Prompt 6

Every four years I always look forward to the 2012 Olympics. Mostly to watch Lolo Jones performe in the 100 meter hurdles and Sanya-Ross Richardsons dominate in the 400 meter dash. The United States Olympic Track and Field team has the most powerful runners in the world. There's nothing  that excites my mind more then watching these women run.

Around 9pm, every day the Track and Field events would be on television. I would be tuned in from start to finish on every race. First race I watched was Lolo Jones perform in the 100 meter hurdles. I was anxious and all I could think about was her bad fall in the 2008 olympics. I couldn't stop walking around my room and screaming at the tv at the top of my lungs. I couldn't stop moving! My room mate couldn't help but to laugh at me. Watching her run made me feel as if I was running as well, becasue I was breaking a sweat. Watching the announcer say "on your mark, get set, GO" made the palms of my hands feel sweaty. My heart beat faster and faster as Jones got closer to the finish line and a feeling of disapointment rushed through my body as she placed 4th.

The second race I watched was of Sanya Richards. She is a great performer every year in the Olmpics. I always feel butterflys when she is at the starting line. Her muscler legs and arms aspire me to want to keep in shape. Theres nothing like being in track shape, it's the best type of shape to be in! My eyes would be glued to the tv screen, I barely even wanted to blink my eyes because I was scared I would miss something. She blew all the women out  with her outstanding strides and quick steps when she was running in the 400 meter dash.

Hands down the best race I saw in the 2012 Olmpics was the Womens 4by4 race. I was running laps around my room! From the very momment the gun went off for the first leg, my heart was beating uncontrotalable. I was jumping up and down, smiling from ear to ear, and screaming at the tv telling the women to "run run run run!" all at the same time. Then they handed off the stick to the last leg, Sanya-Ross Richards. The USA already had a 50 meter lead on the other teams, Sanya extended the lead to atleast 20 meters more. I couldn't help but to have tears of joy. To be apart of that team would be a dream come true to me. Those are my idols.Watching them run made me feel so happy. I enjoy watching Track because it brings back so many memories.

Watching the Olmpics was a huge trigger to my first running track. It made me realize how valuable the sport really is to me. It made me remember how energized I first was when I ran in the field day events. How the sun was beating against my skin, how dry my mouth felt, and the rythem my heart maked as I was running around the field. I always remember how it felt to cross the finish line in 1st place that day.

Blog 5

In the society that we live in today, sports is what most Americans live, eat and breaths. It's almost as if they can't survive without it. In my opinion it defines our culture as a whole. 

In the essay "Sex, Drugs, and Coco Puffs" it is evident that sports divides our society by the color of our skin, white v. black. Basketball has in ways turned people against one another because our culture has gotten so involved in the basketball career. Now they falsely install in their minds that the division of race is right and this continues on to the younger generations. Furthermore, this essay elaborates on how the pro basketball teams should try to show important politic throughout the games, because its a essential way to teach the people. Instead of doing insignificant things, that people shouldn't be so concerned about like "Michael Jordan coming back" as stated by the author. 

People are so concerned about the image of our athletes that they forget about the valuable information. The hype of the Boston Celtics versus the LA Lakers has in the past dragged our society against one another. Our culture has allowed it to represent almost everything in their lives. In the author’s opinion, if you aren’t with a basketball team, you don’t have a purpose in life.

In the poem “Winning” by Rodney Jones he talks about how his sister wins all the prizes, and the only thing he won against her was a H-4 club sack race.  Which he could have cheated on to win against her? In the other poem “The end of practice” Jones talks the experience a football team had at the end of their practice. They had to run and do drills. He describes the procedures the players had to do during their practice, including them going to the locker room.

Furthermore, both pieces of work relate to one another because they represent the competitiveness of our society. Nobody wants to be a failure, so they will do whatever it takes to win. The combination of sports and a culture defines us because people allow it to. People get so involved with the images of our athletes and the victory of a win or disappointment of a lost that is determines their mindset. Now, it is accepted by our culture and we don’t even realize that we are doing it at times. It is apart of us. We live, breath and eat sports. 

