A Change for Sports (essay #2)

The blog that I looked is by Charles Deemer, called The Writing Life II. His post that I looked at is named College Sports and is at http://cdeemer2007.blogspot.com/2007/01/college-sports.html. He talks in his blog about how college sports, in his mind, are a mess. He says he’s a fan of sports all together, but thinks that college sports need to be cleaned up in many areas. I am also a fan of sports all around and there may be some things are a little messed up, but I think that if you change them now, it will change for the worse.

The first point he makes is to ban all scholarships in all college sports. He doesn’t want to pay anyone anything to come to college to play a game. The next point he makes is to redefine league play locally, the way high schools do it. Deemer doesn’t want teams traveling 3000 miles in order to play a game. He also says they should make an equal plane for all sports, support each team as much as the other. He states that coaches should not be paid no more than you pay other “professors” who teach a subject. The author also talks about how colleges have a free farm system for the NFL and NBA and that professional baseball teams have to develop their talent through a farm system of minor leagues that they pay for. He believes that football and basketball should change to be that way.

When I read this blog post I was a bit confused. I understand what he is trying to say, but I don’t agree with it at all. To ban all scholarships in sports would be the worst thing for a college athlete. He thinks by doing this it will focus on higher education. But if you think about how that will effect athletes, it will be pushing some away from an education. For some people their only chance of getting to college and getting an education is through sports. By getting a scholarship, they are awarded an opportunity that they may not have had if it wasn’t for a sport. Some students can’t afford college and scholarships are their only shot at it. I understand that he thinks that some athletes are only there to go pro and not for an education, which is true in some cases. However, I feel that banning scholarships will turn away students from getting an education. I don’t agree with him at all on this. I think it would be a huge mistake.

The author also talks about redefining league play locally, the way high schools do it. He doesn’t think that you should travel large numbers of miles to play someone and that you should have some cross-town rivalries. Yes, I think that sometimes teams travel a large number of miles to get to a game, but then I think about it and disagree that they travel for a reason Having OSU play someone like Findley in football, I think, would be bad. OSU is a number one school in football for a reason. At some point there would be no competition for the teams. Even if you try to change the leagues, there is going to be schools that are going to be bigger and better than the small ones. The whole point of leagues is to have the same playing field and have that competition.

Deemer thinks that you should pay coaches no more than you pay other “professors” who teach a subject. I think that some coaches are getting paid a lot more then they should be, but then I think that they also work hard for what they make. The author says “Teaching football is not more valuable than teaching history or literature or mathematics or home economics or engineering or water coloring or marketing.” I think that coaches work for what they make. I don’t think that their pay should go down, I think that teachers should go up because having three of them in my family, I know what it takes to teach and they don’t get enough for it. I do agree that teachers and coaches should have closer payments, but I don’t think that you can compare it together because they are two different things when it comes down to it.

I do agree with his next point about making an equal plane for all sports. I think that everyone should support other teams just as much as the big teams like football and basketball. It is hard though to be able to do that for all the sports in a college, especially like OSU because they offer so many different sports. I think that students should try to get out and support all the teams that their school offers and have the same pride that they do for the big teams.

Deemer states that he also thinks that athletes shouldn’t be able to get into the NBA or NFL after a year or so. He thinks that playing a college sport should be for the college and not just to go pro faster. I agree that college sports should be for college but the whole reason for college sports is for one day to be able to go pro. I think that it would be ideal for a student to stay and play all four years, but then if the time is right to leave, then they should go. They should have them stay at least two years so they can get the practice and advice they need.

I believe that if you change any of these things in college sports right now, the viewers and the players would decline. Some of these rules would drive people away. The point of college sports is to have that great competition and get ready to go to the pros if that is what they want to do. I believe that it is in the best interest of everyone to just keep it the same. If it works right now, why change it.

Oh, How I Hate Change

So last night I was fishing with some friends and I was talking to one of them and we started talking about having to start to pack up some of our stuff to take home. Then it hit me, home. I have to go home after the year is over with; I have to leave my friends. Then that feeling started, the feeling of change. Oh, how I hate change. I don’t hate all change, change is good most of the time but I hate leaving people. And I know that I’ll see most of my friends next year but it won’t be the same. I’ll have to make some new friends and I hate that. Growing up I never had to really make friends because I lived in a small town and so we all knew each other. When we met in grade school we stayed friends all throughout high school. I really don’t remember meeting my friends because it was just that long ago. So coming to college was hard for me because I really had no idea where to start. And now I’m going to have to do it again.
Next year I’m going to the Columbus campus and it’s going to be so different. I’m exciting though to be able to experience something new. Because I grew up in a small town so then going main campus is a big deal. Newark is comfortable to me, but I feel like I always do the comfortable thing and I never really challenge myself, but I really think this is going to challenge me. I need to step out of my bubble of small towns and really just enjoy what Columbus will offer.
Thinking about how I’m excited about Columbus but sad about leaving my comfort zone and friends makes me feel like I’m on a rollercoaster about to throw up. I hate the fact that things won’t be the same next year but I’m so excited about it at the same time. I’m so confusing sometimes and I don’t know what to think. I know everything will turn out the way it’s supposed to but I can’t help but worry. Oh, how I hate change.

