Jovan Belcher

The whole domestic dispute between Jovan Belcher and his girlfriend is truly a tragedy. Too often this day in age we see people lose it, much like Belcher, but this was the first time in a while that a pro athlete was involved in something like this. Instead of just your every day Joe Schmo, this time it was someone looked up to as an idol, someone admired by people all over. A simple situation turned into effecting a whole team, a whole league, a whole city, and now is effecting people worldwide. Domestic disputes are something we should really look into giving more attention to as a society.

To kill yourself in front of your fellow coaches and front office staff is something that really hasn't occurred before in professional sports. I can just imagine the scar left on everyone involved of the image of Belcher killing himself. If i could ask Belcher one thing it would just be the simple question of "why"? Why put loved ones through something like this? Why put your teammates through something like this? And why would you put yourself through something like this?

Baseball = Love

Ever since i can remember i have been attracted to baseball. I remember when i was around 4 years old i would watch games on the couch with my dad, holding a little glove i had gotten even before then, thinking maybe i would catch a ball through the television set. A lot has changed with me and baseball since thing but one thing has stayed the same. That would be my passion for the game.

My connection to baseball in all reality can not be explained by words. Whether it is playing, watching, or even just talking about baseball, for that very moment everything in my world seems to be completely in balance. It takes away all the stress from everyday life and in all reality just sends me to my "happy place".

After playing 14 years of baseball, my love for the game has done nothing but become stronger. Without the game of baseball I know i would not be the same person i am today. It has molded much of my personality and simply who i am. People always talk about how strong one's connection to a sport or a team can be and i am living proof that some people really do live through "there" sport. Baseball has shed a permanent light on my life that i do not think will be extinguished anytime soon.

My Future

Everyone has a dream of what they want to become in life. Although each person's dream is different from one another, they all share one common goal. That goal is to be successful. No matter what i choose to do in life i want to be successful. Success is a word that at often times is hard to define. One persons interpretation of success can be completely different from another, even though they both define success as that person sees it. My definition of success however is finding something you are passionate about and excelling each and every day at doing just that.

With so many options and career paths as a freshman in college, it can be difficult to distinguish what exactly your niche is. I have only been a full time college student for one semester now and many of the ideas i had envisions of doing i have already found out are not for me. Although i may often seem confused at times because i am partly clueless when it comes to want i want to do, i know that i am becoming closer to being successful in my life because i am deleting ideas i had from my life that i have found out i am truly not passionate about.

One day i hope to find exactly what it is i was meant to do in this world. Whether that day be tomorrow, or a couple years from now i know that i am on the right path to find it and one day will succeed at doing it. Success is completely what you make of it.

Thanksgiving Sports Memory

One of the very first Thanksgiving memories I have is learning how to throw a football with my Dad and Uncle. I remember clearly that chilly Thanksgiving day. My uncle kept asking me to throw the football with him but at the time i was so young i really had never played any sport before so i was scared. He and my dad took me outside and spent what seemed like hours with me teach me how to throw and catch a football.

After a while i got the hang of it. I was throwing spirals, sloppy spirals that is, at such a young age and i couldn't of felt better about myself if i tried. I remember how happy they were they taught me and that made me even happier to see me make my two roles models happy.

Still to this day, every time i throw a football I'll have glimpses of that very moment. I still think about the words they were telling me on how to throw a football as they flash through my head right before I'm about to do it. Every NFL game on Thanksgiving i think about how all those soon to be greats started with football. The way you were introduced to a sport really does stick with you for a lifetime.

Thanksgiving Memory

Whenever November comes around many thoughts float through my head. Thanksgiving is here and the holiday spirit is now in full effect. It is a time where family and friends gather and become closer with one another. It is a time where we stuff as much food as we can into our little human bodies. In other words, it is my favorite time of year.

One memory that always comes to mind when i think of Thanksgiving is of my little cousin Katie. We were all at my house waiting on the food to get done, at this time she was about 6 years old, and she was carrying around a little barbie polaroid camera taking pictures of everything. After taking pictures all day she has one polaroid paper left and she wanted to save it to get a group photo of all my family together. We all huddled up and got ready and right before she took the picture she was complaining her camera wasn't working. At that moment she looked right down at it and the camera snapped a picture. Everybody was crying laughing as her last photo was just used on a useless picture. It was so funny and cute and although she was crying, it just made it that much funnier.

