On a Saturday afternoon this past November, I was watching a Marshall University football home game on television. I was surprised to hear thousands of fans in the stadium repeatedly chant "We Are Marshall." It became clear to me that this team was supported by a fan base that was emotionally connected to the program. The chant also made me realize that this fan base felt that they were a part of the football team. Then, I understood why the fans felt this way. Even after all these years, students at Marshall and local residents feel connected to the team because of the loss and suffering felt by the community after what Bob Withers called " the worst air disaster in American sports history" (Withers). Few tragedies involving universities …show more content…
In the movie, the process of recruiting new players for the team is shown to be a difficult task. The film shows Jack Lengyel and his assistant coaches looking at a board which is full of potential recruits/players. The coaches are shown crossing multiple names off of the list as many of the players commit to other universities. Similar to the scene in which Dedmon recruits a new coach, the coaches grow frustrated as they cross the names off the list. In We Are Marshall, the difficulty of the recruiting process is exaggerated in order to even further demonstrate the difficulty of rebuilding the Marshall University football team after the plane crash. These recruiting difficulties forced the team's coaches to desperately search for players to fill the team's roster. The coaches successfully recruit players from other sports at the school; specifically, the coaches sign players from the basketball team and the soccer team. The filmmakers emphasize these players from other sports in order to further build the odds against the Marshall football team; Marshall would be fielding a team full of underclassmen and soccer/basketball players while every other team would have the luxury of playing experienced upperclassmen. In other words, Marshall would have a team full of players that barely understood football while most other teams would be full of players with multiple years of high school football experience. The team's recruiting process, as with the exaggerated coaching search, is shown to be difficult in order to strengthen the team's roles as underdogs. Jack Lengyel states that the coaches did not see the difficulty of recruiting as a bad thing. "We never saw it that way, as an obstacle. We looked at it as an opportunity to build" (Fact vs. Fiction). We Are Marshall makes the football teams recruiting process appear to be
The Varsity team lost to the JV team because they did not work together as team. Though the Varsity team consisted of high performing individuals for speed, strength, and endurance but together they lacked the cohesiveness to perform as a single unit. Also among them there were a lot of internal conflicts cropping up like blaming each other, lack of trust and confidence in the ability of others etc., which were not identified, or resolved at appropriate time. Each one did not believe he was working as a part of the team; rather they tried to maximize their individual capabilities alone. In addition the Varsity team lacked a strong leader, mostly people were disruptors.
The best recruiting class in NCAA history came in and changed the game. Before they came to college, players still wore short shorts and the only people caught wearing black socks on a basketball court were 60-year olds trying to be young again. They changed the game with their great basketball skills, and their swagger. The road to greatness wasn't very easy for some though; they lived a tough life, and used that as motivation to drive them to greatness. They were are Michigan's Fab Five.
There are thousands of high school football players across the nation, and a handful of them have what it takes to play at the college level. Those that do have the raw talent normally get reached by college football recruiters and coaches. The NCAA, the National College Athletic Association, has many rules and regulations especially surrounding the rules and conduct of recruiting student athletes. Men's football takes the most notice, as well as basketball, of all collegiate sports in the U.S. today (Smith, 2015). According to Langelett (2003), the NCAA limits each school to 85 football scholarships. With a limited number of scholarships available, schools spend a considerable amount of time and money on recruiting players.
After reports of several transgressions and the surface of a damaging videotape which appeared to show Knight physically assaulting a former player, the president of Indiana, Neil Reed, had explained to Knight that there was a zero tolerance policy where Knight was concerned (Wolff, 2000). Despite the repeated warnings and the newly stated zero tolerance policy, Knight continued to commit transgressions that eventually got him fired from Indiana University where he had coached for almost three decades. Indiana University took a thrashing from Knight fans’ over this decision, but keeping Knight as an agent of the University could have resulted in a legal disaster. From a Biblical worldview, the University showed mercy in the second chances that it provided to Knight. In addition, their actions did not appear to be malicious when they made the decision to let him go.
