As the semester comes to a close, it is interesting to review my blog page and see how far our class has come. Going from a blog about myself and what we expect to get out of this class/blog experience to topics such as disability in sport to Yao Ming and the asianization of sport to Magic Johnson's announcement to retire due to contracting AIDS. These are just a few things we discussed throughout the year and as you may see, we discussed a wide variety of issues. However, the Magic Johnson article was by far my favorite topic.
Knowing how big of an announcement Magic gave, it is one of those few things some people might remember where they were when they heard the news. For example, I will always remember that I was in lunch in 7th grade when I heard what happened on September 11, 2001. Also knowing that Magic Johnson held his press conference to announce his retirement in 1991, I was only 2 years old. As I grew up, I obviously had the knowledge to put two and two together and realize that Magic Johnson contracted AIDS, but that was about the extent of my knowledge on the subject. With that said, taking a deep look into the issue it was very interesting to me to see exactly what happened. This was one of the first appearances of HIV and AIDS contracted to a non-drug using heterosexual male. Back in '91 AIDS has only been seen by either drug users or homosexual males. This is what made Magic Johnson's announcement so tough. The only way I could put into current times is to think if Lebron or Kobe somehow contracted AIDS and had to announce their retirement. Without saying, it was hard for Magic to come out and tell just about the World that he has AIDS but I can only imagine how hard it was for the fans to hear this. These are just a few things that stick out to me about the Magic Johnson topic. However, crazy topics in sports are not the only reason to continue blogging.
As many of our college years are dwindling on down, it is getting close to the time to look forward into the next step of our lives, meaning careers. Continuing to blog is a great idea as it could be a great item to put on a resume to market yourself. Blogging might not be done in an office of some sort, but it can show a future employer that you have had such experience and not only show-off writing skills, but it could also show overall knowledge of sport and your interest in sport.
Overall, I am very glad I was able to try blogging for the first time and I really wish to stick with it. Not only is it fun and interesting to put my perspective on issues out there on the internet, but I find it very interesting to see what others have to say on similar topics.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
What is the difference between a 3 wood and an Escalade?
When thinking about Tiger Woods, the first thing to pop into most peoples minds would most likely be; golf, green jacket, Nike, Gaterade, gorgous wife, family man, or maybe even role model. However, associating the name Tiger Woods with the words affair, cheater, pig, or idiot is now the reality. This is what all started the snowball effect around Thanksgiving. Tiger Woods left his house in Orlando, Florida in his black Escalade around 2:25 A.M when he crashed into a fire hydrant AND a tree. When the police cited Tiger for "careless driving" the handed him a $164 fine. While $164 is a lot of money for a stupid citation to a college student like myself, it happened to be the start of many problems for the #1 golfer in the world.
Prior to Tiger's crash, his wife Elin confronted him on rumors she heard about an affair. Elin asked Tiger about a 31 month long affair with cocktail waitress, Jamie Grubbs. As this came to a shocking surprise to myself and many others, matters only got worse. As a few days went by, Tigers affair count only continued to rise. His current total is 11 women ranging from 20 years old to 33 years old, from waitresses like the cocktail waitress mentioned to pancake house waitress, Mindy Lawton to porn stars, Holly Sampson and Josyln James.
This list of women is unbelievable and has completely ruined the image of Tiger Woods. What is in store to happen is unknown, however, Elin is said to have purchased a house in Sweden where she is from for $2 million. This is just about the last thing I would have expected from the athlete that had always preached about being a family man.
All in all, the difference is, Tiger drives his 3 wood about 265 yards.
Did the BCS finally get it right?
On Sunday, December 6, the college football bowl selections were announced. There were obviously the no doubters like, Ohio State vs. Oregon in the Rose Bowl, and Alabama vs. Texas in the National Championship. But what about Texas Christian, Cincinnati, and Boise State? Cincinnati, TCU, Boise State, Alabama, and Texas are all teams that ended the year undefeated, and what do you know, it is another National Championship placement left up to the computers and the BCS. Did the BCS finally get it right?
