Sport and Politics

Sports try there hardest to keep politics and the government out of their managment. But the politcs have been intertwined with sports whether people know it or not. This is mainly found when a country hosts the olympic games. In class on Feburary 24, 2011, we learned about all of the olympic games that had a form of political stress to them. One of the most popular Olympic games that had a significant politcal event that happened before or during them is the 1936 Summer Olympic games hosted in Berlin, Germany. These games are sometimes known as "Hitlers" olympics. During these olympics Adolf Hitler was going to show the world of his belief of Aryan Supremacy. He shook the hands of all the white athletes and but ignored the black. But to spoil his beliefs Jesse Owens of the United States won 4 gold medals in track and field.
Acorrding to an article found from the New York Times, it showed an instance when sports and politics should combine. Over in Europe, a soccer match was played between Manchester United and Europe XI to demonstrate how the two have grown together.This match is not only to celebrate the 50th anniversery of Manchester United's participation in European football but also marks the 50th anniversery of the signing of the Treaty of Rome to show that the European Union is still growing. They played to a sell out crowd of 72,000 people, was televised in 15 countries, and they are playing to in aid of charities to help benefit children. This is an example of how politics and sports can work together to help the country. The NBA did something similar to this when they put on a game during the offseason to help benifet the victims of Huricane Katrina. When an organization uses what it already has to help the country it is spectacular and shows that people are willing to show that they care for their country and for the other people who live in it. If politics and the government decides to make their own rule book is when I think it is crossing the line.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/12/sports/12iht-soccer.4885683.html

Sports and Education

In class on February 17, 2011 we were taught about the concept of sports and education. Sports and education have been conflicting for a very long time. This of course refers to student athletes at the high school and college level. First with high school, sports is looked at as an after school activity to help students stay in shape and work together with their fellow students. But what people do not realize that all sport practices are after school and they can be as long as 2 hours or even longer. To add to that some students even have jobs. This leaves very little room for homework and papers that the students have to do for classes the next day. It can be very stressful for young students.

In college the argument is almost completely different. It is being argued that colleges are putting too much money into the athletic departments at universities. I found an article that is very interesting to me. This article was composed with the use of other articles that Stanford University gave its student athletes a list of "easy" classes. Though reporters got different answers  from different members of faculty, they did confirm that there was a list of classes gave out to student athletes. In the article it says "The course list in itself isn't a violation, but promoting courses because they're easy isn't, ethically, something that academic advisers should do." I can make a comment on this being a college student myself, I feel this is completely unfair to students who do not play a sport. I understand that athletics is a big part of the revenue of a university but all students should be treated the same whether they play a sport or not. The main focus about coming to college is to get a good education to help you in the work force. College are run like a business instead of a school.

http://www.citytowninfo.com/career-and-education-news/articles/stanford-university-said-to-give-student-athletes-list-of-easy-classes-11031002

Youth Sports

Starting kids playing sports at a younger is being in question which is hurtful to here. Parents are being more protective over their kids over injuries which is understanding but sports for kids is a great teacher for them. At http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/117005/the_importance_of_sports_for_the_youth.html, the user Karmatrain makes some very good points. He says, "Sports are an important teacher for youngsters, it teaches them so many things that just can't be as easily learned anywhere else. Parents can teach their children to persevere, to spit in the face of adversity, to fight the good fight and never give up, but those are lessons that really cannot be learned until they are put into practice." I agree 110 percent. Sports can teach kids how to become leaders and how to interact with their teammates to acheive a common goal . Those are very good qualities where they can not only use in sports but in the real world as well. " The star players learn how to be leaders, how to set a goal and meet that goal. How to inspire those around them to greatness and lead their peers to new heights that were thought to be unreachable. The lesser players learn a valuable lesson in commitment and perseverance. If a youngster wants to be a starter but isn't really good enough, he needs to put in extra time and practice and work to improve. The lesser players may actually learn more about life and the real world than anyone else, they learn early on that there are no free rides and they will have to earn everything they get in this world." I could not of said it any better myself. Not only does it provide kids to become friends but it gives other kids an opportunity who would be getting themselves in trouble, this is the same exact concept that we learned in class on Feburary 10, 2011.

The Sports Industry

When people think of high revenue businesses they might think of the entertainment industry or the transportation industry but what they often leave out is the sports industry. According to plunketresearch.com, "the estimated size of the sports industry in 2010 was about 414 billion dollars with the NFL being the sport bringing in the most revenue." This is why people and students in general should study sport. This industry is full of jobs and opportunities and should be at the top of more people's " that's what I want to be when I grow up" lists. Now I'm not talking about being a professional athlete, slim few get to play at that level. I'm talking about management, with the proper education more people could get into this field and make it bigger that what it is today. Also with the advancements in technology more jobs are being created at the professional, collegiate, and high school levels. The top 3 sports leagues bringing in revenue are the NFL which is bringing in 7.8 billion dollars, the MLB is bringing in 6.8 billion dollars, while the NBA is bringing in 4.0 billion dollars.
As a sports management major here at Slippery Rock University I can say that I am glad to be in the field that I am. There are lots of opportunities to learn how to how you can compete for a job in your favorite sport. We learned this concept about the sports industry on the first day of class because this is mine and my classmates major and this is the career that we want to get. The sports industry will always bring in money because people love to watch and compete in competitive and violent sports, not only is that who sports fans are but that can be said about the nation as a whole. With these facts the sports industry will always be one at the top.

http://www.plunkettresearch.com/