most physical professional sports played. Knee surgeries, back surgeries, shoulder surgeries etc. all financially affect them. These injuries then lead to self-medicating; the type of self-medicating that can get you arrested and thrown in jail with a few felonies. It’s a horrible thing to see someone have such a positive start to a career blow it all because of a lack of self-control.

Before watching the video and reading the articles, I had no idea how bad professional athletes handled their money. Obviously not every single retired athlete ends up like this, but a majority of them do. I think it would be extremely helpful for universities to make finance classes mandatory for their athletes before graduating. Not only will it benefit the athlete, but later down the road the universities may benefit too.

Sport, Politics and the Olympics

For twelve years the Olympics went though a session of boycotts. The 1988 Olympic Games held in Seoul, South Korea were the last games to be boycotted. Because North Korea wasn’t considered to co-host the Olympic Games they decided to boycott them and not participate; Ethiopia and Cuba were the only other two countries that boycotted as well (about.com). 

Sport and Nationalism explained by Sage & Eitzen best describes the boycotts of the 1988 Olympic Games. North Korea wanted to co-host the Games with South Korea; hosting the Olympics promotes your country and frankly makes it look good. Also, the amount of attention your country receives may boost the local economy. 

"Sport is pure and devoid of political interference.” I disagree with this statement. On the most basic level, politicians have all participated in sport at some point in their life. This alone connects politics to sport. It may not be public, but I’m sure the president has his favorite NFL and NBA teams just as many citizens of the United States do. There is a lot that goes on behind closed doors, politics aren’t very clean and I would find it shocking if sport and poetics didn’t effect each other. 

http://history1900s.about.com/od/fadsfashion/a/olympics1988.htm

London Calling: The Globalization of the NFL

The NFL is one of the largest corporations in the United States to this date. Football has been around a long time in the US and continues to draw fans and copious amounts of money. The NFL is making a big mistake by considering the move to London. Yes, it would create a new revenue source, but do they really need that? The answer is no, absolutely not. I do agree it would be pretty incredible to watch an NFL game over seas, but I couldn’t see anyone making the trip to go see them eight times over the season. The article stated that most people at the football game in London weren't even from London, they were from surrounding countries. A full time NFL team would not translate well into Europe one bit. 

Not only do the fans face problems, but the players take a hit too. Players hate to travel cross country for games let alone over seas to another country. Jet lag and the time change will not only physically give the players a disadvantage, but a mental one as well. If the players spend all their time traveling they’ll have no time to practice, which gives them an even greater disadvantage. Also, who would want to sign a contract with a London team? It is extremely expensive to live there, but there are some solutions to these problems.

To even the playing fields, the NFL would give the London team 30 million more dollars a year to be used for draft. This would give players a larger contract and more incentive to play and live in London. Also, the London team could have an American base for training when they aren’t playing home games. Yeah, these are great ideas on paper, but in reality this will only cause more problems. If the London team is getting more money than the American teams than there will be complaints off the wall. There is no way American teams would allow a London NFL team to have 30 million more dollars per season for draft, it just wouldn’t happen. It’s a cool idea and something “out of the box,” but in reality I don’t think it’s feasible. Also, the NFL is made for America, and personally I’d like to keep it that way. 

Sociogenesis of Polo

The name “Polo” is probably most commonly known today due to the clothing brand by Ralph Lauren. After looking deeper into the sport and it’s origins, I’ve found some very interesting facts. The exact birth date of Polo is unknown, but the first ever recorded public match dates all the back to 600 BC. Polo is played on a field with goals on opposite sides (similar to most american sports). Polo players ride horses and use a “mallet” to smack a ball down the field. Known as the first ever team sport, a match between the Turkomans and Persians started the game and spread it across the eastern world. It wasn’t till the 19th century when the first set of written rules were established (sportpolo).