Having these crazy teams undefeated at the end of the year really makes you say, should TCU/Cincinnati/Boise State be given a shot at the National Championship? Well clearly one of the teams in the title game is going to have to lose and maybe one of the other three undefeated teams will win their bowl game leaving fans and the media no choice but to ask why not? Why were these teams not given the right to win that title? However, I have mixed feelings on this issue. In my mind, Alabama and Texas are the two best teams out the five undefeated teams and should be placed in the National Championship game. The teams they beat do not compare to the teams the other three schools played. Boise State does not get much help for this coming out of the WAC, but besides beating Oregon the first game of the season, there next toughest game was, Louisiana Tech or maybe Nevada. As for TCU, there only memorable wins were against #16 BYU and another #16 Utah and Cincinnati beat #21 South Florida, #25 West Virginia, and #15 Pittsburgh. But how do these teams compare to the bottom tier teams coming out of the SEC or the Big 12? In my mind, they dont!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
In-Class Presentations
This past week we have been giving our paper/journals/blogs presentations. I was anticipating a long and boring week listening to these presentations that were not meaningful to the course material. However, the week flew by and the presentations have been very interesting.
I decided to write blogs due to my late addition to the class. When I joined the class one session late, I was pretty confused with the difference in blogs and journals and had no idea what the paper was about. This just goes to show how beneficial it is to go to class. However, one of my roommates is in this class the session before ours and he said he was going to write blogs and I should do the same. So I said why not and created my blog account.
Having said that, these presentations have been a learning process for me to see what everyone in the class has been through while writing their papers and/or journals. Our classmates have done a nice job including videos and pictures to help illustrate their favorite blog or journal which always makes it interesting and draws everyones attention. The one presentation that stood out to me was a journal group that addressed the same questions for each person and gave their own opionon or answer. This highlighted just about the entire class as each person picked a different topic to talk about.
In the end, this blog experience has been interesting. It is a unique way to give your two cents on a topic and get feedback on what you have to say. Blogs are also a great attribute to put on a resume. To say you have had such an experience could be the factor in applicant A and applicant B. I look forward to keep my blog page updated whether it be for a class or on my own.
I decided to write blogs due to my late addition to the class. When I joined the class one session late, I was pretty confused with the difference in blogs and journals and had no idea what the paper was about. This just goes to show how beneficial it is to go to class. However, one of my roommates is in this class the session before ours and he said he was going to write blogs and I should do the same. So I said why not and created my blog account.
Having said that, these presentations have been a learning process for me to see what everyone in the class has been through while writing their papers and/or journals. Our classmates have done a nice job including videos and pictures to help illustrate their favorite blog or journal which always makes it interesting and draws everyones attention. The one presentation that stood out to me was a journal group that addressed the same questions for each person and gave their own opionon or answer. This highlighted just about the entire class as each person picked a different topic to talk about.
In the end, this blog experience has been interesting. It is a unique way to give your two cents on a topic and get feedback on what you have to say. Blogs are also a great attribute to put on a resume. To say you have had such an experience could be the factor in applicant A and applicant B. I look forward to keep my blog page updated whether it be for a class or on my own.
Athletes with AIDS
As just about everyone knows, Magic Johnson held a Press Conference on November 7, 1991 announcing that he had contracted HIV and was retiring from the Los Angeles Lakers. What as so suprising about this announcement?
A lot of things, obviously that Magic contracted HIV, but the timing was most suprising. Magic Johnson was such a huge player in the NBA, that I would compare it to Lebron James or Kobe Bryant randomly announcing that they are immediately retiring due to contracting HIV. However, not only was it a big name athlete, but it was one of the first cases of a non homosexual AND non drug user. In the early '90s, HIV was contracted by either drug use through needles and/or homosexual activity, and Magic Johnson did not fit in either category.
Since Magic Johnson held his Press Conference, a few other high profile athletes have contracted HIV or AIDS. Athletes such as, boxer Tommy Morrison, Olympic diver Greg Louganis, and Olympic figure skater Rudy Galindo. Its not fair to say that it was easy for those athletes to announce they have contracted AIDS, but I can say Magic Johnson has paved the road for them and made it at least easier to make such an announcement. What I mean by this is, to tell just about the world that you have AIDS is going to by tough and really hard, but to say, like Magic Johnson you have contracted AIDS will be a little easier. Although Magic had to come out and say what he did, it takes a very strong and confident individual to host such a Press Conference.
A lot of things, obviously that Magic contracted HIV, but the timing was most suprising. Magic Johnson was such a huge player in the NBA, that I would compare it to Lebron James or Kobe Bryant randomly announcing that they are immediately retiring due to contracting HIV. However, not only was it a big name athlete, but it was one of the first cases of a non homosexual AND non drug user. In the early '90s, HIV was contracted by either drug use through needles and/or homosexual activity, and Magic Johnson did not fit in either category.