I Love Volleyball

One of the things I really wanted to get involved with at school was intramural sports. I didn’t really care what sport it was, I just wanted to be able to meet some new people. I was excided to learn though that they were offering volleyball which is my favorite sport. Upon going to the meeting with two of my roommates, we found a team. Being involved with intramurals led me to know lots of new people, and really some of my closest friends now. Intramurals is something that I would recommend to everyone because it lets you have fun and exercise but it leads you to meet people who you might have never met until then. This is something that I am always going to be involved with because it creates so many memories. I wouldn’t give up all the fun times with my team for anything.
I remember this one time last quarter that we were playing this team and we were beating them so I decided that I wanted to jump serve. I haven’t jump served since high school a year ago so I wasn’t really sure how it was going to turn out. Well as I got ready I did my little routine and served it and it went over hard and I got an ace! I was so excided! I literally ran around the court screaming “AH, I just got it over!” I was so excided, the adrenaline was pumping so hard I couldn’t stop running. My team was laughing so hard because they just stood there watching me as I lapped them around the court. Well it turns out I didn’t really loose my touch because I ended up serving like 6 more after that before something happened and the other team got the ball. I was so excided that I had remembered how to do it.
I really encourage everyone to get involved. It’s so much fun and it really creates a bond with those people, even if that is the only time you see a few of them, you have that bond and those memories to hold on too.

What a week..

So this week, along with everyone else, I’ve been thinking a lot about what happened on Monday at Virginia Tech. It’s a horrible thing that happened and I can’t imagine what the students and faculty are going through. But it really got me thinking about how it could happen here, it can happen anywhere.
On Monday after English when some people heard it for the first time about what happened, I was walking to the Hopewell and I was passing all these people talking on their cell phones asking if they had heard what had happened. At work, that was the talk of the night as everyone was trying to piece together what they knew. It seemed as if everyone was concerned and wanted to show their support. As I watched the news that night and Tuesday morning, I saw that so many colleges were paying their respects in different ways. I’m proud of how everyone is supporting VT and helping in anyway they can. It made me think of 9/11 and how the nation came together after that and we really became one to over come the tragedy. I hate though how it takes something so horrific for people to come together. I loved hearing though that there was a moment of silence at the oval on Wednesday for those who lost their lives and also how they played VT’s song over the chimes. It really does make me proud that people are out there supporting VT. There are also people on facebook trying to nominate Liviu Librescu for the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was the professor who was an OSU alumnus and was killed while trying to save his students. This is the highest Medal of Honor that a civilian is able to get. It just gives me chills to think of how many people are being so involved in supporting VT. It really just amazes me and I hope that it continues for a long time.

Essay #1 Why So Nervous?

In high school I had two colleges on my list and I was almost positive that I wanted to come to Ohio State. But the thing that sent me over the edge to pick OSU was the football tickets. I had been to a game a couple of years ago with my sister, but I don’t remember it very well. My brother and sisters all had tickets and defiantly encouraged me to get tickets. I am so thankful I did because I feel that going to the games truly made me a Buckeye.
I was so nervous for my first football game as a student. I really had no idea what to expect because it was just me and my sister alone. We weren’t going to know anyone around us and we were supposed to actually fit in with the student section. I had no idea how that was going to happen. Walking up the steps to the different levels it seemed like the stairs never stopped. It was like going up an escalator backwards, you never really get anywhere. As I huffed and puffed up the last couple of steps, I thought my heart was going to pop out because I was so nervous. I really wasn’t sure what was going to happen. As I walked through the doorway out into the stadium it really did take my breath away. It was a sea of scarlet and grey and everyone was jumping around screaming as the team warmed up. I just stood there and watched until reality set in and the people behind me were getting mad because I was holding up the line. I started to walk up, yet again, more steps and the nerves just left me with a feeling of such excitement. After I found my seat, I sat my stuff down and turned around too look at the football field. I could hear helmets crashing together as the team practiced and people yelling “O-H-I-O”, as they got the teamed pumped up. It was then that felt like I really belonged there.
During the game I had to just watch the crowd at one point as they screamed “OHIO” and “Go Bucks!” In high school, school spirit was never really a huge thing so coming here and having people really cheer hard for the team was wonderful. But the thing that really had tears in my eyes was the band. Again, in high school the band was something people really didn’t take pride in. By half time, OSU was beating the opponent by a hefty score, so a lot of people started to leave. But then I heard the people behind me say, “Wait, we can’t leave until the band performs. Then we can go.” I was so stunned. Students were actually saying that they wanted to see the band then they could leave and miss the rest of the football game. The tears started to well up in my eyes. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. My heart filled with pride knowing that my sister was a part of that and people respected it that much. I will never forget that feeling.
Even attending the whole season, nothing prepared me for the last game of the season: Michigan. It seemed like the week had no end and that I was never going to be able to get to go. It was like one of those things that you can’t believe is going to happen to you, and then all of a sudden you can’t do it. I was so hoping it wasn’t one of those times. When it finally became game day I thought that I was going to have a heart attack. My nerves were jumping all over the place. Climbing those steps that day felt like it did the first day. My heart was fluttering the whole time, I couldn’t stop it even if I wanted to. Going through the doorway I knew that this was going to be a big game for more then one reason, even though I didn’t know those reasons at the time. As I walked through the door, I had to squint because of all the light illuminating the field. As I heard the crowds roar, because the team was exiting the field the last time before kick-off, all I could do was smile. I had goose bumps on my arms and it felt like a butterfly in my heart. I was finally at the game of the year.

