Sunday, October 18, 2009

Sports: Pros and Cons

Sports are a very big part of America and the world. According to the Washington Post, 55.2 percent of High School students are involved in sports. At small schools this number is even greater. Professional athletes are some of the highest paid and most respected (or least in some cases) in the world. People have parties and celebrate just to watch a sporting event on TV. The impact of sports on this nation is phenomenal.

Participating in sports is something that everyone wants to take part in. This can be very helpful in developing social skills like creating friends with teammates and even creates a sense of competition. Your entire life you will have to deal with other people. Some may like you and some may not. This is easily exemplified by your team or your competition in sports.

Discipline is a very important skill that can be developed while playing sports. In sports you need to arrive to practice on time, be prepared for anything, and be relied upon by your teammates and coach. You have to work hard with your grades in order to stay eligible. This is easily relatable to your job life. If you’re always late, disrespect your coworkers, and never get any work done then you should be swiftly fired.

An interest in sports may also lead to bad things. A first is a lack of interest in academics. You may just keep your grades high enough to play but always think sports first and school after. A typical stereotype for someone that plays a sport is that they are an arrogant jerk, also known as the jock. This shows that bad social skills may be developed if you regard yourself as physically better than others. This will get you nowhere in life because no matter who you are, there is someone more powerful than you.

Sports also have another side-effect. They are the party and betting aspects of sports. Betting is always a bad habit to have. Betting is illegal in many sports and it’s also advocated in others. Betting in the illegal side is hidden through things like fantasy leagues and the sort. They involve a group of people picking athletes to be on there team and they keep track of points that they earn in order to beat the other teams. This makes it seem like it’s fair competition but it’s just like betting.

The partying side of sports can also get out of hand. On many occasions, streets and towns have been utterly destroyed because of fan celebrations. Fans roam the streets drinking and partying. They flip cars and vandalize street signs and buildings. In 1994, a riot broke out in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada after Canucks lost to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup finals, which resulted in a reported 200 people injured and 50 arrested.

Sports can be a very fun and exhilarating source of entertainment. We can learn some of life’s valuable lessons from competing and be led into some life lows by watching it. No matter how sports are looked at they will remain one of the biggest parts of American culture.

Information found at:

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=8086868

http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/16/sports/200-injured-in-vancouver.html

16 comments:

  1. This post by Grisham brings up several important points about sports, one in particular that I had thought about before but never been able to put to words as this author has. They are, in order of importance (to me):

    1. American culture stereotypes sports players as meat-heads, "jocks." Of course nothing about sports is intrinsically stupefying, so why does this stereotype exist? In ancient Greece, people were told to be both as athletic and as learned as possible - and they accomplished it, too.

    2. Sports are games which represent various competitive aspects of life as their creators see it. In this way, sports can give us insight into what their culture believes about life. What beliefs do the creators of Boxing seem to hold?

    3. Sports seems to be good for the participant, but often bad for the observer. What a phenomenal observation, with potentially huge implications! Should watching sports be banned? Is there a point to sports without an audience (I think so)?

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  2. I like this post and agree that sports can also lead to bad things.

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  3. I thought this post was very good! I agree that sports play a large role in American culture and that they can help with our social skills.

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  4. I think this post has very much truth. Sports help in all aspects of peoples lives whether they realize it or not, were just hoping they are playing positive roles rather than the negative aspects.

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  5. I really enjoyed this post and thought the author did a fantastic job of relating sports to American culture. Job well done.

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  6. I believe sports do one of two things..destroy a team..or unite it.

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  7. I really like sports and believe there are a few negative aspects. I also believe there are some really positive aspects, like the relationships you build with your team-mates...good post

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  8. Interesting post. With the degredation of the U.S. society's standings in education levels aroudn the globe, and the seemingly more interests poured into sports, would one think that we should focus more on education and less on athletics?

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  9. Very good ways of looking at sports, I agree with this post!

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  10. Sports do have negatives and positives. They can also teach you about life. Good post! :D

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  11. Good insight. I agree sports get out of hand, i cant see how a mob would beat up a guy just for supporting another team, but it happens.

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  12. I agree that sports will always be one of the biggest things in American culture for a while.

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  13. Sports can create a great deal of discipline. Another negative about sports are injuries, which can have devastating consequences as well.

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  14. Pro's aren't all stupid. Some just get arrogant, cocky, and think that there better than everyone else because they know how to play a sport well. Honestly i think there are people out in the world who deserve to get paid more than athletes do. i mean they get to play games and other people are working 12 hour shifts. sounds like bull crap to me.

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  15. I believe that sports on a High School and Collegiant level are much more interesting to watch. It seems to me that those athletes play the sport for the love of the game.

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  16. I like how the college players love the sport, but on the other hand I don't like how a pro sport team can be losing by 20 and still be laughing on the bench.

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