Wow, have these last 16 weeks flown by! Before this course, I have never composed, or even followed a blog before. I have enjoyed writing on various topics discussed in class, as it is a way to reflect on the material and other issues going on in the world of sport. This class has really been an eye-opening experience on the way that sport has a global impact.
I specifically enjoyed the two faculty guest speakers (Dr. Meeks (England) and Dr. Cho (South Korea). Their presentations made me become open minded and realize that Americans are not the only crazed fans in the world, and that we often connect cultures to different sports without even realizing it. Dr. Meeks made me aware of hooliganism, which was very hard to believe that it occured in the late 20th/early 21st century. Wiebe was a great addition to class, as it was very interesting to hear what the sport culture is like over in the Netherlands. Earlier in the semester, he had mentioned that Europeans are a lot more open-minded of other cultures, as compared to Americans. After hearing this, I totally realized that this is very true. Bottom line, this couse has made me come to grips that Americans are not the most passionate fans, and that we often label each country to a dominant sport, and do not realize that they can be fans of many sports.
I loved the class atmosphere, as it was very freely open to class discussion, and boy did we have some opinionated ones haha! Nonetheless, the class material covered a broad spectrum, which made it easy to hold discussions, while learning from different classmates experiences/opinions. Although it is reality, I found it interesting to hear about the hardships that women coaches have to overcome in order to be considered credible. Another memorable discussion that I enjoyed was the culture behind European soccer (besides the hooliganism). Before the class, I had just thought that soccer was to Europe, as NFL is to America. However, I believe soccer is a "way of life", whereas, the NFL is a leisure activity that fans watch for entertainment purposes.
To sum up my unorganized babbling in this conclusion blog, this class opened my eyes to the sport culture around the world. There is much more to sports than what we just see and hear from ESPN. Passionate fans can live at any corner of the globe, whether we like to think so or not! I really enjoyed the material in this class, as it has sparked my interest in a part of the sporting world that I didnt even know existed.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Paralympics and Disabled Athletes
Before our class discussion on disabled athletes, I had a very wrong outlook on the paralympics. I had the image that it was a friendly global competition between disabled people to make them feel "athletic", which would boost their confidence. I figured that all the competitors in the paralympics were confined to a wheel chair, and played these "friendly" games with one another because it was a way to play sports while being on an equal playing field because of their disabilities. However, as I have looked into it more, disabled athletes competing in the olympics range from being blind, deaf, missing limb(s), walking/running with limps, etc. Also, these games are FAR FROM friendly competition. These are elite athletes who have taken what they have been given and trained just as hard and tedious as any elite olympian. The paralympians put 110% effort towards their competition in order to earn the national pride of winning a medal for their country. Just like the olympics, paralympians must qualify for these prestigious games, as they are not just a "come one, come all" athletic event, as I had thought in the past. To put in perspective just how talented and athletic these paralympians are, double amputee Oscar Pistorius from South Africa ran 45.39 in the 400 meter dash, whereas the average olympic qualifyer runs 45-46 seconds. Therefore, Pistorius has recently made strides (no pun intended) in competing with able bodied athletes, and wants to compete in upcoming able bodied olympics. Here is a short video on Oscar's performance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3M9cdo-eYI&feature=related
Oscar is just one paralympian out of thousands who truely have an athletic talent. They train just as hard (if not harder, due to the fact they need to make up for their disability) as an olympian. As shown from the above picture, many disabled athletes have just as much (if not more) talent and strength than an abled bodied athlete. They definitely need more credit from society and really hope to see the paralympics televised some day, as this really opened my eyes to the elite level of competition in disabled athletes.
Oscar is just one paralympian out of thousands who truely have an athletic talent. They train just as hard (if not harder, due to the fact they need to make up for their disability) as an olympian. As shown from the above picture, many disabled athletes have just as much (if not more) talent and strength than an abled bodied athlete. They definitely need more credit from society and really hope to see the paralympics televised some day, as this really opened my eyes to the elite level of competition in disabled athletes.
Monday, December 5, 2011
Vying for the Olympics really worth it?
A few weeks ago, we had discussed the top layer of a lengthy process that cities/countries go through in order to vie for an olympic bid. Although the prestigious athletic event is an honor to hold and showcases unique aspects of the home country's culture, the abundance of resources and money spent to even be a candidate in the running is well into the millions even before a brick is layed.
As you may know, Chicago recently bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic games. After the three year marketing push, Chicago lost the bid to Rio. However, this does not mean that the tax payers and organizations were spared the millions of dollars that it takes to host such a extravagant event. According to chicagobid.org, over $50 million was spent on marketing the eventual failed bid. CNN Financial analysts estimated that if Chicago would have won the bid, they would have invested an additional $3.8 billion to add to the cities infrastructures, transportation, etc. As this may seem like a big number, the amount can easily increase from city to city depending on what facilities the location already has built to offer. Beijing spent over $40 billion in order to build its eyepopping venues such as the birds nest (which is currently used only 1-2 times a year).
Although many may say that the olympics adds local economic growth to small businesses and the surrounding area, I find it hard to believe that truthfully much profit can be generated due to the exponential amount of money committees are putting in the event. Upon researching for this blog, I was shocked to see how much money is risked just to bid for the event. It is hard to swallow, in today's down grading economy, that $50 million was wasted to promote an event that never will exist.
As you may know, Chicago recently bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympic games. After the three year marketing push, Chicago lost the bid to Rio. However, this does not mean that the tax payers and organizations were spared the millions of dollars that it takes to host such a extravagant event. According to chicagobid.org, over $50 million was spent on marketing the eventual failed bid. CNN Financial analysts estimated that if Chicago would have won the bid, they would have invested an additional $3.8 billion to add to the cities infrastructures, transportation, etc. As this may seem like a big number, the amount can easily increase from city to city depending on what facilities the location already has built to offer. Beijing spent over $40 billion in order to build its eyepopping venues such as the birds nest (which is currently used only 1-2 times a year).
Although many may say that the olympics adds local economic growth to small businesses and the surrounding area, I find it hard to believe that truthfully much profit can be generated due to the exponential amount of money committees are putting in the event. Upon researching for this blog, I was shocked to see how much money is risked just to bid for the event. It is hard to swallow, in today's down grading economy, that $50 million was wasted to promote an event that never will exist.
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