Trigger Your Thoughts

In the small town of Panama City Beach, Florida, dance is not a big part of the beach culture that resides there. It is often forgotten, but its easy to be forgotten when when the performance only happens once a year. For the dancers; however, it is part of our life. I spent countless hours at the dance studio my last year there, and I never wanted to be anywhere else. While a break over the summer is nice, I wish my dance studio wasn't seasonal. In the summer months, I often find myself running through the choreography of old dances... at least what I remember of them. My desire to dance over the summer leaves me choreographing meaningless routines in my living room. My parents always know when Ive been dancing because all the living room furniture is pushed to the perimeter of the room. I hope for the best that I don't break anything. Hearing songs often triggers my memory and love for dance, and I find myself mentioning to my fellow dancers how fun it would be to dance to that specific song. 

I burn inside hoping the song choices for the upcoming dance year will satisfy me. The songs chosen are often songs i've never heard of. Some I wouldn't even consider songs, but rather just a combination of different sounds, creating some sort of meaningful instrumental in the end. While my teacher often picks song choices that I would never dream of or even consider dancing to, the end product always turns out amazing. My first thoughts are usually, "How do you even dance to this?" She always finds a way and has some crazy idea in mind. I guess thats why she's the teacher and i'm not. The songs I would choose for myself are often more upbeat, faster, and relate more to the jazz and hip-hop style of dance. This makes sense though that those songs would trigger my desire to dance because hip-hop and jazz are most definitely my favorite styles. The songs usually chosen for me in Modern; however, are more interpretive. They end up telling more of a story. I always end up loving it, but I can never picture myself dancing to these songs in the beginning of this 9 month story-telling process. 

Create a Culture

Rodney Jones, in his poem "The End of Practice," reveals his craving to be in power over others. Unfortunately, he immediately confirms that this dream did not become reality. Jones is struck with the "male dream" curse, the feeling males get that they must possess some degree of authority over others. While this is common among males, the reality of this happening in Jones' life has diminished. As his dream of becoming a power source progressed, he "marked with shortening breath the dwindling likelihood of [his] flight." He says that if he does "not rise above the field," or accomplish this goal, he would be eaten. His self-esteem and ego would be crushed and he would "burn alive for peace" within himself for the remainder of his life.

Klosterman's "33" is a critical description of the 1980's rivalry between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Apparently, blacks favor the Lakers while whites favor the Celtics. Klosterman very quickly expresses that this rivalry represents everything, as it symbolizes all other rivalries we encounter in life, including religion, politics, and race. He claims that "we are all unconsciously racist," and that the argument between the whites and blacks will become a metaphor for all of America. To better understand this rivalry, which he says is more about black and white philosophies rather than simply black and white people, he claims you must study NBA playoff games from twenty years ago. Today's professional basketball games are not sufficient because the players are "nothing more than good basketball players."Klosterman admits they are "mechanically awesome, but they don't represent anything beyond themselves." They run through the motions and plays like they are taught and programmed to do, but they don't whole-heartedly perform their abilities and love for the sport.

This writing very quickly describes how sport and community can create a culture: a Democratic culture vs. a Republican culture, a white vs. a black culture. At a young age, we are indirectly taught the common stereotypes of different races and the general views of each political party. For example, blacks are better athletes and Republicans want less government involvement. The Celtics started with three white people, while the Lakers never had a white player who mattered. This clearly set a racial difference between the two rival teams, and Jones was the only kid at his basketball camp that rooted for the Celtics. "If you liked the Celtics, it meant you like your dad's team. And this is when I came to understand that I was actually rooting for the Republican party." His support of the Celtics became something much more. Much deeper, he represented the Republican culture. The Celtics fans in this community now relate in other ways aside from their love of the Celtics team. It is safe to assume that most of the Celtics fans are Republicans, appreciating K.C. Jones' (Celtics coach) republican approach to coaching his team. He did not believe in a strong central government, much like Republicans, and continued his belief, or disbelief, in his coaching method. Because of this, the Celtic players mostly coached themselves. Conversely, Pat Riley (Lakers coach), was viewed as a tyrant and controlled the whole game. "There were no state's rights within the locker room of the Fabulous Forum," much like the limited state's rights favored by the Democratic party. Because of this, the combination of sport and community eventually starts defining a culture. The team you like is a way to describe your own self-identity, your political affiliation, and other views you might have. The way we identify ourselves starts becoming more relevant to our culture. For example, Klosterman says "I am not a white person.. I am a Celtic Person. Thats my identity." We become so involved in the sports we love and our community, we begin identifying ourselves as a part of it without even knowing, much like Klosterman did. "I am a Seminole" would be an example relevant to me.

