The Last Blog.

It's about that time every year, when the semester is almost over. I'm sure that I can speak for a lot of people when I say this semester has been a rough one. Now all everyone is looking forward to is winter break. I can say that I am especially excited for many reasons. If possible and considering they make it, I can go watch St. Thomas Aquinas play in the State Finals on December 14th. Three days before Christmas, I'm going to the Miami Heat game with my family and I'll get to see my best friend as she is going too. But the one thing I'm looking forward to most is New Year's. Not only is it a new time to start fresh, but also I'm going to the Orange Bowl to see my FSU Seminoles play and win!

As much as I, and everyone else, are ready for this semester to be over, I can say I've learned a great amount of things that can help me in the future or just for personal enjoyment. Coming into this class, I was a little hesitant about the fact that it was based around sports. After listening to how many people actually played a sport made me feel a little lost because I never did and didn't really feel any special connection to sports. But this class made me realize that I do and I can honestly say that I watch and follow sports a great deal more than I ever have. This class also taught me about writing and analyzing things by breaking them down and seeing a different perspective of things. I'm really glad that I decided to keep it rather than dropping it for a different one. If I had dropped it, I never would have realized the great appreciation I have for sports and I wouldn't change it for the world.

What am I happy with?

If someone to ask me what I'm happy with, I would answer that with so many different reasons. I'm happy that I got to see my family once before the semester was over. I'm happy that I have great friends that I got to come back to. I'm happy that I actually have a good roommate, as opposed to the people who always complain about theirs. I'm happy that this semester is almost over so I can go home for Christmas, and come back and start taking classes I like AND not having to wake up at 8 a.m. every single day. But what I'm most happy about is that I was able to pull myself up from literally failing a class.

I wasn't doing very well in my Race and Ethnicity class. I had an F. A failing grade. Some people (those who don't really care) wouldn't see it as a really big deal. It was a huge deal to me. Not only was I worried that I wouldn't get the history credit or the Gordon Rule credit, I was definitely concerned about how it would affect my GPA. Because I have Bright Future's that was a serious issue. I didn't really know what to do but I knew that I still did a paper that I didn't get a grade for. When I got it back, I was relieved and ecstatic that it brought my grade up to a D. I really shouldn't be happy with a D but it was better than an F and I still had opportunities to bring it up to at least a C-. Now, with my last paper turned in, I feel confident that I can bring my grade up to maybe a B by the final because this was the one paper I actually put a lot of effort into after having to basically rewrite most of it at about 11:00 p.m. All I know is I have to study an immense amount for it but I'm just happy that I have a much greater chance of getting the credits for that class and keeping my Bright Future's. As long as a person is motivated to do something, they can do anything. I was definitely motivated to bring my grade up and I was able to succeed. This is why I'm happier than I've ever been, at least this semester. Next semester: I'm taking bowling. Now, that should be an interesting class.

FSU Letdown.

Being an avid Seminole fan, last week's loss against the Gators was true heart break. It was a devastating time for really all of us, especially since we had beat UF for the past two years. Although there can be argument about who was more upset about the loss, but I don't think anyone can compare their disappointment to mine. I was so angry that we lost for two reasons: because it was to the Gators and because I was wearing my lucky hat. I'm a superstitious person, especially when it comes to sports. My lucky hat had been undefeated all season. When I didn't wear it for USF, we barely won. When I didn't wear it for NC State, we lost. When we played UM, I was convinced it worked because i hadn't worn it for the start of the game but as soon as I put it on, we scored a field goal and came back to win the game.

