NASCAR is back, and I couldn't be happier. I've been looking forward to this year's season after the exciting finish to last year's. I watched the beginning of Speed Weeks by watching the Coors Shootout two weeks ago. The race itself was fantastic, perhaps the best Shootout I've ever watched. However, there was one thing that almost ruined it for me. Danica Mania. I knew that Danica Mania was going to hit NASCAR this season with her jumping to the Sprint Cup Series, but I wasn't expecting it to be this bad. Danica Patrick was not even competing in the Shootout, but she was still the hot topic for the night. FOX even brought her into the broadcast booth to commentate half the race!
I was beginning to get annoyed that she was the constant talk of the night. Then Darrell Waltrip brought up an interesting point about how Danica would be the first women since Shawna Robinson in 2002 to compete in the Daytona 500. That made me think...why wasn't Shawn Robinson a big deal when she was competing in the Winston Cup Series? I remember watching that 2002 Daytona 500, and Shawna Robinson's name was rarely brought up during the race, if ever. Then I recalled other female drivers that have competed in NASCAR. Shawna Robinson, Patty Moise, Erin Crocker, Tammy Jo Kirk, and Jennifer Jo Cobb, just to name a few, all competed in either the Grand National or the Cup Series, but none of them get nearly as much attention as Danica Patrick. Danica first started racing in the IRL, and she completely overshadowed fellow female driver Sarah Fisher. Danica has never won a points race in any level of professional racing. One could argue that her performance in the IRL was on par with Sarah Fisher, who is unknown to the general public. Her performance in the NASCAR Nationwide series has been below average with a career average finish of 28th. It is obvious it is not her on-track results that are making her so popular. So what is it?
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Soldiers continue to play sports despite their disabilities
Over the past week, in class we have discussed sports that
are catered to athletes with disabilities as well as athletes who overcome
their numerous obstacles to still play sports. One of the first things we
talked about was our involvement with sports for those with disabilities,
including watching or keeping track of the sports and athletes. Many, including
myself, admitted to not paying as much attention. Many of us were aware of
athletes who have disabilities, but many of them play sports with those who
aren’t disabled. This attracted much media attention, which catches our eyes
and we become aware. One of the subjects I wanted to look into was the increase
of sports and tournaments that help keep athletes active when they have a
disability. One of the fastest growing sport organizations are those that focus
on keeping our soldiers active after they suffer a disability fighting for our
freedom.
When researching this topic I have found that many of our
military branches have started to create programs for soldiers and veterans to
come together and compete against each other in various sports. One program
created by the United States Marine Corps grabbed my attention; their Warrior
Athlete Reconditioning (WAR) program helps create organized sporting tournaments
with other military branches. The goal of the WAR program is to keep soldiers
active and accomplish physical fitness goals while competing with peers going
through the same situation. Those participating within the program are required
to compete in one sport for a 12-week period, which includes wheelchair
basketball, sitting volleyball, running/track and field and other sports. Once
a soldier has completed their 12-week period and has achieved their goals they
are able choose from a large variety of sports, such as surfing, martial arts,
scuba diving, tennis, skiing and many more.
This past November a wheelchair basketball tournament was
held for wounded warriors in the Marine Corps and Navy. The goal of the
tournament was to remind everyone that a wound or injury doesn’t slow down
anyone who is wounded. The focus of the tournament was for wounded warriors to
show that they wanted to move on with their “new normal” and not dwell on their
past life without a disability.
Reading these articles made me think about how much courage
it takes to face your disability like these servicemen have. If I was faced
with a disability that altered the way I play sports, I think it would be
really difficult to face and I might not even play sports again. It also made
me think about the lack of sports programs we have for those that focus on
athletes with disabilities and how they are not promoted enough. The military
knows that camaraderie is the key for a soldier to adjust to their new life,
and by creating organized sports for those with disabilities the adjustments
are not as scary or challenging. However, how many programs are there for
everyday civilians who are faced with a disability? This is a problem with
society and we only focus on such events every four years because the Paralympics
follow the Olympics. This past weeks class has brought to my attention that we
need to start focusing on all athletes and give them an opportunity to play.
Monday, February 13, 2012
Oscar Pistorius: "The fastest man on no legs"
An athlete with a disability is a topic we have discussed in the recent class and I wanted to find a story about an athlete who breaks the mold and competes with able-bodied athletes. Oscar Pistorius is one of those athletes where if you don't see him perform then you won't believe the story. Pistorius is an Olympic sprinter for South Africa and holds records for a double amputee in the 100, 200, and 400 meter events. He has also participated in able-bodied events such as the 2011 IAAF World Championships which is an event potentially to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He wants to be the first disabled athlete to qualify for the Olympics. There was dispute on whether or not he had an advantage over able-bodied sprinters and Pistorius was put through a series of scientific tests to see if he did indeed have an advantage.
