Sports and Socialization: Who Plays Sport and What Happens to Them

On February 9, 2016 in American Sport in the 21^st Century we talked about sports and socialization. More importantly we talked about athletes as role models. During the 20^th century is when athletes started viewing being a role model as a part of their job. Some qualities good role models should have are good sportsmanship, determination, commitment and honesty.

When it comes to MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter Conor McGregor, people have mixed feelings about him. Some people say he is cocky, but others say it is just confidence. The reasoning for people calling him cocky is because he shows pride in his success, but it is not cockiness if you can back it up, which he has done. McGregor has become infamous for his confidence to succeed during fights and interviews. He always shows respect to his opponents in his interviews, even when he loses

Conor McGregor after a victory

which is a very tough thing to do. Sometimes he talks about his opponent before a fight, but any fighter will do that. McGregor can definitely talk the talk and walk the walk. There is some of that confidence in all of us we just do not use it like he does. Most recently he moved up two weight classes for a fight. No one wants to take that chance just because of the difficulty in doing that. McGregor was quoted saying “We’re not here just to take part, we are here to take over,” and that is exactly what he is doing. Even though he lost he did not let that get to him. He said he will get back at it and become stronger from the experience. What he does he says he does it for the fans. McGregor is a great role model for a new generation of Irish and people worldwide.

Conor McGregor again

http://whattheshelll.com/2015/01/29/conor-mcgregor-the-good-the-bad-and-the-notorious/

Sport and Social Values

On January 28, 2016 in American Sport in the 21^st Century we talked about sport and social values. A value is anything that is desirable and important.  We talked about developing clear values. That went along with an amoral society where there is clouding of right and wrong like, cheating, lying, and rule breaking. There is also lack of respect for the people in charge, debatable role models, and impact of the media.

FIFA logo

On December 3, 2015, sixteen men from FIFA were indicted for corruption charges. Eleven current and former FIFA executive committee members have been charged in this investigation. Hundreds of millions of dollars has been used in bribes in the investigation. The last three presidents of the CONCACAF (The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) and CONMEBOL (Confederación Sudamericana de Fútbol in South America) have all been indicted in this investigation. In May fourteen men were charged with bribery also.  The bribes were for the marketing and media rights of the Copa America and the CONCACAF Gold Cup. A couple days later in December FIFA banned president of FIFA Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini for eight years from all soccer related events. Blatter broke FIFA Code of Ethics rules on breaching loyalty and offering gifts. Platini broke the rules on breaching loyalty.

Sepp Blatter

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/fifa-corruption-scandal/fifa-bans-sepp-blatter-michel-platini-8-years-over-2m-n483656

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/fifa-corruption-scandal/u-s-indicts-16-more-soccer-execs-fifa-corruption-probe-n473821

Why Study Sport?

Why Study Sport?

On January 21, 2016 in American Sport in the 21^st Century we went over why we study sport. We study sport because millions of people are interested in sports, and it is what most people read and talk about. In the United States, sport is the fourth largest industry, and it is eleventh in the world. On the major television networks sports takes up 15% of its time. The world almanac dedicates 1/10 of its information to sports. USA dedicates ¼ of its space to sports as well.

Fans at WrestleMania

In about three weeks the Super Bowl of wrestling, WrestleMania 32, will be making history. It has already broken a record by selling 84,000 tickets at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. It has sold that many tickets with the card for the event being incomplete. Even though WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has been going down in ratings WrestleMania always sells. It is like the Super Bowl, you may not of watched the whole year or care for who is in it, but you watch it because of the name and history it has. You never know what will happen, there could be celebrity appearances, huge superstar returns, or big surprises other than that. Whether you are a hardcore wrestling fan or watch it on and off, you always make time for WrestleMania.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2623729-wwe-wrestlemania-32s-reported-record-ticket-sales-point-to-brands-strength

http://youtu.be/M2mfHNF0pTU (video)