Each year at Thanksgiving we all remind my cousin of that day and it brings back laughs each time. This is what i think Thanksgiving is all about, being around your family and loved ones and making ever lasting memories with them.

Anti-Ad Opposition View

Michael Vick's incident with dog fighting and gaining proceeds from these fights is looked at by most of society as inhumane and cruel. The torture and slaughter of innocent dogs for ones pure entertainment and financial gains is clearly illegal and looked at as just plain out wrong. On the other hand it really may not have been as wrong as what most of the public perceived it as.

Vick grew up in a financially depressed and crime stricken area from birth until he went away to college at Virginia Tech. Think about growing up in an area for the first 18 years of your life and the only way of life you know is how people live in that poor crime stricken area you've been enclosed in for your whole life. Where Vick grew up many illegal things were just a way of life, somewhat of a culture he developed throughout the years from living in his surroundings.

One of those illegal things Vick and many other people around the world growing up in the same sort of culture witness is dog fighting. It is a staple to many poverty stricken communities to fight and place bets to gain money on the fighting skills of dogs. Although it is illegal, in small communities it is often looked over as a normal activity and has a very strong underground system in which it operates under.

Not knowing any better because this is how he was raised for the first 18 years of his life, it may of been hard just to suddenly drop such activities that have been part of his social culture since before he could remember. Many NFL teammates and opposing players who have grown up in the same sort of situation supported Vick by this very argument.

This does not change the fact that dog fighting is illegal, but past personal history and the culture someone grew up in should be looked at and taken into consideration before the extent of charges are distributed upon an individual such as Michael Vick.

Ad Buster Image Ideas

For my ad buster I plan to base it on Nike's Just Do It ad campaign like the image above. Instead of the face on the ad I displayed above, I would put a picture of The Honeybadger's face like this one:

For the famous Nike swoosh, i want to form the swoosh out of marijuana leaves.

Bad Advertisement

One advertisement has come about lately that I really just can not stand to watch. The new Lebron James commercial for Nike promoting his 2012 NBA championship season really just gets on my nerves every time i see it. It starts off with a jeweler working on a ring with highlights of Lebron from his days in Cleveland. As the commercial goes on the jeweler's work on the ring progresses as it shows highlights of him from last season on the heat as it then pans to the ring which just so happens to be an NBA championship ring. The screen then goes black and has the typical Nike swoosh with the words "just do it".

Although I understand the concept of the commercial, I really think Nike painted the wrong picture trying to portray what they wanted to show the viewer. It isn't really showing Lebron putting in any work, rather him just switching teams then winning the championship. Obviously the Lebron move to Miami was a big move in the NBA and this commercial is just bringing something back that so many NBA fans were mad about when it happened and how he handled it. Switching teams doesn't help you get an endorsement with nike nor win a championship. Hard work does, and that is what Nike should have tried to display.

Favorite Sports Film

Although just about any somewhat interesting film about sports automatically becomes one i like to watch, one really comes to mind when i think about my favorite sports movie. That movie is The Rookie. The Rookie, which stars Dennis Quaid, is about a high school science teacher who was a professional baseball prospect before he got hurt and saw his dreams wash away and was forced to find another way to provide a living. At the high school he teaches at he also is the baseball coach and has a somewhat troubled baseball program. One day he has a meeting with his team and they make a deal that if they make it to the playoffs in return he has to try out for a major league team. Of course his team makes it to the playoffs and he tries out for a team and ends up making it the whole way to pitch in the majors as a 40 something year old high school science teacher. The hope movies can give you...

In this film it clearly showcases impossible odds. First it has a baseball team that did not win 1 game the year before make it to the state playoffs, which is pretty much an impossible feat. The second case is when a 40 year old man all of the sudden goes to a try out and ends up making it through the entire minor league system to pitch in the MLB. This is unheard of not only because of his age but there are so many other highly sought after recruits much younger and much more talented that can not make it to the majors that fast. Achieving these impossible odds gives all viewers of the movie hope and inspiration that they too can accomplish something that to them seems impossible.

