Sport, Society & Me

Sports have always been one of the most important things in my life. Whether I was a participant or a spectator. Ever since the tender age of about 3 or 4 I have been competing as an athlete and watching my favorite sports teams compete on TV or in a stadium. Sports to me can mean happiness, passion and pride, while at the same time it can represent failure, disappointment and sadness. Whether or not the Packers, Buffs, Capitals, Nationals or Wizards win determines my mood for the rest of the day, if not the week. Same thing when my teams win, I am in a state of euphoria smiling all day and night. 

It plays a large role in my life. I am always watching sports on T.V., I create my schedule around sporting events, I participate in sports on a weekly basis and I have surrounded myself with people with similar sporting interests. I developed this connection when I was very young. I came out of the womb rocking a Green Bay Packers onesie. My dad is probably most responsible for my development of such a deep connection with sport. I began to participate in youth sports as soon as I was old enough to play. I was playing basketball, baseball (T-Ball), soccer and football, even hockey for a couple of seasons, so being immersed at such an early age began my love of sports

Sport plays several roles in U.S.societies, and sport presents both positive and negative parts of our society. sport brings people together to enjoy spectacles, sport creates connections and relationships with others. Sports are entertaining and exciting bringing passion out of all the corners of the U.S. however sport also can involve ignorance, arrogance, racism, and even violence.

Sports teach us basic values like work ethic, teamwork, sportsmanship, toughness, leadership and much more. These are all values one can use throughout life, not only on the playing field but in every aspect. undoubtedly, sports are of the utmost importance in our society. Sports especially when involving youths teaches so many of the values I wrote above. Also, especially for me sport helps to relieve stress, sort of like a therapy. but more so than anything sports are a spectacle. spectacles viewed by millions of Americans every day. Sportscenter runs all day showing the same exact thing for 8 hours, but people watch it! Students talk about sports in class every morning no matter what else is going on in the world. Sports are extremely important in our society probably more than we even realize. I came to this conclusion based on personal observation and opinion. I feel like the importance of sports in our society is very obvious. 

In our society Athletes are famous, they are celebrities. They are often looked at as role models and representatives of a whole city or state. Athletes are valued very highly and are respected as long as they deserve it. Athletes who trash talk, who are cocky, are in the headlines for criminal activities etc normally do not gain respect from fans. I know this because it is evident in the media and the way people talk about and treat athletes. Almost like they are not human or are way superior to the rest of society due to their athletic prowess.