Final Reflections

Before I took this class, I considered myself a general sports fan (although not to the extent that a lot of the people in class probably are). I did not really think about sports other than as a form of entertainment; it is such a prevalent part of our culture that it is hard not to become desensitized to it. This class has helped me to look critically at the aspects of sport that we tend not to think about on a regular basis. This class has helped me to further examine racism, sexism, disabled athletes, the sport ethic, etc. as it relates to the sporting world.

I felt that this class was more of a sociology class as opposed to an ethnic studies class. We explored topics commonly addressed in sociology and related them to sports. However, I think that this is a cool way to engage students into thinking critically. Relating sociology to something that students LOVE (sports) makes them want to participate more.

I would recommend this class to others because it is interesting and is a nice change of pace from the typical structure of other classes.

Sports Pages #13: Hoop Dreams and The Blind Side

Both films suggest the significance of sports in the African American culture as a means of escape. All three of the boys in both films are able to attend college due to sports, and feel that doing so will help them escape their not so glamorous realities. Both Michael and William get to attend private high schools as a result of sports. The difference between Hoop Dreams and The Blind Side is the fact that The Blind Side makes it all look so easy. Michael is a kid from the Projects who gets "discovered" by a rich, white family and suddenly discovers he's good at sports. It was never an innate passion of Michael's yet he makes it to Ole' Miss and the NFL as if it were a cakewalk. Both Arthur and William live for basketball. Not only do they love the game; they need the game. Both boys dedicate four years of high school and four years of college to the sport without ever making it big. Hoop Dreams shows just how competitive it is to make it big in sports. The Blind Side glosses over the gritty details, leaving only the success story with a few bumps and bruises.

While sports can serve as a positive outlet for African American boys who are pressured to participate in deviant activities, sports also perpetuate the myth of race. There is the overwhelming stereotype that African Americans are better athletes than other races. This is partially due to the fact that so many African Americans participate in sports. As a society, we highlight the differences between the races more in situations like sport. I still think that sports are positive for both races to participate in. However, the way the media frames sports encourages the myth of race.

Gendered Advertising (Real Women?)

This ad is a part of the 'Nike REAL WOMEN Campaign'. This ad plays in to the fact that women are often evaluated in terms of the appearance of their bodies. While it is true that men are also evaluated in regards to appearance, they are not nearly as ridiculed or held to as high of standards as women to look "perfect". Nike takes something that has a negative connotation ("thunder thighs") and makes it positive. I hear girls complain about their "thunder thighs" all the time, and it's no wonder why. As women, we are constantly exposed to the size zero, supermodel prototype that embodies the so called "perfect woman". Nike suggests that we should be praising women for their strength over shallow beauty, and that strength in itself can be beautiful. You would never see an ad like this for men. Sure, men are expected to have broad shoulders and the "six-pack abs". But, in general, people focus more on their ability than what they look like. This ad is obviously attempting to poke fun at the idea that a female athlete can only be successful if she is strong but also fits the commodified mold of being "attractive". I remember when this campaign came out and the reception was overall positive. However, it will sadly take more than a Nike ad to change the way that we evaluate women in the media. 

Interrogating Inequalities in Sports Media: Examining Gender Representation in Sports Illustrated

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/photos/1305/si-covers-2013/2/

The link above takes you to the compilation of all 2013 Sports Illustrated covers. I have included some examples of these covers below. Out of the 102 featured covers of 2013, the ONLY cover that exclusively featured a female was the 2013 Swimsuit Edition. This cover features Kate Upton, who is a model not an athlete. I think this speaks to the fact that women's sports are still seen as inferior to men's sports. Sure, there were covers that featured females (Kate Upton AGAIN in an October edition with two Braves players, a random assortment of female college fans, and a female police officer).

Not only are women misrepresented on Sports Illustrated covers, but their posing is strikingly different from the males. While the women are posed suggestively or "girly" (e.g. sitting with legs crossed), the males are posed in positions of power (e.g. hands on hips, arms/hands spread out). In addition to this, the headlines differ. For example, the cover featuring Kate Upton and the Braves players has the headline: "October's All About Who's Hot", while the cover featuring AJ McCaron has the headline: "King of Crimson".

These trends speak to larger gender "norms" and expectations that have become commonplace in the sporting world. Women's sports have always been underrepresented in the media, and who we choose to place on covers speaks to the fact that female athletes are not as praised as male athletes. When they are praised, it often has something to do with the fact that they are a good athlete and good looking (take Alex Morgan, for example). It's hard to tell if the representation of female athletes will change. If the media continues to look at women as merely "bodies" or sexual objects, the future for female athletes getting the respect they deserve does not look very bright.

