Sport, Society and Me

a) Your connection to sport- what does it mean to you? what role does it play in your life? How did you develop this connection?

Sports have always meant a lot to me from plastic toy basketball hoops to my first set of junior golf clubs.  It seems as though my whole life has revolved around sports and most often times can be a symbol of who I define myself as.  I identify myself with the sport and all that entails such as adhering to the rules and using terminology.  Sport plays the role of a portion of time out of my everyday life.  I developed this connection through my parents and social constructions such as television, media, and video games.  My mom always had me in a sport for every season because it was "good" for me and my dad always encouraged it for the love of playing and competing.  American media has also had an enormous effect on shaping how I think of sports and what it means to participate and/or watch.

b) The role of sport in US society- Do you think it plays a positive/negative role? What values does US sport teach us? How important do you think sport is in American society? How have you come to this conclusion? What position in society do athletes hold? Are they valued? Respected? If so, how do you know this?

I believe sport plays a positive role in US society.  Sport brings the values of hard work, commitment, and unity.  Sport has become a treasured form of art in American society with millions of people all across the country striving for perfection.  You can even see how important sport is by looking at the economics of sport in the country.  Professional athletes are signing contracts to play sports for millions of dollars each and every year.  As consumers we go to the competitions and pay hundreds of dollars just to watch and be entertained.  The value and power that athletes hold can even be seen through advertisement strategies with companies paying large dollar amounts to have an athlete endorse their product.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ircKRJ2M5u8

References:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ircKRJ2M5u8