I started to watch the game at my house with my dad and my brother. It was, to say the least, interesting that no one had scored yet. But then the decision to leave and go to my grandma's house was determined and I had to get ready. By then, we were down 3-0. So we listened to it in the car, my lucky hat still on. Then we had possession of the ball but that was cut short by EJ Manuel throwing an interception. That was the first of many. Second quarter was full of first downs but then we just couldn't make it and like the first quarter, the Gators had the ball for most of it. Then another field goal was kicked; It's good. 6-0. On the kickoff, Karlos Williams returned it for 21 yards but got hit and fumbled the ball and it was recovered by the Gators who ended up converting that into a touchdown. 13-0. I wasn't too worried because it was still the beginning. When we got the ball back, I was hopeful and worried at the same time. Not to be taken as a surprise, but look! EJ threw yet ANOTHER interception. luckily we were able to hold them off until they had to punt. With a fair catch by Kenny Shaw and a lot of running to get first downs, we managed to get it in field goal range and Dustin Hopkins did his thing and kicked a 50 yard field goal to make the score 13-3.

Third quarter is when I realized how badly we needed to catch up. In the first drive, we were doing okay. That is until EJ decided it would be fun to thrown another interception. Thankfully, Bjoern Werner was able to sack Driskel at 3rd and 13, and make them punt the ball. Third quarter is when everything started falling into place. A touchdown by Nick O'Leary, a fumble recovery by Werner, and then another touchdown by EJ (his saving grace, or so we thought). By now I was at my grandma's house watching the game, and maybe that's why I felt my hat work. So many good plays, and we made a comeback. With a Hopkins 53 yard field goal, it was 13-20, FSU, by the end of the third. Fourth was a disappointment. I had to leave to go to Miami to go to the Heat game. I felt like when I left, so did all hope for us beating UF. Everything went wrong: they scored a field goal, more interceptions, EJ getting sacked, EJ fumbling, EJ getting hurt. It was just awful, but I still had a little bit of hope. It was 37-20 and I realized we couldn't do it. EJ rushed for a touchdown to make it 37-26, and that was the game. I don't know why it had to be this game that my hat didn't work, especially since it worked the past two years. It hurt me and I realized that maybe the luck was all in my head.

Thanksgiving Sports Story.

Every Thanksgiving, aside from the food and the family, my one favorite sports tradition is watching the Cowboys play football with my dad. I've been watching the games with him for as long as I can remember. It has become like a tradition to us like eating turkey is tradition to Thanksgiving itself. It gives my dad and I something to bond over. Considering he's the reason why I like the Cowboys, it only makes sense that we watch the games.

On other Thanksgiving occasions, the Cowboys have done fairly well and won. However, this Thanksgiving was just like any other game out of the season. I wasn't really surprised that they lost but it was an interesting game. For the most part, we were losing and in the beginning it was a massacre. Then by some miracle, they made an amazing comeback. I wasn't too upset about the loss because of the comeback. I did feel a little slow that I didn't realize until way later in the game that it was a game of Cowboys versus Indians. When I declared that realization to my dad he just sarcastically said, "you just realized that?" and all I could think was "ouch that hurt my feelings." However, all in all, it was a great game and I'm glad I got to watch it with my dad, just like old times.

Thanksgiving Memory.

This past Thanksgiving was probably one of the most fun ones I've had in a while. For the past couple of years, I've gone to my grandma's house in Gainesville to spend it there. But every year before that, I would spend it with my grandma who lives in South Florida, my family there and my family that would travel from Ohio. There were always 20+ people for Thanksgiving at her house and it was always a good time spending it with family, eating food and catching up.

So this Thanksgiving was not only just a special holiday, but it was also the first time I had been home all semester. It was so great to see my parents and my brother, but it was especially nice to see my grandma and my grandpa who has Alzheimer's. I also saw my cousin who I pretty much grew up with and always had arguments with. But this time was different. This time he was happy to see me and gave me one of the biggest hugs he's ever given me. To see the look on everyone's face when they saw me was heartwarming because they just appeared so joyful. I was just as happy to see them and I just felt so good to be home.

Opposition to an Ad.

The ad I am creating an opposition for is about the Statue of Liberty holding a football. The backing for this ad is that it is a symbol for how sports in general uses a false idol which exposes the idea that sports just cover up social problems as opposed to solving them. While I agree with this position, I have to disagree and say that sports unites people as a community, a country or a continent.

