http://howdowecommunicate.blogspot.com/
Bill brings up an excellent point about the importance of communication. Communication is especially important in sports because without out it, teams won't act cohesively and will struggle to succeed. Look at the 2004 Mens USA Olympic Basketball team. Their team was compiled of NBA allstars, Bryant, Iverson, Mcgrady to name a few, whose talent levels where through the roof. Having the better players didn't translate to wins, as the USA lost to names like Lithuania and ended up recieving a bronze medal that year. This example is proof that no matter how much better players you have then the other team, if they don't play together, they won't win. It's this element of team chemistry, or how well players on a team communicate and work with one another, that makes a team great.
As he said, communication is definitely a two-way street. But before one can begin to communicate, one must understand the individual that they are trying to communicate with.
There is one sports comedy movie that emphasizes this point called Eddie. For those of you who haven't seen it, which you should do eventually, its about a die-hard Knicks fan (Whoopi Goldberg) who wins a contest and ultimately becomes the Knicks head coach. As a coach, she begins to learn that the reason why the Knicks aren't winning is because they don't communicate with each other or the coach and thus, don't play well as a team. This scene here (from 6:25-7:30) illustrates how Eddie learns importance of communication and understanding in sports. She then takes the time to understand her players. She teaches 7-foot Ivan english, she discusses marital troubles with Hastings, and shows Stacey Patton the importance of teamwork. The movie ends up proving that understanding one anothers differences in strengths can be difference between mediocrity and greatness.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
The role of Ethnicity
In our English class, we are currently over half way through the book Poisonwood Bible. This story consists of multiple female perspectives of the family's religious voyage to the Congo. When reading the section written by the youngest of the narrators, Ruth May, I was astounded by her extremely racist and disturbing views of others. On page 51, she states that the hungry native children she sees have swollen bellies because God realizes they are black. She believes that blacks start out white at birth until God realizes they are from the Tribes of Ham, and turn black (she calls it a "curse") (215).She also observes that the troops led by white officers instead of black ones are clearly superior. It really saddens me to see such hurtful comments and racist opinions come from such a young innocent girl, because it shows how negatively impacted her views are being shaped by the Southern culture. Ruth May's mind, at her age, is a clean slate. She simply observes in order to learn. Therefore, Ruth May's thought and reasoning is a reflection of the American South culture. Her racist opinions are formed as a combination of what others around her believe and what she observes. Now, as a result of the racism she is exposed to, she believes in many hurtful and untrue "facts" concerning other races. My frustration led me to ask the question "How do people come to hold racist beliefs?"
The answer: observation and inference. Today, I came across an interesting fact: A Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is anywhere from 40 to 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. This shocking fact justifies race's role in one's life if not racism itself. Why is it that Samoans are generally better football players than other Americans? Why were 82% of the NBA players during the 2008-2009 season black? Why does Jamaica, a population 1/100th the size of the United States, continue to dominate us in the sport of track? Take a look at this article and note the vast differences in race percentages by NFL position. Looking at the statistics and probability, the chances of all the running backs being black and all the kickers being white are less than 1 out ten billion. Whether you want to recognize it or not, the statistics prove that race seem to be a large determining factor in one's life.
This is, I believe, because of culture. It is our culture that emphasizes certain aspects of life. In the Samoan culture, they emphasize brute strength and aggressiveness among the male population. In Jamaica, the sport above all that they emphasize is track. It's important to recognize its not race that defines ones values and tendencies, but the culture from which the race exists. Once we all understand the distinction of race and culture, hurtful racism will be a thing of the past.
The answer: observation and inference. Today, I came across an interesting fact: A Samoan male (either an American Samoan, or a Samoan living in the 50 United States) is anywhere from 40 to 56 times more likely to play in the NFL than a non-Samoan American. This shocking fact justifies race's role in one's life if not racism itself. Why is it that Samoans are generally better football players than other Americans? Why were 82% of the NBA players during the 2008-2009 season black? Why does Jamaica, a population 1/100th the size of the United States, continue to dominate us in the sport of track? Take a look at this article and note the vast differences in race percentages by NFL position. Looking at the statistics and probability, the chances of all the running backs being black and all the kickers being white are less than 1 out ten billion. Whether you want to recognize it or not, the statistics prove that race seem to be a large determining factor in one's life.