The rules of Polo in the most basic form are explained with the term “line of the ball.” This term relates to the player who has struck the ball with his mallet last. The mallet has to be in the right hand of the player (left hand players are seen to be less accurate) and no one can cross the line of the ball unless the player who has established that line breaks it. Opposing players can bump the player off the line of the ball as long as the angle of attack is less than 45 degrees. Players can also steal the ball or “hook” another players mallet. There were five players allowed on each team (10 players and 10 horses total) when Captain John Watson wrote the first rules back in 1874 (sportpolo). Now, only four players are allowed on each team according to the United States Polo Association outdoor rules (USPA). The overall idea behind the rules of Polo are to keep the players and their horses safe. 

Today, Polo is played professionally in 16 countries and played as an active sport in 77 countries around the world. A match usually lasts around two hours and is separated into periods called “chukkers” (wikipedia). The players and “ponies” both wear equipment to keep them safe from injury throughout the match. In the United States there are two types of Polo played (Arena Polo and Outdoor Polo). Only three players are required to play on each team during Arena Polo (one less than Outdoor Polo). Polo is a competitive sport that requires a very high skill set. Polo players combine riding a wild                                                               animal with a ball sport. Personally, I find that to be astonishing. 

http://www.sportpolo.com/history/default.htm

http://www.usparockymtcircuit.com/united-states-polo-association-rules.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polo 

Sport in the Ancient World

When we look at sports in the the US today we don’t think about them as life or death moments. We don’t think about public torture or nudity as a something common; this was a different story during the Greek and Roman eras. 

Athletics were very popular in Greece and still are today. The first contest ever held in Greece was a brief race (a sprint) between two men. Following that, the first Olympic Games were held in 776 BC (olympic.org). During the Games, all contestants competed in the nude. Events at the Olympic Games included wrestling, boxing, sprinting and the Pentathlon (many different sports in one continuous event). During the 100 meter sprint, any competitor who started early (false start) was taken aside and whipped in front of everybody attending the event. This was extremely embarrassing to the competitor because the act of whipping was only used on slaves.  The winner of these events would be rewarded with a life of wealth and luxury, whereas, the losers were given nothing. The Olympic Games were extremely popular back then and still are. Only one woman was allowed to attend the games and if any others we caught in the stadium, they were captured and thrown off a cliff. The rules for the Games are much different today but the overall theme and sense of competition still remains. 

Sports in Rome took a different approach; focusing less on competition and more on survival. Roman sports drew crowds of 50,000 people in the arena they call the Colosseum (BBC History). The most popular Roman sport known to man was Gladiator fighting. These gladiators were fed high energy food and trained to kill, but more importantly, survive. They received training similar to a roman soldier and fought with a gladius (sword).

These gladiators were dressed in armor, armor unlike a roman solider would wear. The armor gladiators wore had detail and resembled something unlike any other. A gladiators most dangerous fight was his first (where he had a 1 and 6 chance of dying). These gladiators were not free men, but if they won their battle, they were rewarded with immunity.

Sport, Society & Me

Sport plays a huge role in my life. I started “playing sport” when I was two years old. My parents had me out on the ski slopes before my second birthday. I don’t remember it but from stories I’ve heard from my parents I hated it. My mom would have to bribe me with M&Ms and french fries just to get me down the mountain. Now, I love skiing. I’m very grateful my parents pushed me at such a young age to learn something that I’d one day love to do. My parents pushed me to play soccer when I was five years old. Who would have thought I hated that too. But as I grew older and got better at the sports I was influenced to participate in, I gained an attitude that has molded me as a person and who I am today. Starting to play soccer at five introduced me to a team setting. A setting where not only did I train to better myself, but a bond with my teammates and an attitude that we as a team can better ourselves. In sport, one thing builds on another to create an attitude that guides through every aspect of life. Being pushed in High School to train hard, motivate myself and others around me has pushed me to continue to better myself and be a successful student. Attributes that are built around sport don’t end on the field, they apply to all aspects of my life.