How does it feel to be MVP, a Gold medalist in the Olympics and a Miami Heat champion all in one year? It must feel nice to have all those titles and have the ability to stay humble throughout your struggle and hate from thw Cleveland fans. I would always defend you because the stupid "intellendent" people would always try to compare you to Micheal Jordan and Kobe Bryan. I never understand why people would do that because you are your own individual basketball player. I was so happy for you when you finally reieced your ring because every Miami Heat hater would always try to throw you under the bus with "how many rings does Lebron have?". I would always reply "How many does your mother have, zero so STFU!" I would ALWAYS get into heated arguements with Kobe fans because they ALL hated on you even when the Lakers were clearly out of play offs. And they would still claim that the Lakers were the better team. Now sense they got there tranfers, they feel as if they stand a chance against us. I doubt it. But they will learn the hard way that you are a monster that can't be stoped.

You know what I thought was funny, how in the world do people HATE you so much but still watched you play in the Championship. All they would say is hurtful negative things the whole time. Why waste your time and breathe, what a dumb a**. What sense does that make? So you were making more money then your haters, got your ring and more fame from your accomplishment while all your haters watched it on TV. I got a good laugh out of that. There was nothing anybody could do to take those awards from you and I supported you every step of the way. Now I have the ability to say that you have accomplished way more then any basketball player in the league today in one year other then Micheal Jordan.

James, you have really took basketball up a level. Your size and strength and age has classified you as one of the greatest basketball players to ever touch the court. Continue the good work and I look forward to watching you next basketball season.

Blog 3

There isn't a better feeling then participating in a sport rather then watching. Everything feels so different from the viewer’s perspective and from the athletes. When your watching or participating in any sport it's different because you get a different type of excitement when you see and hear from the crowd and get a distinct anxious feeling you receive from within your body.  In my opinion watching and participating in a sport are two complete different experiences. 

Although a person may acquire a different type of feeling from watching and participating in sports these emotions both seem to come to a comparison.  There are two different ways a person can become an athlete. A person is more and likely to become active in a sport if they understand it. They understand it by watching it on television and by doing their research on their favorite athlete or team. In order to be the best at any sport it starts by becoming watchers and grasping the material and installing it into their physical activity. Another way is just by the parent simply having their youth join a community driven sports team. Having children start at a young age only allows them to have more time to improve on their skills and become a better athlete. While the athlete is still young, they usually have their parent and coach pushing them to their highest peak. 

Varsity High school and College sports prepare the athletes for the more intense Divisions. If the athlete is talented enough in the Division 1 College, then he or she is most likely to be drafted to professional level. These professional athletes are often rewards with money and publicity from the media and their fans. Being a professional athlete is only a temporary job because it requires a great amount of work and force to the body and eventually it won't be able to keep up with it. Although not everybody is able to perform at the professional level there is other opinion. People can perform at the recreation level, which doesn't have a specific level of skills or achievement. There are many different opinions in and out of universities to join a sports team.

With that, people are influenced to continue to participate in a sport based on numerous things. It all depends on their talent level and the out side sources that are behind them in their physical activity. Another factor is social class, depending on the available resources for the high, middle and lower class it will affect what sport they will participate in. For example in high school sports most classes would be able to participate in football, basketball, track and field and etc. because they are low in cost and are available for everybody to try out for.

Sports have come a long way in the world. There were racial issues and discrimination against women participating in physical activities. People from around the world love to participate or watch sports and it will continue to evolve for the rest of our lives. 

Blog 2

Heart, dedication, and talent are the three main ingredients to make the impossible possible. Both poem and essay readings focuses on memories of the past. In the poem Autumn Begins In Martins Ferry the narrator of the poem, James Wright, concentrates more on the men themselves then the high school football game. Wright reveals that these fathers watching their sons perform in the game reflects their dreams of being a high school athletes. Meaning these fathers and mothers live by lost hopes and dreams. This poem depicts the negative aspects of society and reflects how people accept the harsh ways of life as the normal ways of living. The football field is a place where the best memories of a man live forever because the sons only have two options in their life, football or their father’s mill.