Favorite Non-sports Film

Although any movie i like to watch just happens to be a sports movie, there are a couple exceptions. One movie that comes to mind is Anchorman. Every time i watch that movie, no matter how many times i watch it i can't help but to die of laughter. In the movie a news channel gets a new co-host to the normal anchorman, Ron Burgandy. The new co-host to Ron just so happens to be a very attractive woman that he intends on trying to have sexual relations with. Throughout the movie as Ron tries to get with his new co-host, Veronica, he loses his mind and causes the news station to go down in ratings and eventually gets fired. As he is unemployed he temporarily loses his mind and sees Veronica on the tv reporting news everywhere that he goes. While he is going insane a story happens at a zoo and Ron realizes all the sudden that he has to go there to report it. When he arrives at the zoo he finds Veronica in trouble and rushes to save her. As the movie comes to a close Ron saves Veronica, gets his job back and they live happily ever after.

Although this movie is meant to be funny and flat out pretty stupid with very little of a plot, it does contain some factors that we see in every day American films and society today. The "underdog" is a very important and significant role in American culture. Any underdog for any scenario tends to automatically become a hit with society. When Ron lost his job and ended up losing everything he had, he turned into the underdog. His appearance became dirty and everyone would try to help and encourage him to get his job and his life back on track. When the day came that Ron decided to do something about it and get his job back everyone came together around him and was pulling for him. And of course in movies the underdog prevailed.

Another factor displayed in this movie was chasing "love". How often do movies come out about someone trying so hard to get someone that typically is out of there league and ends up going partly crazy while they try to achieve this perception of "love"? The number of times that plot basis has been put into some sort of media form is higher than I'm willing to count. This "love" feeling is displayed all through out the movie and in the end Ron does get Veronica achieving his goal of feeling love.

Although sports movies are much more of a joy for me to watch, all together even movies not about sports still deal with much of the same culture issues. It is clear to see how media is effecting society through movies.

The Boys of Summer

Each August as I turn on my television to the only station that really matters, ESPN, something comes on that is different than the usual showing of the best athletes from around the world. Something appears in front of me that is bigger than just a sports broadcast, something that brings me back to memories I will never forget, memories that shaped my life. As I sit there with my eyes glued to my television set watching eleven and twelve year old children playing there hearts out each and every pitch, making mistakes, not being perfect at each movement they perform, I begin to drift away from the couch for a moment and remember how the life I now live today began.

The Little League World Series is the mecca of youth sports today. With games shown around the world, it is every kid's dream who plays the sport of baseball to make it to Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the home of the Little League World Series. It gathers teams from 8 different regions around the United States as well as 8 teams from international regions, all aiming for the one common goal of winning the world series. Each year as I watch these kids in front of me, it brings me back to where i began playing the sport I love, baseball. I picture myself in the dirty old, probably hand-me-down gear, and try to imagine what it would be like reliving the best years of my life. Then a commercial appears, I wake up in a sense and look around me and see all my trophies, my favorite major league team's banner flying high upon my wall, and all I can do is smile. Whether I am smiling for myself or for the kids I have just witnessed is beyond me, but the feeling is indescribable.

Blog Post #5

The two articles "33" by Klosterman, and "The End of Practice" by Rodney Jones, both recognize how sport and community can create and hold a culture. In the poem, Jones is pretty much summarizing that for this football team the kids are in there glory days and loving every moment of running up and down the field and take that on with them for the rest of there life. Then the next generation comes through and it is the same thing, with the previous generation of players still telling the stories. It is like a never ending cycle for the community in which this team plays in. For the Klosterman article, he talks about the rivalry in the 80's between the Celtics and Lakers. He provides examples on how back then, the team you went made you more than just a fan, it described the type of person you were, dealing with issues such as race, religion, politics, and more.

I think that the combination of sport and community can definitely create a culture. Coming from a community where sports have played such a role I have gotten a chance to see it first hand. Where i come from sports don't just define how we think of ourselves and how we carry ourselves in public, but it is also clear for others to define us based on our connection with sports in the community. Growing up with a certain sports culture around you all your life it grows into something that you learn to accept and carry on throughout your life with you, probably to be passed down to the next generation continuing the cycle.