When looking at the role of sport in US Society, I first thought it only had a positive effect. After reading the article by Eitzen, I now look at sport in US society in a completely different light. Sport has both a positive and negative effect. According to the article, more americans watched the SuperBowl in 2004 than voted in the 2004 Presidential election. Americans are extremely influenced by sport. It teaches us to build character, yet turns us into people we truly deep down are not. Big events, like the SuperBowl and Olympics teach us not to look at the actual process of the game but to only care about the outcome in the end. Professional athletes are paid millions of dollars to put on a show for people they don’t even know. As Eitzen states, sports have gone from something athletes did for play and pleasure to a job, a job to please the fans that pay to see them. But I do not fully agree with Eitzen. Yes, athletes are payed to play sports, it is their job and they do it for people they do not know. But does that really take away their pleasure and love for the sport? Professional athletes are drafted to teams due to their talent. They are super stars in the eyes of the public. I don’t necessarily think this is a bad thing. They go their whole life building character and setting goals for themselves. If they make it to where they get paid millions to do what they’ve always pushed themselves to do I think they are a huge success. Just because money is involved, doesn’t mean they aren’t just as determined as before, hell, they may be even more determined to succeed. Eitzen says that it is a negative that large corporations hold most of the control over professional sports, such as tickets to the SuperBowl, but didn’t the people running those corporations get where they are today because of drive and determination? Starting sports at a young age because your parents pushed you to do something you don’t want to do builds character. It create a canvas for you to paint your goals on. This is how america works. Large corporations own large scale sports teams because they are the best at what they do. Being the best at one thing leads to bigger and better things. 

The Sport Ethic

Sport ethic is the criteria for defining what it means to be a true athlete. Being committed to the goals athletes set forth in the sport they participate in. One word that describes sport ethic the best is ‘dedication.’ It takes hard work, hours on hours in the gym, proper eating habits and a mind dedicated to achieving the goals set as an athlete. The article talked about coaches' messages such as “pay the price” and “shoot for the top” which are all linked back to dedication.   

There are four dimensions to the concept of ‘sport ethic.’ Athletes must make sacrifices for The Game. Real athletes play their sport because that’s what they love to do. This involves giving up things that they would rather be doing to train harder, get faster and improve their overall performance. Athletes must strive for distinction. Not everyone can be a winner. Athlete strive to improve themselves everyday to make it harder for their opponent to beat them. By training harder than their competitor, athletes become closer to perfection and getting the big W. Accepting the risks and playing through pain is the third dimension of sport ethic. Sports take a physical toll on the body. Dedicated athletes play through the pain of injury. They accept the risk of injury yet still play as if there is no risk at all. After all of this, athletes refuse to accept limits in the pursuit of possibilities. They push their bodies and minds so far that they create something new, something for someone else to try and one-up. Sports progress everyday and without pushing the limits, athletes will be left in the dust. 

Athletes conform to this set of beliefs because ‘sport’ is their lives. They wake up in the morning thinking about how they can better different aspects of their game. Then, they go train. When they go to bed they’re still thinking about how they can be better. Without sport, athletes don’t know who they are or what they’re supposed to do. Their lives revolve around bettering themselves to beat their competitor. 

I played multiple sports in High School that all revolved around the four dimensions of sport ethic. Football and Basketball were physically demanding sports that revolved around dedication. Waking up at 5am to condition before school, then practicing after school, putting hours in the weight room and eating things I didn’t find the best tasting were all sacrifices I made to better myself and the team. Senior year of High School I broke my foot at the beginning of the basketball season during a conditioning session. I stayed with the team, worked out what I could and eight weeks later was back on the court. I accepted the risks of the sport and after injury still came back to continue my season. Sport ethic is about passion. It’s about being hungry. If it’s a team sport, it’s about the bond you have with your teammates. It’s not just a set of rules, it’s a lifestyle. 

Sports in the USA

Here in America we take our sports pretty seriously. Some of America's most popular sports include: Football, Baseball, Basketball, Golf and Soccer. During football season we play games such as Fantasy Football where we draft our own 'fantasy' team and compete with our friends throughout the season. This helps us better connect with the teams and the overall purpose of the game. I'd say we are a very competitive country and we don't like to lose. Rooting for our local or favorite team is a lifestyle that we plan our nights and Sunday afternoons around.