Stereotypes are engrave into our minds at a young age, and while they are often true to some degree, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were raised with paradoxical pathologies. They are contradictory to the normal views we have towards white and blacks. The black Johnson's middle-class upbringing was a "traditional white experience,"while the white Bird's "impoverished, screwed up childhood was more stereotypically black." These variations of the norm prove that other factors contribute to our identity, and that our culture only defines part of who we are. Interesting enough, sports can define us at a certain point in our life, but as we age and gain more knowledge and experience, sports may not be a defining factor of our culture. Perhaps a spouse and children may interfere and change what defines us as a person.

In the poem, the combination of sport and community also creates a culture. The men, women, and children of a community come together at sporting events and this habitual support system eventually comes to define a culture. We often base our goals, ideals, morals, etc on what is accepted by our culture. Men (and women) have a defining culture among them... we all tend to crave that power and authority over others. Jones explains this "man dream" vividly, and all of his efforts to reach his goal. Jones describes the different ways people react to failure (Jerry Reeder is vermillion, Charles Sandlin is dark green, Richard Foot dapples).  The things we determine as acceptable behaviors are greatly influenced by our culture. While we all might be fighting to reach one goal, the fashion is which we do so is greatly different from person to person. Its amazing how a community can come together and form a culture, that in turn, affects our beliefs and actions for the rest of our lives.

Dear Tiffany

Tiffany Maher,

Why am I so obsessed with you!? I never watch TV.. until this year. And why? Because of you! Creepy right? Well I'm so sorry, but it's true. Ever since I found out you made it to Vegas on So You Think You Can Dance, I've practically been stalking you. I watch the new episodes every Wednesday like some sort or crazy ritual, and if I miss it one week, I spend hours YouTubing your name! I even make sure I find the video that includes the judges reactions and feedback so I can decide whether to be pleased or pissed at them. I've even looked up your audition video that got you on the show!

I've even met your boyfriend! He taught my hip-hop class at Tremaine! Tremaine is where I first heard your name, and not even a year later I'm following you on Twitter, Instagram, and we are Facebook friends! Thanks for adding me by the way :) I love that your specialty dance style is Jazz, because that is my favorite! You cant be too upset that I totally stalk your life, because I also vote for you like 100 times every Wednesday night! And now you're in the Top 6!

GO T-Maher (read: Mar) the Star!!

Participants Vs. Spectators

I really enjoyed reading about the importance of separating the two acts of participating and spectating a sport. At first, I didn’t understand but the tackle football example made what they were saying completely obvious. Football is geared toward the participation of younger players; however, the ages of those who watch football covers a much larger range. Football really is just a popular spectator sport in the United States.  I also agree that watching sports and participating in sports go hand in hand. The majority of those who watch sports have played a sport during their lifetime. I still see the importance in studying the participation in, and watching of, sports separately.

With dance, I would say I dance for the intrinsic rewards, “such as fun and fitness.” While I would LOVE the extrinsic rewards of money and fame, I hate competitive dance. I don’t think it is fair to judge dance, or better yet, I don’t think there is a fair way to judge dance, beyond the basic realization of a really poor routine vs. a clearly talented group.

“Many college students who have grown up playing sports find themselves shut out of sport opportunities simply due to the competition.” This is completely true, but luckily larger universities like FSU offer several other on-campus intramural teams they can join to continue the sport of their choice.

It is crazy to think that a sport you joined for fun at five years old could turn into work… a full time, high-demanding job. At five, the sport is often seasonal and consisted of little or no training. As athletes get older, the sport requires year-round practicing and training to get to the professional level.

This reading brought up a point that I had never thought of before. Designating elite athletes at a young age can be problematic and cause difficulties because people develop at different rates. Kids who hit their growth spurt earlier than others might have an advantage in basketball over the shorter kids. The actual skill, or lack thereof, of the taller player might be masked by his height.

With high-performance sports, more rules and boundaries are set on how the game is played and what equipment/clothing is permitted. On a little league team, the players might use a variety of bats in a baseball game, but strict rules are applied to which bats are acceptable and allowed for high-performance athletes. With the high level of competition in these sports and the large amounts of money invested in their success, these rules are necessary to keep the competition focused on who has more skill or talent, and less on who has the best or most expensive bat, for example.

Sports and the dedication we put toward them are influenced by our families, friends, and the community we live in, as well as by our own thoughts, emotions, and aspirations. This is nothing new though.  Almost everything we do or believe in is influenced by the people and things around us, like religion and our political affiliation for example. As we get older, we rely less on our family to make our decisions, and more on our friends. While we want to do what makes us happy, we often make sure our friends “approve” before we head in to something fully committed.

I am surprised that tennis is played more in New York than in Florida. I feel like there are tennis courts around every corner in Florida! Even small hotels are equipped with tennis courts.