Since Magic Johnson held his Press Conference, a few other high profile athletes have contracted HIV or AIDS. Athletes such as, boxer Tommy Morrison, Olympic diver Greg Louganis, and Olympic figure skater Rudy Galindo. Its not fair to say that it was easy for those athletes to announce they have contracted AIDS, but I can say Magic Johnson has paved the road for them and made it at least easier to make such an announcement. What I mean by this is, to tell just about the world that you have AIDS is going to by tough and really hard, but to say, like Magic Johnson you have contracted AIDS will be a little easier. Although Magic had to come out and say what he did, it takes a very strong and confident individual to host such a Press Conference.
The "Image Problem"
What is the "image problem" and why is it a problem? The "image problem" is the fear that ALL women athletes are lesbians. Why is this a problem? Obviously it is not fair to label female athletes as lesbians. People need to get rid of the picture that female athletes are manly and/or gay by performing well on their athletic surface. However, the few homosexual athletes out there are not treated very well just because of their sexual preference. For example, Martina Navratilova won more tennis titles than any other tennis player, yet she had few endorsements during the height of her career due to her coming out as a lesbian.
After understanding what female athletes are going through off of their field or court or what have you, it is important to know how they go about their lives. Most of these athletes use the "feminine apologetic" to avoid the stigma of being a lesbian. The "feminine apologetic" is idea of female athletes dressing up in heels and wearing make-up to have an image as a heterosexual.
Personally, I feel like this is crazy. I do not feel like it is right that women athletes have to go out of there way to dress and look a certain way and not be themselves just so people don't get the wrong impression that could ruin their career. What would happen if this was the case for male athletes? Would male athletes really dress a certain way to show people that although they play a sport they are not a homosexual?
After understanding what female athletes are going through off of their field or court or what have you, it is important to know how they go about their lives. Most of these athletes use the "feminine apologetic" to avoid the stigma of being a lesbian. The "feminine apologetic" is idea of female athletes dressing up in heels and wearing make-up to have an image as a heterosexual.
Personally, I feel like this is crazy. I do not feel like it is right that women athletes have to go out of there way to dress and look a certain way and not be themselves just so people don't get the wrong impression that could ruin their career. What would happen if this was the case for male athletes? Would male athletes really dress a certain way to show people that although they play a sport they are not a homosexual?
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Gay Athletes
Tuesday's class consisted of a discussion on gay athletes. A lot of good points were brought up whether it would hurt an athletes career to come out during their career or not. As sad as it may sound, I feel that an athletes career would be destroyed. This may be horrible to say, but in my mind it is how our society is. What makes it so hard for any ordinary person to come out and say they are gay? Plus, any ordinary person that comes out doesn't have to deal with the media who crave for things like this to happen.
It is hard to think of a single gay, lesbian, or bisexual athlete that has recently come out. Immediately Kordell Stewart and Mike Piazza come to my mind, however, those happened to just be rumors. In fact, coming out was such a big thing to Mike Piazza that he held a press conference just to tell the media and fans that he wasn't in fact gay. This just proves my point that an athletes career would be altered if fans and the media knew they happened to be gay. This obviously isn't right, but its how the media is today.
After trying to think of gay athletes, I found a wikipedia page that was made and titled, "List of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Sportspeople." After reviewing the list, it amazed me how I really haven't heard of many of the athletes. This also made me think that coming out really hurts your career. Besides Dennis Rodman and Sheryl Swoopes, many of the people on the list were a bunch of no named athletes.
It is hard to think of a single gay, lesbian, or bisexual athlete that has recently come out. Immediately Kordell Stewart and Mike Piazza come to my mind, however, those happened to just be rumors. In fact, coming out was such a big thing to Mike Piazza that he held a press conference just to tell the media and fans that he wasn't in fact gay. This just proves my point that an athletes career would be altered if fans and the media knew they happened to be gay. This obviously isn't right, but its how the media is today.
After trying to think of gay athletes, I found a wikipedia page that was made and titled, "List of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Sportspeople." After reviewing the list, it amazed me how I really haven't heard of many of the athletes. This also made me think that coming out really hurts your career. Besides Dennis Rodman and Sheryl Swoopes, many of the people on the list were a bunch of no named athletes.
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