Character Building and Nationalism In Sport

On February 3 in my American Sport in the 21st Century class we discussed sports and took a look in the past. In class, we looked deeper into the values of sport such as: character building, character traits, lack of achievement in sports and the types of character that sitting on the bench can build. We also looked at the norms, values and behavior that sports can contribute towards a person. We also discussed nationalism and patriotism, which in sport is the most important aspect to support the idea of sport. Nationalism and Patriotism bring athletes together and also the country's that are supporting the athletes to unite as one and work together to achieve many goals. We had also discussed sport in the past from Pre Colonial America (1400-1500's) to 1800-1850's. There are multiple differences between each era that set them off from one another. There are multiple differences between each era that set them off from one another. We also talked about competition and winning which goes along with Darwinian (only the strong survive).

Character Building

This picture was taken out of the February 9th Edition of the Sports Business Journal. I took this picture out of the February 9 issue because it discusses what we were going over in class on February 3. The saying that is on the picture "it takes talent, hustle and metro card to make it here" goes hand in hand with character building in sport. These athletes have achieved success in order to be where they are, which is playing basketball professionally.  The character that they had to build was to keep their eye on the prize and that was to score a contract with a professional basketball team. Some may say that these athletes are pampered, spoiled and feel as if they are invincible to the law and others. You can visit: True Sport to learn more about how character building can lead up to children believing that they can become professional athletes and work at it until they can't work anymore. Also, this article talks about sport participation and character development and how they go hand in hand with one another.

Also, I found the youtube link that is listed below. This link shows a man shooting and dribbling with sayings popping up here and there that are directed towards character building. The sayings should motivate people to become more into building character with this youtube video of Basketball Character Building. Building character is an important part of developing an athlete because if an athlete has a bad character, most teams, fans and coaches will steer away from that particular athlete. Coaches, fans and teammates want players on their team that have a great character and can lead the team. Having a negative character can build up negativity towards others and affect the salary and business of the professional team itself. This youtube link relates to what we were talking about in class by showing the character that each person should build during a sport related activity. What if a person didn't have the ability to build character in a sport, would that sport be a different experience for him/her? 

Nationalism/Patriotism

(Rio De Janeiro Pin 2016 Olympics)

While I was researching and looking for articles on nationalism and patriotism, I found an article that had just been published on March 11, 2015. This article focuses on Norway and how they have transformed and become prouder of their country. The Norwegians have a national day each year  called Constitution Day. This is their way of celebrating their nationalism/patriotism except they do it in a different way. No matter what way you celebrate your nationalism/patriotism, it still means the same thing. What would things be like if there wasn't any nationalism or patriotism? Would the world revolve around different aspects of life such as careers or salaries? This article goes hand in hand in with what we were talking about in class because it shows that nationalism/patriotism can be viewed in many different ways and mean the same exact thing. No matter how a country celebrates their views on being a nationalistic country, they are still united as one and come together at least once a year to celebrate their pride.

To find out more information about this article, you can click on this weblink: Nationalism Studies 

Pre-Colonial America

Many events have occurred from the Pre Colonial America (1400-1500) to the 1800-1850's. In the Pre Colonial America times, the population spread widely across the country. Not one country had a steady amount or a higher amount of people then the other. Physical activity and sports were very important and often linked to spiritual beliefs. The common sports for the Pre Colonial America times were lacrosse, archery and running. Likewise, people in this era thought that staying fit was a very important aspect of their lives. During these times, many women were not able to participate in sport so they just stayed at home and took care of the children. On the other hand, as you can tell by the image below, the Native Americans were very physical and didn't take lacrosse easily. I can see the competitive edge that these two men have to win and to get the ball. Today, sports are still as competitive and challenging which means that not much has changed from the Pre Colonial America times. Likewise, sports have been around and played for much longer then expected. Now what would people think of the Pre Colonial America compared to sport today? Has sport evolved since Pre Colonial America and in what ways?

(Native Americans playing Lacrosse)