This is, I believe, because of culture. It is our culture that emphasizes certain aspects of life. In the Samoan culture, they emphasize brute strength and aggressiveness among the male population. In Jamaica, the sport above all that they emphasize is track. It's important to recognize its not race that defines ones values and tendencies, but the culture from which the race exists. Once we all understand the distinction of race and culture, hurtful racism will be a thing of the past.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Cubs Curse
It’s that time of year, October, the end of the MLB season and the beginning of the enthralling playoffs. Yet, like usual, it’s another year where my team, the Chicago Cubs, are absent from the playoff picture. You’d think by sheer probability that they were due for a MLB championship, having not won one in over 100 years. But the team manages effortlessly to continue its championship draught and have cubs fans say but not always believe that “There’s always next year”
In the book that we are reading for English, Poisonwood Bible, we gather the evident and important role of religion in the lives of the Prices, the American Missionary family living in a Congolese Village, and the Congolese themselves. In the recent chapters, there seems to be a little rivalry between Catholicism, represented by Nathan Price, and the local traditions led by Tata Kuvudundu. Each character desires a larger following and is willing to denounce the other in order to grow. In order to prove to the people that their religion is the truth, they label any occurrences as an act of God, or having religious intention. For example, the perceived death of Adah, who was thought to be eaten by a lion, was originally called a vengeful act of God against the Price family due to their study of a false religion. However, after the news was discovered that she lived, the story was turned into “God saved this girl from the lion because of their loyal devotion to him”. It’s a natural human tendency to want to know why things occur the way they do and for the answer to this question, they turn towards religion/myth.
This need to religiously rationalize experiences is a trait we also see in sports. Feeling the need for an explanation as to why the Cubs have defied the odds and are so good at losing, many fans have blamed lack of a championship on a curse: The Curse of the Billy Goat. Myth has it that during the 1945 World Series game against Detroit at Wrigley Field, Billy Goat Tavern owner, Billy Sianis, was asked to leave due to the odor of his pet goat. Sianis later sent Cubs owner, Phillip Wrigley, a telegram saying “You are going to lose this World Series and you are never going to win another World Series again.” Since that point, this curse has only gained believers, especially after the heartbreak and epic demise of the NLCS series with the Marlins in 2003. I still remember sitting in my kitchen watching game 6 in which the Cubs were up in the series 3-1. Prior, one of the best pitchers at the time, was on the mound and only had given up three hits in the evening. Cubs were up 3-0 with one out in the eighth and no one on. Then a double, followed by a catchable foul ball interfered with by a fan, then a wild pitch walk, an error by Alex Gonzalez, and before you knew it, the score was 7-3. The Cubs went on to lose this game and the next, and the Marlins went on to win the World Series. It was a painful implosion by the Cubs that had many fans asking “Why?” Just as Greek myths and religious mythology were created to explain natural phenomenon like the creation of the human race, sports fans created the “Billy Goat” myth to explain the reason for the Cubs struggle. Religion plays such a pivotal role in Poisonwood Bible, sports, and even society in general because it explains things nothing else can.
In the book that we are reading for English, Poisonwood Bible, we gather the evident and important role of religion in the lives of the Prices, the American Missionary family living in a Congolese Village, and the Congolese themselves. In the recent chapters, there seems to be a little rivalry between Catholicism, represented by Nathan Price, and the local traditions led by Tata Kuvudundu. Each character desires a larger following and is willing to denounce the other in order to grow. In order to prove to the people that their religion is the truth, they label any occurrences as an act of God, or having religious intention. For example, the perceived death of Adah, who was thought to be eaten by a lion, was originally called a vengeful act of God against the Price family due to their study of a false religion. However, after the news was discovered that she lived, the story was turned into “God saved this girl from the lion because of their loyal devotion to him”. It’s a natural human tendency to want to know why things occur the way they do and for the answer to this question, they turn towards religion/myth.
This need to religiously rationalize experiences is a trait we also see in sports. Feeling the need for an explanation as to why the Cubs have defied the odds and are so good at losing, many fans have blamed lack of a championship on a curse: The Curse of the Billy Goat. Myth has it that during the 1945 World Series game against Detroit at Wrigley Field, Billy Goat Tavern owner, Billy Sianis, was asked to leave due to the odor of his pet goat. Sianis later sent Cubs owner, Phillip Wrigley, a telegram saying “You are going to lose this World Series and you are never going to win another World Series again.” Since that point, this curse has only gained believers, especially after the heartbreak and epic demise of the NLCS series with the Marlins in 2003. I still remember sitting in my kitchen watching game 6 in which the Cubs were up in the series 3-1. Prior, one of the best pitchers at the time, was on the mound and only had given up three hits in the evening. Cubs were up 3-0 with one out in the eighth and no one on. Then a double, followed by a catchable foul ball interfered with by a fan, then a wild pitch walk, an error by Alex Gonzalez, and before you knew it, the score was 7-3. The Cubs went on to lose this game and the next, and the Marlins went on to win the World Series. It was a painful implosion by the Cubs that had many fans asking “Why?” Just as Greek myths and religious mythology were created to explain natural phenomenon like the creation of the human race, sports fans created the “Billy Goat” myth to explain the reason for the Cubs struggle. Religion plays such a pivotal role in Poisonwood Bible, sports, and even society in general because it explains things nothing else can.
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