I see it as a great way to show the Statue of Liberty holding a football but using it as a symbol of unity. The statue itself was a gift from the French, which I see as a way to unify two different countries, and the statue holding a football shows how that one sport, in particular, can unify a country like the United States. I think that despite people having different teams and views on who's a better player, sports are a common theme among all different countries. An example of this would be the United States & football and Europe & soccer.This common theme can create unions which in turn can form a number of social relationships that could help fix other problems, such as economics.

Political View on the Adbuster.

The way I can include a political view into my adbuster is by explaining in greater detail the controversial aspect, which divides people. My adbuster has to deal with Jeremy Scott's 'Shackle' sneakers that are made by Adidas. This creates a political split because on one side, people think the shoes have no harmful meaning and that they are just a fashion statement. Other people, however, feel that the cuffs that are attached to the sneakers with chains have a deeper meaning than say "keeping a lock on your style." The controversy that is presented here creates division of a community because of how these shoes are interpreted.

Following The World of Sports.

Something that I follow in the world of sports is the BCS rankings of the college football teams. It is always a good feeling to know where your team is ranked and watching the rankings change based on who wins and who loses is fun, unless it's your team that goes down. I started to be interested in this because it's a matter of pride in your team and being able to say, "My team is in the top 10," or "My team is number one." However, it's also upsetting when you see your team should have moved up at least one spot but instead they are in the same spot as the week before. I think the way that the teams are, for the most part, ranked fair and accordingly.

The way I like to follow the rankings is by watching different teams play (aside from Florida State) and seeing the turnout. We follow the games with ranked teams and see who they are up against. For example, this past week, we watched the Florida game when they played the Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns. The whole time watching the game my friends and I were rooting for Lafayette so the Gators would go down and by a lot because of a loss to an unranked team. Throughout the game, Lafayette was doing great and almost beat the Gators but last second they got a touchdown and won the game. I feel like their luck was the only thing that kept them in the #6 spot.Then there's the case of the biggest upset this past weekend: Alabama vs. Texas A&M. Even though #1 Alabama lost to #15 Texas A&M, they only went down 3 spots because Texas A&M was in the top 20. It's upsetting that the margin wasn't large enough to push Florida State up one spot, but at least they're still in the top 10. Overall, watching the rankings change is fun thing to do because it gives you a reason to pay attention to the games.

Adbuster (image).

These shoes are what i am going to do my adbuster on. What I'm going to do is have a split picture: on one side, I'll have a picture of a slaves feet with shackles on them, and on the other side, I'll have a picture of someone's feet wearing these shoes. On the picture, I'll have the words, "Spot the difference," and then have the Adidas logo on it.

Adbuster Idea.

My idea for my adbuster will feature a picture of a slave wearing shackles around his ankles with the Adidas symbol on the picture and make it an adbuster for the 'Shackle' Sneakers. This idea came from a controversy involving Jeremy Scott's Roundhouse Mid sneaker that was pulled due to the fact that the design of the shoe (which was like the Adidas classic Roundhouse, but it had a plastic handcuff that went around each ankle that had chains attached to go down to the shoe) resembled that of the shackles that were worn by slaves during that time period. Although not intended to be a racist thing or come off as offensive to anyone (especially African Americans) , this shoe created a great deal of controversy.

Because there was such an issue with this sneaker, I felt it was a really good idea to make an adbuster for this. An adbuster is basically using a controversy with the company and forming an "ad" for that. It's a really simple idea that literally just popped into my head as I read the article about it. In the paper, I can give some background information regarding slavery and in this case maybe how fashion is influenced by it, whether it is intentional or not.

Favorite Sports Commercial.

My favorite sports commercial is the Gatorade commercial with Peyton Manning as an action toy. This kid's mom gets him Peyton Manning as a birthday present and they play football with him. All of a sudden he stops working and the other kids think that he's broken. Then one of the partygoers looks on the back and says that they have to keep him hydrated. So they give him Gatorade to drink and they continue to play.