High School Sport

High school sports have become commonplace in modern American society. The idea of interscholastic sports emerged in order to give youth an outlet for physical activity and (ideally) to provide structure and discipline. According to Coakley, in an ideal world, high school sports should do all of these things and more. Student athletes should be upstanding individuals that embody values such as teamwork and practice. High school sports were designed to help youth become well-rounded individuals, giving them an outlet for physical activity in the land of academia.
I do think that some high school students are able to encompass all of these ideas. However, as with the case of Demetrius Walker, the corruption of interscholastic sport has resulted in an ambiguity between success in sport and success in school. Some student athletes are forced to choose between athletics and academics, and the result is devastating for education. Some high school athletes are expected to value practice over studying in order to get a "scholarship" to play for a college. While it is not true for every student athlete, many struggle in college due to the fact that they were always taught to put sports over academics in high school. High schools and colleges try to combat this by requiring strict study schedules and mandatory GPA requirements for student athletes.
Even with this problem, interscholastic sport is regarded highly in American society. We celebrate our student athletes like celebrities, always pushing them to reach for the next level of athletic success. We place great pressure on them to succeed because every school loves for their team to win.
It is difficult to determine a solution to the problem of the seeming "choice" that student athletes have to make between academics and athletics. I honestly don't know what we could do to change this other than encourage academic success as well as athletic success for these student athletes.

"Once the Cheering Stops: The Life of a Retired Pro-Athlete"

"You've been replaced on the field and you've been replaced in people's minds. That's when you start getting depressed". I think this quote from former NFL player Tiki Barber accurately sums up the sentiment of being a retired athlete for some. It has to be difficult to transition from being the "hero" constantly in the spotlight, to being an average Joe who "used to play for that team that one time". This isn't the case for everyone; some athletes happily accept retirement and are able to come to terms with the fact that the glory days are over. Others have trouble swallowing their pride and struggle to deal responsibly with the excess money from their careers. Listening to the retired athletes talk in "Broke" about their "bling bling" and multiple bowling alleys in their houses honestly made me disgusted. I think this is partly due to the fact that a lot of athletes get famous and signed when they are still young and not used to budgeting their money. They are more likely to succumb to lavish fancies instead of being responsible. The US Sport culture is financially excessive; athletes earn millions of dollars and, when combined with their egos, this can become a deadly combination. I am the first person to be in awe of athletic ability and credit someone for their strength and success. However, I feel like the US Sport culture is too excessive.

Sport, Politics, and the Olympics

I chose the 1936 Olympics (commonly referred to as the "Nazi Games") that occurred in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the games over Barcelona in 1931. I gathered this information from the slides and Wikipedia. In order to promote the air of supremacy and domination, Germany pulled out all of the stops for these Olympic games: a new 1000-seat track and field stadium was erected, a closed-circuit television and radio circuit were installed, and someone was hired to film the games. Hitler voiced his opinion in the official Nazi paper that no Jewish or black people should be allowed to compete in the Games. Obviously, this was received poorly by other nations who threatened to boycott the Games. Germany was forced to "cover up" some of its anti-Jewish propaganda, and Hitler went to his own measures to make sure that Berlin was "respectable" when he imprisoned all gypsies in a concentration camp for the duration of the Games. The Germans ultimately believed that the Olympics would serve as a way to "weed out" the weak (including Jewish people). They refused to let Jewish-born or Roma Germans compete on their own team, excluding some of their best athletes. Ultimately, the Germans viewed the 1936 Olympic Games as a way to impose their political beliefs on others.

I believe that the 1936 Olympic Games best fit under the category of a "vehicle for propaganda" according to Sage and Eitzen. The games were literally a platform for Germany to show the rest of the world why they thought Nazism was such a success. Obviously, the rest of the world did not take kindly to it. Nonetheless, Germany's detainment of gypsies and refusal to let Jewish-born Germans compete on their own team relayed their message loud and clear. I also think that the Games fit under the category of promoting nationalism for Germany. The Germans wanted everyone to perceive that Germany was the most powerful nation in the world.

To say that "sport is pure and devoid of political interference" is quite ignorant. After reading Sage and Eitzen's article and watching the film in class on Monday, it is quite clear that politics are not just a part of sports, but a major contributor to the way that we perceive sports. From the beginning of the Olympics when the Games served as a peace-time between warring nations, to the blatant attacks on gay athletes in the NFL, it is clear that politics and sport have become one. It is true that there is a positive side to this; countries show immense national pride and come together during the Olympics. Often this is positive. In the case of the 1936 Olympics, however, it's clear that this is NOT always a positive thing. It is impossible to completely remove politics from sport.