I remember first being exposed to sports as a little girl by my dad. He lives for sports until this day. Sports was and is one of the ways we bond. My mom and dad never missed one volleyball I played in. My mom was always the one who said the team played well no matter what the outcome of the game but my dad was real with me. He told me where I needed to improve and when I did a good job. He never sugar coated anything with me. I valued that kind of honesty when it comes to sports because it only made me better player. Although both my parents supported me throughout volleyball my dad and I bonded when it came to sports. We'd watch football, basketball and baseball together in the evenings or on the weekends whenever we had some down time or we'd listen to the AM radio station on the road to know what's going on with the games. It's what we did and to this day after a big game we'll talk on the phone about the most outstanding plays or questionable calls. So, sports for me built this bond between my dad and I.
When it comes to sports in the United States, I'd have to say they have a postive role for the most part. The Duality of Sport by Eitzen explains how US sports reflect many of our own human experiences. He said "American sport embodies American values-- striving for excellence, winning, individual and team competition, and materialism... Participation teaches them basic values of American society and it builds character" (4). Sports play a positive role because if kids can understand and be exposed losing, winning, sportsmanship and respect then I believe sports are playing a great role in society. On the other hand I can see where sports can cause setbacks. Some athletes, coaches, fans etc. can make great examples of who you don't want to mirror because of their inappropiate behavior or lack of respect and that's not the kind of behavior we want kids to see or experience.
Overall in society I believe professional athletes hold a higher valued position of respect. I mean, these athletes are being paid millions. Don't get me wrong, I love watching sports and feed into the industry but I do believe the US has something mixed up here. Educators, doctors, social workers etc. don't even get paid anywhere close to what athletes earn and they're educating our future and saving lives. That always trips me up..
I like how you refer to the articles we are reading. Put in other sentence, with practical examples it gives a better picture and broader understanding. However, you mention that sport can also have a negative site through deviant behavior. Do you have any examples?
ReplyDelete- Maja Solbakken
I love sports but I totally agree with you that the amount of money in the industry is a bit excessive. We are always complaining about the economy, and yet we are playing football players millions of dollars. I think that sports ARE valuable, but maybe not THAT monetarily valuable.
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