I like this commercial because the song they have is really catchy and funny ("It's Peyton Manning, your very own action toy...."). I also like this commercial because it teaches kids the importance of staying hydrated when playing sports and being active. The commercial does a good job at promoting the product and showing what it does.

Just Your Average Day.

It was a Monday, the most hated day of the week. I awoke to the sound of my alarm blaring the noise "Beep Beep Beep!", almost as if it were screaming at me "What are you doing? Get up NOW!" The clock read 7:45 and I thought to myself "Great, I'm late again." After a morning shower, I brushed my teeth. With my luck, the toothpaste decided to magically fly off the brush and land right on my shirt. That would happen the day I wear the only clean shirt I have left. After managing to make my shirt look relatively decent, I shuffled down the stairs, in a half-asleep state. I open the fridge and take a look inside. I knew I still needed to go grocery shopping so I don't know why I expected there to be a cornucopia of things for me to choose from to eat. I checked the milk and realized the jug was almost empty. I checked the cupboard and found i had barely enough cereal to have a sufficient bowl. Although, I knew I would still be hungry, I ate it anyway.

I was in a rush as I was already late so I was a little stressed. On my way to work, I was speeding to get there as quickly as possible to maybe be able to make it on time. As I was driving, some idiot decided to swerve right in front of me, causing me to slam on my brakes. This moron almost made me ram my car into the back of his. Luckily, I was able to avoid getting into a wreck. That would have just made my day so much better.

As I arrived to work, I hurriedly walked to my desk as I made it with about one minute to spare all thanks to my moment of pretending to be a Nascar driver. Talk about an adrenaline rush. Upon reaching my desk, I noticed there's a note placed right smack dab in the middle on the top of my computer screen. It said I had to go see my boss. Oh great, just what I needed after the terrific morning I had. While sitting outside of her office waiting for her to speak with me, I started to think. I thought about what she could possibly want from me. I was on time for work, for the most part. I made sure all of my work was finished when it needed to be done. So what could it have been?

As she said "Come in, Stephanie. Take a seat, please.", my stomach dropped. So i walked in slowly, with my mind still wandering and took a seat in the cushioned red chair placed right in front of her desk. My boss handed me an regular sized white envelope. As she handed me the envelope, she said "Your services are no longer needed in this establishment. Here is your last paycheck. You are free to go. Have a nice day." I looked her dead in the eyes and tried to repress a smile. I felt no reason to be upset as I hated that job. She wasn't a very good boss either. She would always change her mind about what she would want me to do. "File these documents," she would say. Then five minutes later, she would come back and say, "What are you doing? I told you to type these files." I got so sick of her and the way she treated me, I was actually going to quit. So I'm glad she fired me instead, mainly because I still got paid. After I told her that I thought she was a horrible boss and I have no idea how she was put into a position of power, I happily skipped out of her office, glad that I was free from this prison called work.

Favorite Sports Movie.

My favorite sports film is The Waterboy starring Adam Sandler. In this movie, Sandler plays the stereotypical role of a Cajun boy (Bobby Boucher) who lives in the bayous of South Louisiana with his mother. The Waterboy is fictional comedic sports film about how Bobby starts off as a waterboy (with his motivation being he was told that his father died from dehydration serving in the Peace Corps in the Sahara) for the football team (The South Central  Louisiana State University Mud Dogs) who tends to get picked on and pushed around by the football team. Upon seeing this, Coach Klein (played by Henry Winkler) tells Bobby that he shouldn't let them push him around and to hit them back. At first, Bobby is reluctant but then Coach Klein convinces him to imagine that the opposing player is saying something bad about his mother. In his rage, Bobby charges and tackles one of the players. This impresses Coach Klein and he then asks Bobby to join the team, but Bobby said not without his mother's permission. So Coach Klein makes a visit to the Boucher's house for dinner to discuss football. After Klein leaves, Bobby's mother Helen (played by Kathy Bates) tells him he can't play football because it's "the devil." This leads to Bobby sneaking behind his mother's back to play for the school.