After hearing about how he was put through these tests because of how well he was performing against athletes with both legs, it brought many questions I have about how people view athlete's with disabilities. For the most part people see athletes with disabilities as individual's who need to compete with other athletes with disabilities because they'd be at a disadvantage if performing against able-bodied athletes. But when an athlete with a disability is good enough to perform better than some able-bodied athletes people jump to the conclusion that there is some type of advantage this athlete is getting because of the prosthetic limbs. There's been other stories like this where athletes compete at a level in which people seem to think it's impossible and want to find out answers through science.
When coming back to the Olympics and how he wants be the first disabled athlete to qualify ever, it raises discussion. If Pistorius was to qualify for the Olympics in a sprint event, how would the media cover this story? Also, do you think it was right for people to raise questions on whether he had an advantage against able-bodied sprinters?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Why do women collegiate athletes take a back seat to men?
Why do women collegiate athletes take a back seat to the men athletes? This question can easily relate to the blog Alli posted last week. However, this involves attendance at sporting events rather than television coverage. I was curious to see what peoples thoughts were on the trend of women's collegiate athletic events not being as popular among fans and students as the men's sporting events. One of the first things that popped into my mind was the UConn women's basketball team. The team recently went two consecutive seasons undefeated and won two consecutive National Championships, but I recall hearing some controversy during their historic winning streak on the lack of support and attendance at their games.
In 2010, Grace Malloy wrote an article in UConn's The Daily Campus about this very issue surrounding its women's basketball team. The article was titled "Women's Basketball Team Under Appreciated." In her article, she says "The women's team puts in an enormous amount of time, effort and focus to be the best. They deserve a strong, faithful following of UConn students for their work. Unfortunately, not enough has materialized" (Malloy, 2010). When talking about the the support for the men's team, Malloy goes on to say "At every game, the stands are packed. Students arrive at Gampel hours early to get good seats. It's important that the men's team receive this support, but why is there so much more support for them, especially when the women have been doing significantly better?" This question is a fair one to ask. At the time of this article, UConn had the by far the best women's team in college basketball, and an average men's team. It is commonly known that fans are more likely to go to games when the team is winning. Why is that no the case for the women's team? History was being made by the women's team, and it was still taking a back seat to the less successful men's team. Malloy wanted to find the answer to this, so she asked around campus. She said her results ended up like this: "The reason I've heard from countless guys is that the women's team isn't actually better than the men's. They say that the women play easier teams compared to the teams that the men play, and that's why the women have won two consecutive national championships. But really, is this arguement valid? The fact remains that the women have won the past 78 games straight, most of them by huge margins. It is the longest winning streak in women's college basketball history" (Malloy, 2010). Malloy then went on to question why women fans were attending more men's games than women's games. She has this to say: "The fact that so many girls passionately cheer on the players of the men's team, while largely ignoring the success of their fellow women, is insulting. Why don't more girls at UConn recognize the need to support the women's team with the same fervor? One would think that, as women, they'd understand the frustration of being under appreciated and that they'd admire the success of the women's team" (Malloy, 2010).
Malloy also left us with some more questions concerning this topic. What would it take for the women's team to get more recognition? Is the under-appreciation simply a result of the women's team not having as much talent as the men's team, or is it a result of something more complex? Is is possible that the success of the women's team poises a threat to the men's team?
Women's Basketball Team Under Appreciated
In 2010, Grace Malloy wrote an article in UConn's The Daily Campus about this very issue surrounding its women's basketball team. The article was titled "Women's Basketball Team Under Appreciated." In her article, she says "The women's team puts in an enormous amount of time, effort and focus to be the best. They deserve a strong, faithful following of UConn students for their work. Unfortunately, not enough has materialized" (Malloy, 2010). When talking about the the support for the men's team, Malloy goes on to say "At every game, the stands are packed. Students arrive at Gampel hours early to get good seats. It's important that the men's team receive this support, but why is there so much more support for them, especially when the women have been doing significantly better?" This question is a fair one to ask. At the time of this article, UConn had the by far the best women's team in college basketball, and an average men's team. It is commonly known that fans are more likely to go to games when the team is winning. Why is that no the case for the women's team? History was being made by the women's team, and it was still taking a back seat to the less successful men's team. Malloy wanted to find the answer to this, so she asked around campus. She said her results ended up like this: "The reason I've heard from countless guys is that the women's team isn't actually better than the men's. They say that the women play easier teams compared to the teams that the men play, and that's why the women have won two consecutive national championships. But really, is this arguement valid? The fact remains that the women have won the past 78 games straight, most of them by huge margins. It is the longest winning streak in women's college basketball history" (Malloy, 2010). Malloy then went on to question why women fans were attending more men's games than women's games. She has this to say: "The fact that so many girls passionately cheer on the players of the men's team, while largely ignoring the success of their fellow women, is insulting. Why don't more girls at UConn recognize the need to support the women's team with the same fervor? One would think that, as women, they'd understand the frustration of being under appreciated and that they'd admire the success of the women's team" (Malloy, 2010).
Malloy also left us with some more questions concerning this topic. What would it take for the women's team to get more recognition? Is the under-appreciation simply a result of the women's team not having as much talent as the men's team, or is it a result of something more complex? Is is possible that the success of the women's team poises a threat to the men's team?
Women's Basketball Team Under Appreciated
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