A Letter to the New York Yankees

Dear the New York Yankees organization,

I think you all are a bunch of over paid, self-centered idiots. It doesn't make you any cooler that you're wearing pin stripes and making tons of more money than the team across the diamond from you. You think that you can carry yourselves different and play the game with a different "swagger" just because you're a "Bronx Bomber". Well I have some news for you all... the team you're playing against is most likely going to play harder, longer, more passionate, and probably going to have a better run in the playoffs than you. Not to mention spend a lot less money and actually have a team, not just a bunch of superstars.

In my opinion you guys are the farthest thing away from a team. Any spectator of the game of baseball can tell, a Yankee fan or not. The way you guys all carry yourself and interact with each other just gives off the impression that none of you care for each other, and sometimes it looks like you guys don't even care about yourselves. Part of being a team is bonding with each other and having each others back. When you guys are on the field, I don't see any of you say a word to each other, try to pick each other up, NOTHING!

Sure you guys can have the most world series titles than any other organization in the MLB and I am sure will have plenty more to come, but before you can be considered a championship team, by me at least, you need to start acting like a team. One of these days you guys should stop thinking about all the money and try to remember the pure joy of the game you guys all grew up having.

Sincerely,
Austin Holt

Blog Post #3 Participants vs Spectators

Although it is clearly evident that participating in sports is much different than observing sports, they are both often put together and talked about on the same spectrum. It sometimes can get confusing on what one may be saying about a sport because you can not distinguish whether it is from a spectator or a participant point of view. They are strongly connected still however. Many participants of a sport however got introduced and taught there very sport through the spectator point of view. For me, this will be one of the points i will use this very strongly in the first paper i write.

When i started playing baseball at 4 years, i already had my mind made up that baseball was my favorite sport and the one i wanted to play. This is strongly connected to the point the textbook made on how participant connection through a sport often begins with a spectator connection. For me, every time i sat down to watch television with my dad, a baseball game was on. He would always tell me stories and give me information on the game daily. Without this I don't think I would have the same love or even be interested in sports in the first place.

Blog Post #2

The two pieces written by Klosterman and Wright relate to two similar, yet very different memories in sports that impacted ways of life. In both pieces, there is a culture that the sports represent. For the United Tribes, the tournament game in which they won was everything that they had going for them at the time. It was more than just a game, they were representing a whole group of people, a group much larger than just themselves. The same can be said about the poem written by Wright. Wright is explaining how the start of high school football season in a town effects not just the kids playing, but as well as the different types of citizens residing in the town. As both sports memories represent communities, to me it defines culture more than anything. Events in sports can extend beyond a community, beyond ones life time, and really have no limits of stopping at any point. It can create a way of life that people can share with others to be passed down and told as time goes on. Such stories like these can change one's outlook on society and in all reality there ways of living. Therefor to me, re-tellings of such stories define culture more than anything. Sports memories such as these exist all over the world, in many different cultures. Memory plays a huge role in sports in our society today. Without memories such as these, stories would not be told and sports could not define a culture, a community, or anything in that matter. As a whole, without memory of events, sports would not have nearly as much of a meaning in our society today.

Where it all began

I remember my pops walking beside me with my bat and glove in hand, the smell of fresh cut grass lingering in the air. It was the first time I ever stepped foot on a baseball diamond. I was only four years old. Before I even knew how to tie my own shoe, I was learning the game of baseball. When I was at home I wasn't watching cartoons like most kids my age. Instead I was glued to the television watching America's past time, baseball. At such a young age, before I could even realize what was happening, I was developing my love for sports for the first time.

As years went by and I became old enough, I began to participate in organized sports for the first time. Being shy as a child, sports became more than just something to occupy time, but as a way to meet and establish relationships with other kids my age. From the early years all through high school, my teammates were always my closest friends.
Throughout the years, as sports became more serious and competitive, I narrowed down the sports I played to the sport I loved. My first love, baseball. Baseball became something that I didn't just want to do for fun, but something I wanted to do for an occupation. That first day I ever stepped foot on a baseball field I can remember my dad telling me, "Only play a sport for the love of the game. If you lose the love for the game, you lose the game entirely". For me that's where it truly all began. The sport of baseball gave me a love I was never going to lose, and plan on never losing.