Bobby then comes into contact with an old friend and crush he had when he was a child named Vicki Vallencourt (played by Fairuza Balk). Vicki has a history of being in prison a few times so Helen tells Bobby that he's forbidden from seeing Vicki. She convinces Bobby to still see her by sneaking behind his mother's back. When it becomes known that Bobby never finished high school and that he is ineligible to attend the college and play football, he has to pass his GED exam. His mother, who is against him going to college, keeps pretending to be sick so she has Bobby to take care of her.  Helen had Bobby living a sheltered life. She admitted to him that the reason for that is because his dad left them while his mom was still pregnant and she didn't want to lose Bobby like she lost his dad. After a whole crowd of people showed up at their house to tell Bobby how much they needed him, Helen encouraged him to keep playing.

They make it to the Bourbon Bowl at about halftime with the Mud Dogs losing. Bobby motivates them to do better and helps Coach Klein get over his fear of Red Beaulieu (the coach of the University of Louisiana Cougars), which leads Klein to make new plays that helps them win. By the end of the movie, Bobby and Vicki get married and then Bobby gets a surprise visit from his dad saying that he heard on ESPN that Bobby was good enough to go to the NFL but Bobby declined saying he wanted to stay in school to finish so he could graduate. While in the process of trying to convince Bobby to go to the NFL, his dad Roberto gets tackled by Helen. Then Bobby and Vicki ride off on a lawn mower.

I like this  film because it's funny, despite it being the cliche "the "nerd" gets the "hot" girl". Bobby, living the sheltered life he did, didn't have much knowledge on what outside life was. It was because of Vicki that he started to see these things. Despite his mother's wishes of him not doing these things like play football or date Vicki, Bobby had a feeling that he likes life on the outside and no longer wants to stay "hidden" because of things his mother doesn't approve of. This movie shows that great things can come from the unknown. Even with his little bit of knowledge of anything except his mother and what she says, Bobby knew how to tackle like a beast.

Favorite Non-Sports Movie.

My favorite non-sports movie is Secret Window starring Johnny Depp. Secret Window is a psychological horror film that is based off of a story entitled Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King. The movie is about a writer named Mort Rainey (played by Depp) who comes into contact (or so he thinks) with a man by the name of John Shooter who claims that Rainey stole his story. Throughout the movie, Mort feels that no matter where he goes (even at his secluded cabin in the woods), Shooter is always there trying to get him to admit that he plagiarized Shooter's work. Rainey then finds himself trying to find the actual manuscript that proves his work is original. When Mort plans to go to his house to get the book, his wife Amy (who is estranged after having an affair with another man named Ted, but still lives in the house) called him to tell him their house burnt down, which destroyed Mort's proof. After finding his dog Chico dead from stab wounds and having his house burnt down, Rainey suspects that Shooter is behind it and out to get him. Then he has his literary agent send him the magazine which had Rainey's story in it.

 After noticing that the pages that had the story were cut out of the magazine, Mort Rainey realizes that John Shooter is not a real person, but an alternative identity used specifically for harmful things (like Chico's murder and burning the house down) caused by Mort's dissociative identity disorder. Just as Mort had this epiphany, Amy came to get him to sign the papers for the finalization of their divorce. Looking around, Amy sees the word "shooter" all over the messy cabin. After Rainey comes into view, Amy then realizes that the word "shooter" leans toward how Mort wants to "shoot her". As Amy tries to run away, Rainey chases her and stabs her in the ankle so she can't go anywhere. Then she is forced to watch Rainey cut off Ted's (her lover, who came looking for her) head with a shovel. Rainey then buries the bodies and finishes his story. In the end, it is implied that Mort hid the bodies under his corn crops and their decomposing bodies provide nutrients for the corn to grow.