Wrestlemania logo

Youth Sports-Focusing On Negative Coaches

In class on February 18, 2016 we learned that a large number of children dropout or stop participating in sports. 1/3 of participants dropout each year and 70% of them quit by the age of 13. The main reasons are because of negative coaches and negative parents. We are going to focus on negative coaches. We all have had those coaches before. Those ones who scream and yell at every little thing we do and nothing is ever good enough for them. They drive us crazy and make us want to stop playing the sport completely. They do not make playing enjoyable and you always dread going to practice because you know that coach is always going to be there. For some children, the pressure is too much and pushes them so far to the edge that they stop playing sports and never give it a second chance. In the article I am going to share, it gives a real world example of why sometimes negatives coaches are even worse than injuries such as concussions.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2016/03/07/Opinion/Fred-Engh.aspx?hl=coaches%20are%20worse%20than%20concussions&sc=0

A coach yelling at a young player, this is slowly becoming the norm in youth sports today.

Mike Krzyzewski and Quinn Cook sharing a moment. What coaching should be.

In this article, Fred Engh explains how youth football coaches are extremely egotistical and will try to win at any costs. Engh says that these coaches frequently do not follow concussion protocols or any other injuries protocols which leads to further physical and mental damages. He gives the example of how a coach tried to fix a players arm after the player was complaining of discomfort in his throwing shoulder and when the coach tried to put the player’s arm back into the socket, the player passed out and had to be rushed to the hospital. It turned out that the coach had completely broken the player’s arm. The coach went through all of that just so the player could get back out on the field so the team would have a better chance at winning. These coaches believe they would be creating a “wuss” and not making the players tough if they did not fight through injuries and take the easy way by sitting out. Coaches believe they are helping the players but in the long run they truly are not. They believe they are prepping them for college and professional sports but in all reality they are prepping them to live a life filled with injuries and physical problems. And most coaches do not do it for the players, they do it for themselves so they can feel that sense of pride and accomplishment that comes along with winning that they had never experienced before in their lives. Which is extremely wrong on their part as it should be all about the players. The problem with coaches today is that they believe winning is the only option, which to a certain degree is not entirely false. You do not want to create a losing attitude and you always want to encourage getting the best out of your players but only to a certain extent. There comes a point where enough is enough. Coaching should be about teaching young children values, life lessons, and how to be a good person. If you look at some of the greatest coaches in sports they of course have many championships and wins but if you were to ask former players of theirs about their coach, more than likely nine out of ten of them would say their coach made them a better person. That is what coaching should be all about but unfortunately in todays day and age, that gets lost and coaches motives are in the wrong place. 

History of Sports-The Rise of Fantasy Sports

In class on February 4, 2016 we talked about the history of sports and the impact it has had on sports today. One of the biggest things to impact sports today is the rise of fantasy sports. Fantasy sports brings groups of people together to compete in “fantasy” games that can give you the ability to pick your favorite players or the best players and based on their performance from game to game, you earn points. Money is usually put down on fantasy sports which is a main factor in why it is so popular. In the following article, it will give statistics to showcase the huge increase in the popularity of fantasy sports.

https://seatsmart.com/blog/fantasy-sports-unstoppable-rise/

FanDuel logo

In the article, it discusses how between 2014 and 2015, there had been an increase from 16% of adult Americans playing fantasy sports to 22%. This increase is quivalent to 15 million new Americans playing fantasy sports. Companies such as FanDuel and DraftKings are two of the biggest fantasy sports companies and make a fortune. Fantasy sports was nowhere near as popular in the 2000s as it is today and these companies have reaped the benefits on the huge increase in demand and popularity. Another important aspect that the article points out, is that fantasy sports make even more revenue than the NFL itself. Fantasy sports has been estimated to make anywhere between $40-70 million in revenue where as the NFL has make roughly $10 million and US casinos make $70 million in revenue. Fantasy sports is another way for fans to feel connected to athletes and is a huge reason why fantasy sports is vastly successful today. Fans are always looking for new ways to connect with professional athletes. 