The availability of a sport is also a determining factor in whether or not you will participate in that specific sport. For example, I just recently learned what lacrosse was. Lacrosse is not offered where I am from, and I watch very little sports to learn about it elsewhere.

You would think you could resort to sports to get away from all the discrimination, but it still exists with sports. Sports such as skiing, equestrian, and gymnastics that are not offered at school can be hard for people from lower-class families to join. Joining a sport can be very expensive, especially when your school or community does not sponsor it. This is unfortunate because, while you might not succeed or enjoy the school-sponsored sports of football, basketball, and wrestling, you may really enjoy skiing or riding horses.

It is amazing to see the tremendous effect that the media has on almost everything in this world, including sports. Technology has grown so rapidly in recent years allowing people to still be spectators of a sport in the comfort of their own living room... which I must say, is quite nice.  Even if a game is at an inconvenient time for you, the Internet allows you to watch the game at a later time, or simply just look up the score. The online or radio versions of sports allow you to keep up with your favorite sports and teams without the dreaded expense of buying tickets. This luxury eliminates the exclusion of lower-class families who cannot afford tickets for their family. It also allows the game to be viewed by a larger audience of all races all over the world. This brings the American sports to other countries, and often attracts huge sponsorship dollars… which is always a plus.

Why has in-person attendance increased over the years?

There is definitely technique behind successful advertising. A company must appeal to the audiences that will give the most of what they want, whether it is viewers, money, or media attention. Before, most sports were played by males, so it would not be effective to have female models in their advertisements. Now, you would push females participants away if you didn't appeal to, and include, females in your advertisement process. 

At the end of this reading it mentioned that you must use models that look like the audience you are trying to attract. If this is so, why do weight loss commercials always display the skinniest people in their commercials. I feel like this discourages people who actually do need to lose weight, and in fact, turns them away rather that attracts them. 

Prior to reading this chapter, I did not realize how much sports are actually categorized by economic status, much like everything else in the world is. Sad, but true. I understand the importance of spending large sums of money for high-performance sports, but I think more money should be invested in recreational sports to keep people of all ages, races, and genders more physically active without going out of their budget.

Memory

     Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio is a very concise poem but is still very vivid and detailed. From this poem I concluded that the author, a spectator, dreaded going home after attending these high school football games. I found that he was able to escape from his not so pleasant reality. This poem failed to mention any sense of competition among the team, but rather they were just playing for the simple joy of the game. Im sure there was competition; however, that aspect of the game was much more important to Klosterman than it was to Wright, according to his memory. Wright had an interesting way of describing the people by relating them to animals (the women cluck and their sons gallop).
     Three-Man Weave was drastically longer than the poem but was still very descriptive. Too descriptive in my opinion. However, in this essay, the author interacted with the reader a lot more than the poem... adding in many rhetorical questions and dialogue with his interviewee, Barry Webster. Besides that this was a different sport all together, Chuck Klosterman also had a totally different way of expressing his memory of this "forgotten" basketball game. He was appalled that a three-man team beat the Iron Five.
     There is a universality within these sports and the cultures they include. For example, in Autumn Begins in Martins Ferry, Ohio, Wright mentions Polacks and Negroes, both completely different races. This shows that the sport can be understood among many, constituting the varieties of people in society today. Klosterman also mentions details in his memory that both whites and blacks participated in the basketball game.
     Nostalgia and memory is very important in both of these writings. The memories they recall often tell us which parts are more important to the writer, or which parts left the biggest impact on them. The importance of memory on sports as a whole are also very important. Sports, no matter which one, require a lot that has to be memorized and remembered in order to succeed, whether its different plays in football, or the choreography and timing to all of my dances. Memory is also important in our love of sports; however, what we remember will vary from person to person, because everyone enjoys sports for their own reason. These pieces made me question myself on why I really liked to dance? Hm...
     I would say that these retellings define a community more than a culture. In the poem, the author mentions the different kinds of people sitting in the stands beside him. While all of those people may have different cultures, they all live in the same community and they are all coming together to watch the same high school football game.
     I noticed that both writers described one game. Not just one game, but one specific game. Can my essay cover a longer period of time.. like several events and how they progressed?
     My experiences seem very different compared to both of these pieces; however, I related more to the poem. The football game seemed like his escape from reality. I relate to this with dance. With dance, I can express any emotion I want to without saying a single word. I also like how the poem failed to mention any real aspect of competition. I also relate to this because I hate competitive dance. I really just enjoy watching, or better yet, performing in a good show. Dance is a universal language. It doesnt discriminate against race, gender, or sexuality.
     I really liked how the essay included dialogue, which I might consider using in my essay as well. Both writers have extremely different writing styles, and I feel that I will end up using a combination of both of them if possible. It was helpful reading these to see two VERY different ways of expressing a vivid memory of a sport.