I love this movie because it's suspenseful and it really makes you think. It's one of those movies that you have to watch a few times to fully understand everything. It's an interesting plot twist when you find out that John Shooter isn't real and that it has been Mort Rainey himself all this time. This movie does an excellent job at showing how sometimes writers get so caught up in their work that they start to develop alternate personalities who become real people to them. It's also very interesting that this movie is based off of a Stephen King story because this situation (having an alternate personality and it becoming real) happened to King himself.

Trigger For a Love of Sports.

          You know that feeling you get when you hear someone mention your favorite team and you start to get excited? That's my trigger, especially for college football. Don't get me wrong, I do like watching other sports but this one always gets me pumped. Whenever I hear someone say something about Florida State, I just want to jump in the conversation. If it's something bad, I want to defend them with passion. If it's something good, I want to celebrate the fact that they're great with other people. The mention of them makes me think about the love for them, and that comes from the first time I called myself a true fan. I've grown up watching Florida State football without much of a choice because it was be an FSU fan or nothing. I've always liked watching the games (win or lose) because that's my team, that's how any real fan feels. When I went to my first FSU, it was against UM in Miami a few years ago. I had only ever watched the games on t.v. so when my dad told me he got tickets for that game, I could not tell you how hyped up I was that I would actually get to see a game for myself. It was a great game, but nothing like my first game at Doak Campbell stadium. I always heard my dad and other people tell me stories about what they do before the game and I thought "hey, that sounds pretty cool." You can never know how it feels until you see it for yourself. Listening to the marching chiefs and seeing Osceola and Renegade, you get this feeling like "so this is what they were talking about." But when Osceola throws the flaming spear into the field, you know it just got real. That's how you know it's game time. I got chills just watching that because it was one of those things that you finally get to witness after having heard so much about it.

            It's kind of similar to the feeling I get whenever I went to a Miami Heat game. granted these two sports are completely different, but that doesn't change the feeling I get. To me, these are the two most exciting games to watch. And it's always the same deal when watching both: cheer for the fantastic plays and scream when they mess something up. The only difference is that I understand basketball more. So it's like with football, if I see something happen and I'm not exactly sure about how to react, I look at other people. whereas in basketball, I already know the rules and what's going on so I can cheer or rant without anyone else.

End of Practice & 33.

        In the Rodney Jones poem "The End of Practice", he talks about the setting and the feelings of the guys by the time they finish with their practice. Jones tells us of the routine things that happen at the end of a football practice, from the coach whistling them to prayer to them running their final sprints in a race to see who will win. The winner is lucky because he gets to go back to the locker room and take his shower, while everyone else has to run again and again. Rodney explains the appearance of everyone running, where the fat boys run like buffalo and the tall ones awkward. A strategy that the boys use is making it seem like they can't run that well for the first seven races then on the eight one, giving it their all. If they don't practice to rise above the competition, they'll get metaphorically swallowed. So their practices are like preparation for battle, which I take as the actual game.

        In Chuck Klosterman's essay "33", he makes a reference that the Lakers-Celtics rivalry around 20 some odd years ago is representative of not only racial conflict but also every other issue that would create a conflict. On the race side of it, the Celtics had 3 white guys starting and the Lakers didn't really have an important white guy. Klosterman tell us (the readers) about the time he was at the North Dakota State University basketball camp as a high school sophomore watching the Lakers-Celtics game and he says that he was the only one at the camp who wanted the Celtics to win, with the exception of the camp coaches. At this point, he realized the political aspect of this rivalry. Chuck states that the Celtics are like the Republicans in the sense that they pretty much coached themselves and did what they felt was best for themselves, whereas the Lakers were like Democrats from the late 60's because they seemed liberal but it was all controlled by one person. Apparently, with sports, to be obsessed with something, like a team, gives people a sense of identity and purpose. Klosterman tells us about his method for handling situations in life based off of the rivalry between the Lakers and Celtics. In essence, this essay relays that sport isn't just a game, it's everything else.

