Sport, Society & Me

      My connection to sports is snowboarding. It is something that I have been doing since middle school and has always been a big part of my life. Since no one in my family ever skis or snowboards, it was always up to me to meet up with my friends, get to boulder, and make sure we were on time for the bus heading up to Eldora. It was my entrance into independence and since then has just become a way for me to escape everything. When you are on the mountain, every other thought just fades away. You just get zoned in and start thinking about when you need to turn, how hard you need to press, are you going too fast, too slow? There are just so many other things to be aware of that things like, "did I pay rent" don't ever cross my mind.


     In general, i think that sports play an extremely positive role in US society. Not only does it get kids up and moving, it teaches them that there are certain rules you have to follow (or not get caught breaking) if you want to be on the team. (Some) Athletes are revered and in the top tier of our society. Since American football, basketball, and baseball are such a huge part of the American culture, these are the athletes that we usually hold on high. They are respected. Their actions are closely monitored, and if they screw up once, the whole country knows about it. These athletes are often role models. People children strive to one day be. I know this because I am a kid.

Sports in the US

We can all agree that sports (participating or just observing) are a huge part of the American culture. Often times people have a sport that they most relate to. One that they can either play, watch or both all day long. And if two people meet up that end up sharing the same love for a sport, they will have things to talk about, things to do. It makes it that much easier for them to relate to each other knowing they share a common passion. I believe that this bond is something that simultaneously brings our nation together and tears it apart.

Different states have different sports which can help bring the people of that particular state together. Though someone that lives in Alaska may still root for the Broncos, most of the time if you are a sports watcher, you will cheer for your home team. This helps create a sense of camaraderie. We will all band together and if there is enough energy in the air we can beat the opponents. This is a great philosophy, the only problem is that they opponents are fellow Americans. This is where the idea of a fair game come into play. If we know that both teams were out there, playing to the best of their capabilities, and we were able to watch a good game. The winner and looser (to an extent) does not matter. "Oh we lost it this time, but next year, they are going down."

The Sport Ethic

      Hughes and Coakley do an extremely good job at outlining factors which may cause our professional athletes to experience social deviance. But, it could be argued that it is not just athletes that experience this "sport ethic" phenomena. I would say that any person that feels dedicated to a goal that is willing to sacrifice his or her self in order to obtain those goals would experience almost exactly the same thing. 

      Students pursuing post graduate studies may use performance enhancing drugs in order to stay in the game while they are trying to cram for tests. They may forget about personal morals and partake in questionable activities all for the sake getting noticed by post graduate program. 

      It would seem that the only difference between athletes and anyone else pursuing a goal is the idolization of the public. In the eyes of the public, athletes are our gladiators. We expect to be able to turn on the television and find a game that will keep us thoroughly entertained for the next couple of hours while we choose to sit there and do nothing. It is their job to keep us entertained. And if we are not entertained, we are not happy. And if the public isn't happy and ratings start to go down, someone is getting fired.