DraftKings logo

Politics and Sports

Politics and sports go hand in hand with each other. Many athletes have gone on to pursue careers in politics. Just to name a few; Lynn Swann, Kevin Johnson, and Bill Bradley. In class on March 1, 2016 we talked about the connections between government and sports. These connections include:

• Safeguard the public order

Kevin Johnson, former NBA player and current mayor of Sacramento

• Maintain fitness and physical abilities
• Promote the prestige and power of a community or nation
• Reproduces dominant values
• Increase support for political leaders and political structures

With the 2016 Presidential Election quickly approaching, a major event in the process has just passed. Super Tuesday occurred on March 1 this year. Super Tuesday is one of the biggest days in any of the possible candidate’s campaign. Using sports allows the candidates to give themselves leverage and make themselves more personable and easier to connect with. This would raise their Q ratio, or in simpler terms their popularity rating. This article gives further details.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2016/02/29/Media/Super-Tuesday.aspx

In this article, it shows how politicians use sports as another channel to get votes. Home Team Sports sold spots to Bernie Sanders on Altitude and FS North and sold spots to Marco Rubio on FS Oklahoma and FS Southwest. Home Team Sports has sold five times more political ads for this year’s Super Tuesday primaries than it did four years ago. “A lot of [candidates] were on a lot earlier than ever before to try to get ahead of February in Iowa,” said Stephen Ullman, director of political ad sales for Home Team Sports. “I’ve never seen this amount of activity around the primaries. In the past, the majority of our business has been September to Nov. 1 — the last 60 days of the election.” This just shows how sports can have an impact on politics. If a voter sees a potential candidate on a sports program, the likelihood of that candidate getting the vote is highly likely. It makes the candidate relatable to the voter. Often times voters can feel disconnected from the candidate due to the candidate’s social status and lifestyle but, something as simple as sports can bring these two people together. 

Abuses in Intercollegiate Sports

In class on February 25, 2016 we discussed the abuses that take place mainly in Division I collegiate athletics. These include:

• Illegal recruiting

Katrina Powell, the person in charge of bringing the women to the parties.

• Easy majors/ altering grades and transcripts (academic corruption)
• Exploitation of athletes
• Pressure to win
• Pressure to make money

With the commercialization of intercollegiate sports, many of these abuses have become almost impossible to ignore. Social media and improving technology make athletes and programs much more visible than they used to be in the past. A prime example of this would be the University of Louisville Mens Basketball Program’s recent recruiting violations.

Read More: http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/13927159/former-louisville-cardinals-basketball-players-recruits-acknowledge-stripper-parties-minardi-hall

Russ Smith, one of the most notable players accused of being at the Louisville parties.

In October of 2015, five former University of Louisville basketball players and recruits told Outside the Lines that they had gone to parties at a university dorm room where an assistant coach paid women to have sex with possible recruits and current players. This group of players include Russ Smith, Montrezl Harrell, Peyton Siva, Terry Rozier, Antonio Blakeney, Jordan Mickey, and JaQuan Lyles. According to the allegations, Katrina Powell was in charge of bringing the women to the dorm room and the parties were set up by assistant coach, Andre McGee. Upon reports by Powell, McGee spent upwards of $10,000 per party that was set up. The women would be brought to the dorm room and the player or recruit would pick which women they wanted. McGee would then pay whatever price it cost to give the player or recruit what they wanted. This connects with what we talked about in class because it shows proof of illegal recruiting by giving players and recruits something that most other programs would never offer. Louisville was trying to gain an unfair advantage over other programs. It also shows that they were willing to win at any cost by trying to persuade the recruits that they wanted with sex. The program was feeling the pressure to win and they sought out to seek a way to get recruits by any means necessary.