          When the subject of sport being part of a culture for us come up, it's especially easy to tell from Klosterman's essay. He says that picking a side is picking an identity. Whatever the team you side with represents is almost like defining who you are, you share those same ideas. This is where you can see a split in cultures, sort of like each team is its own culture. Personally, if I had to pick either the Laker culture or the Celtic culture, I would be one of those people that are "living without a soul", as Klosterman puts it because I dislike both teams. But anyone can see how greatly the two worlds of sports and culture intertwine with each other. It's almost like they can't be separated.

Letter to a Favorite Sports Team/Person.

Dear Miami Heat,

          I've been a Heat fan for about maybe 10 or 11 years, back when Alonzo Mourning was on the team. Going to the games wasn't too much of an intense thing for me because I was so young but as I got older and understood the sport more and went to more games, i fell in love with the sport. But with this team, I could always feel a sense of true teamwork watching everyone play and seeing the chemistry between everyone always made it an interesting and fun game to watch. As I got older and the players changed too, nothing changed except that I enjoyed taking every trip I was able to to Miami more just to watch you play.

         It wasn't until about 2003, when Dwyane Wade was drafted to the Heat, that I started to watch this sport seriously. He was and still is my favorite player on the Heat. Just watching his skill as he played and how he interacted with his teammates gave off the vibe that he's just a generally good person. I always knew the Heat were really good, but in 2006, making it to the NBA finals was incredible to me. I watched every single game of that series but that last game was intense and crazy. I couldn't contain my excitement as i watched the game with my dad, cheering at the good plays and the screaming at the bad ones. But when we won that game, my dad and I went crazy. I was so happy that that night, it took me a while to go to sleep.

        Out of all the seasons that I watched, my absolute favorite was this past season. We already had LeBron for one season and since he didn't get his ring, we knew he was going to come back with a vengeance and this would be one season that no one would want to miss. When watching the team play together, you could easily tell that they all were working their hardest to make it to the finals. I went to a lot of games this past season and every game was the same for me, absolute perfection. When we made it to the playoffs, I watched every single game to see the outcome. I actually went to Game 5 against the Knicks, and it was crazy. Winning that game meant being one step closer to the finals. All of the series leading up to the finals were intense, especially the one against the Boston Celtics. There were so many close calls where I was unsure if we would win, but never doubted it. I watched the finals and every game I watched closely and intently. The last game though, in Miami, was the best. Counting down the final seconds of the game with the feeling that we won and were the champions. It made me really proud to call myself  Heat fan and a true Heat fan at that. I don't think there's a better feeling than seeing your team win and seeing them be ecstatic that they achieved their goals.

Analyzing of Textbook Readings.

When talking about the relationship between watching a sport and actually playing a sport, the two seem interrelated. People who play a certain sport are most likely followers of that sport. This makes sense because how else are you going to fully understand the rules, regulations, or right way to play the game. At the same time, the popularity of a sport is broken up into two categories: how many people are watching it and how many people are playing it. Take football in the U.S. for example. It's normal for someone to think that it's so popular in the U.S. because it seems to be the most watched sport. The popularity of a sport among spectators accounts for this, while the popularity among people who want to play comes primarily from high school boys. A common factor in the difference between spectating and participating is age. More young people are more likely to want to be active in a sport because they want to be like their role models, i.e. famous athletes (Harris 2004). On the other side of this, older people are more likely to watch the game rather than play because they fully understand it after following it for so long (Kretchmar 1994).