The game was so intense and everyone was into it 110%. People were yelling so loud and I too yelling as loud as possible. By the end of the night, my voice was so raspy. It felt like I had swallowed a bug and I couldn’t get it out. The crowd was chanting O-H-I-O the whole time and it kept getting louder and louder as if you were turning up the radio every round. The band tried playing songs but the crowd was so loud you couldn’t hear them at all. As the time ran down on the clock, again, the crowd kept getting louder and more excited. People were everywhere and by when the clock hit zero, people poured onto the field like a bomb that had blown up. The pride that everyone had felt by beating Michigan was like you were watching a part of you do something great. It was so indescribable. Everyone had a smile on their face and the bond that formed because everyone had the same passion for the team as you did. This was one of the best games ever played and to be a part of that is great. As I was standing there watching people flood the field my sister turned to me and said, “Holy crap do you know what this means?” I was like “No”; I was to excided to think about anything else. She said, “We are going to the national championship game!” I had totally forgotten about that, and then I knew that I would be feeling those nerves again. But I was willing to accept that.

Fun in the Dorms

Being in the dorms here on campus defiantly has its up’s and down’s, but I would say that this week is an up. My friends and I decided that this week we were going to do something other then just sitting around watching TV like always. So on Sunday night we decided that we were going to play a game called Apples to Apples. I didn’t figure that some of the guys would get into it, but as it turned out they loved it. We had such a fun time playing that, we decided that Monday night that were going to play Mad Gab. That went over really well too. Everyone had a ton of fun playing around and just being stupid. Sometimes I think that that creates some of the best memories, just goofing around.
Lately we have been doing a lot of new things. We have played sand volleyball a couple of times and we try to go to the gym once a day to have some fun. When I first came into the dorms I was worried that I wouldn’t have a lot of fun, but really you just make it as fun as you want. This week has been a lot of fun for me because my friends and I have gotten closer and we have had a lot of fun doing it. I love how even though we are in college, we can still act like kids. I think that it is a good thing to have that kind of fun. You really can’t take life that seriously and it wouldn’t be any fun if you did.

Proud of my Buckeyes

One of the things I was really excided for this year was the football games. I knew that we were going to have a good team and I couldn’t wait to be apart of it. The games were so much fun and it was really neat to see everyone having a good time. I loved how I didn’t even have to know the people around me but we were able to talk like old friends knowing we had at least one thing in common. The weird thing was that I noticed a few games into season, two rows down from me there were three people that looked oddly familiar. The more I thought about it I figured out that it was people from my home town that went to another school. I just couldn’t believe that out of thousands of people in the stadium I recognize people from my town. It really is a small world when you think about it.
I was excited for the season, again, because I knew that our team was going to be good. But I didn’t relies they were going to be that good. It was really cool for me to say that I was a part of history that year. I loved every minute of it except when it came time for the national championship. Well, we all know how that turned out. It just broke my heart to see them loose like that. But I really can’t make a lot of excuses for them. They just weren’t prepared to play. It was interesting for me to see how people reacted the next day. It was defiantly a day of mourning for buckeye nation. People acted like it never happened. Everyone went about their day like usual, but without really talking to anyone. It was just kind of understood that everyone was feeling the same way so why really talk about it.

Even though it was a sad time for many people, I feel like it just made our pride stronger knowing we still support our team. That is one of the things I have noticed about Ohio State, people are so proud of everything. It doesn't even have to be in sports, it can be anything. People at OSU are just proud of what they do and I love that.