In the reading Three-Man Weave it discuss a valuable moment in the authors life. A moment that many don't know about but it was life changing for many who watched and knew about it. Although the low-profile junior college basketball team was the under dogs, they never lost hope and went into the tournament confidently. Due to poor defense, 2 of the 5 players fouled out forcing them to play with only 3 players. Worried and scared the Native American team still played with the remaining players. This essay reflects on how nothing is impossible even when things don't go as planed. 

Both the essay and poem relate to one another because it reflects how negative society can be. It shows how people misjudge things due to their beliefs and feelings towards something. For example the Junior college team of three players were automatically suppose to loose the game in viewers eyes due to the lack of people on the court. But the team still managed to win the game and prove society wrong. Although it's a story based off memory and not recorded it still is a story that should be heard. Like the author said the Native Americans were know as "lazy" humans because that’s what society stereotyped them as. In the poem  "grey faces of Negroes" are men who suffered and had to work hard in the mills for their sons so they won't have to suffer through their fathers fate. These women and fathers watch their children live the dream that they only can watch and push their children to be the best and be successful at it.

There is universality within these sports because they both require teamwork in order to win. Also these literary pieces both reflect on how the best memories are playing sports. Memory is an essential ingredient in these two pieces because they both show low-key events that happen in the world that changed society and these people’s lives in some way. Memories are important in relation to sports because it can be used for motivation for people to perform at a higher level. Once you accomplish the best and remember it, it makes athletes want to accomplish more and make the impossible possible. The love for the game of basketball, football and etc. can only increase as you perform better each time. If the athlete has the dedication and heart to win then their talent will eventually match up and they will begin to succeed in every sport they play.

The retelling of these stories defines the culture because even though they were local events. They still are monumental events that sculptured the sport of basketball and football to the way it is today. For example, in the poem the sons were playing football for a better future then their fathers makes the sport of football more valuable then it was before. Also the basketball players winning the tournament even though all negative things were said about them changed the sport of basketball. Each event that happens in the world is a stepping stool towards making sports more entertaining and respected more by viewers and athletes. 

When writing my first paper I could use both the poem and essay and share a moment in my life where basketball or track made a difference to me. I could share my story of being a high school athlete and how my love for the sport of track grew throughout my middle and high school career. My experiences would be different because I would share a story from my kindergarten field day event of me running my first race. My story would be told off memory like these two pieces of work. I would structure my paper by writing a informal paper of my thoughts and feelings during my first marathon race and how it affected my life from that point forward.

Prompt 1

I was 6 when I was introduced to my first basketball game. I was walking through the gymnasim holding my fathers hand. Chants and cheers were heard across the gym which made my heart drop. I wasn't use to it. I never understood basketball at a young age. All I knew was that my two older brothers played the sport. While walking to our seats we passed a group of girls with mini skirts and half tops. One girl decided to do a front flip right infront of us. I was fascinated. I never seen anything like that before. They all smiled from ear to ear and had make-up caked on to their faces. They repeatively chanted over "Go Panthers Go" each time the team scored.

I started to micmic the cheerleaders moves during the half time show. A girl named Ashely noticed and allowed me cheer with the team. I began to understand basketball a little bit better that day. I knew the differnce between a free throw shot, lap up and a three pointer. I could also tell who the point guard and center were. Thats when I realized my love for basketball. I was anxious to play. I couldn't wait to get back to my seat and let my father know. I was doing flips and cheers with the assistance of the cheerleaders and they also allowed me to have my own uniform.

Ever since my first basketball game I would also practice in the front yard by myself. From the moment I woke up until I went to bed I would practice drippling and shooting. As soon as I was old enough I joinded the Lady Panthers basketball team. I fell in love with the sport. I played as center and sometimes point guard. Nobody could remove me from the court. I loved the sport of basketball and watching Lisa Lesle in the WNBA gave me motivation to become a better  ball player.