When it comes to participating in a sport, there are many different drives for wanting to play. Some athletes want to be the absolute best at their sport so that they can get something material out of it such as fame or money, while others play just for the fun of the sport or to have a healthy lifestyle. The reasons for wanting to participate advance and change as you get older. When you're younger, your parents may put you in a sport to expose you to it and to get you to make friends. By high school, participation is driven by the possibility of getting an athletic scholarship or to make the varsity team. In college, it gets more intense because it's like the absolute best players on a college team and many people feel like they can't compete at that level so they join intramural sports teams on the campus. Professional athletes train to be their best at their sport for the reward of money, but because it's such a high contact sport and there are physical changes due to age, most players are forced to retire at about their late 30's. People that are too old to play pro, just play to try to beat their personal records, as well as some who are in their 50's or 60's are just trying to stay in good shape and do it for health. The amount and kind of people that play a sport varies greatly based on the location, the gender of who's playing, age and even social class.

Spectators of certain sports vary depending on their location and social level. In America, football is like the number one sport to watch, both college and professional, followed by baseball and then basketball. With social classes, those who are of a wealthier class watch sports like polo, yachting or horse racing. People in the middle class like to watch tennis or golf. The working class people watch sports like wrestling, bowling and boxing. These are just generalizations though and not always true. People who watch sports are split into two categories based on how they watched it: those who listened or watched via media and those who saw it live. Marketing is big in sports and companies take advantage of the fact that there are a lot of people watching a sport so they advertise knowing that many people will see it. All in all, a lot of people watch sports, whether they play it or they just follow it. And the great thing about these sports is that one sport can be and is watched by people of different areas, social levels, genders and ages and they all just watch it to have a good time.

Klosterman Article & Wright Poem.

The article by Klosterman tells the story of the greatest game he ever saw. This basketball game was said to be unbelievable because only so many people actually watched it because it was not televised and around 500 people saw it. It was North Dakota versus United Tribes, and the game ended up seeming to be played by  three players to five. United Tribes, the team with the three players, ended up beating North Dakota, despite being thought of as the "underdog". Klosterman says that when he was speaking to Gilliss, Gilliss said that "it didn't really matter that about ten people were upset that we lost."

The poem "Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio" by James Wright depicts the setting of the first football game of the season. He tells of the crowd's appearance and demeanor in regards to the feeling they have right before kickoff. The fathers of the football players don't want to go home and this causes their wives to feel unloved, and then the excitement starts when they start playing and everyone in a sense comes together to watch the game.

The universality of these two games isn't just that they are sports; it's that these two stories end with a disappointment on some end. North Dakota's loss was disappointing to the people of their town and the football fathers being too ashamed to go home.  There is this shame in losing, but at the same time if the game is a close or good game or has an alternate purpose other than for entertainment, it doesn't matter if you win or lose.

These two articles place importance on memory because they either recall a past event or re-tell a recurring event. The Klosterman article really defines the importance of basketball or sports in general to a community because the fact that the people of North Dakota were upset that they lost. The Wright poem tells that football specifically brings people of different cultures together. So a similarity to the two stories is that sports comes before many other things and it has a real importance between either cultures or communities.

First Sports Love.

      I was never one to play sports a lot as a kid but I grew up watching them and loving them. The first time I actually ever felt an actual love for sports was about 10 years ago, when i went to my first Miami Heat game. My dad took me to the game, and i ended up having a lot of fun. It was a real exciting experience. The best thing is feeling the adrenaline starting to pump when it's either a close game or your team is crushing the opponent. This game was just the start of everything. After that, we would go to an occasional game, that is until we eventually got season tickets. I would go every time I could and every time, to this day, i still get as excited and pumped as i was that first Heat game.

       Since that first basketball game, I've watched a lot of sports, mainly football, basketball or baseball. Whether it was watching games at home with my family, or actually going to the games, I was always ready to watch my team win or still support them when they lose. As I got older, I was able to understand the games much more. By the time i got to high school, football became super important, mainly because my high school, St. Thomas Aquinas High School, was and is really sports oriented, but was mainly known for the football team. As I've gotten older, I've been more open to watching other sports aside from the mainstream ones. Although this usually happens when the Olympics are on. Long story short, even though I never actually played a sport, I still love them as though I have.