While college sports play a valuable role on university campuses, it is important for administrators to not lose perspective. That some football coaches earn more than university presidents, for example, is clearly wrong. Essay Task Write a unified, coherent essay in which you evaluate multiple perspectives on college support for sports teams. In your essay, be sure to: • analyze and evaluate the perspectives given • state and develop your own perspective on the issue • explain the relationship between your perspective and those given
The overall culture and importance that American society places on college sports is susceptible to debate and criticism. Are we spending too much time and money on college football? Well that’s for you to decide, “Get football out of our universities” by Steven Salzberg expresses his concern that we are emphasizing too much on football and not enough on education. He makes his argument that America would be much smarter if only we would eliminate college football all together; he feels college football is driving academia to its death. Steven is effective in persuading his readers by utilizing rhetorical strategies and he provides his readers with facts and solutions. While reading Stevens article, you will see rhetoric used throughout his essay; he intends to open the reader’s eyes to the epidemic that football is having on our colleges and universities and provides viable solutions.
Van Der Galien’s reactions to Mr. Gladwell’s statements were professional, and to clarify on what could be the real objective of football in colleges. Nevertheless, the article reveals that Van Der Galien’s indirectly attempts to demonstrate that college football should be considered as a right, and if taken away is viewed un-American. Recalling memories from his childhood, which expresses the use of emotion, impacts the reader and gives credibility for those hard core “MERICANS.” Furthermore, with the use of quotes by interviewee, Malcom Gladwell, used in Van Der Galien’s article, can be used to back up his opinion . All in all, I believe that after reading this article I would argue that even with it’s casual use of emotion, understanding of the other issue, and quotes successfully outlines Van Der Galien’s opinion on ...
Most college athletes, when they were young children, dreamed of playing for a college team. For them that was their passion and their greatest dream/ accomplishment. College athletes are there because they love to play the sport that they do. They love the thrill of the game and winning o...
The diversity issue within America’s most popular game is apparent. Both the NFL and FBS are at an all time high in terms of revenue and viewership while the opportunity for minorities to coach at these levels has become a significant issue especially in collegiate football. Lack of proper awareness and prejudice beliefs are the core of the problem. The NFL has taken many steps to help improve the issue, while college football is beginning to realize the problem they have in hiring procedures. Many people believe the sports are turning a corner, others continue to believe they are far from resolving the issue. Whatever notion one takes in this matter it is clear that both sports suffer from a major lack in diversity when it comes to the face of their franchises and programs.
Thelin, J. R. (2000). Good Sports? Historical Perspective on the Political Economy of Intercollegiate Athletics in the Era of Title IX, 1972-1997. The Journal of Higher Education, 71(4), 391. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/2649145
After reading the article of A Football Martyr, the problem being identified is the controversy of how Jack Trice died. Was it because he was African American? Was it unintentional and an accident? Or was it intentional without discriminating Jack Trice? We will never find out the truth of this matter, but we can learn from it and pay our respects. This problem relates to the controversy of the death of Jack Trice and if the Jack Trice stadium should be named after him. This topic is important to anyone who wanted to know how the Jack Trice stadium receives its name because it's important to learn about the history. This topic is also important to football players because the players might want to be motivated about a great man playing football. More importantly, this topic is important to African Americans who feel as if they are being mistreated at Iowa State University because they can connect with it.
Zimbalist, Andrew S. Unpaid Professionals: Commercialism And Conflict In Big-Time College Sports. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1999. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Mar. 2014.
College recruiting is something that was created for the good of college sports, but is often used for such unethical actions that will make anyone with a soul cringe. In 2004, University of Colorado’s athletic department used alcohol, drugs, and sex to lure recruits during official campus visits (Gerdy). These actions are immoral on a number of levels, and should not be tolerated. If this type of behavior continues to be seen in college sports, then serious changes need to be made. Illegal recruiting that takes place in NCAA athletics is unethical, gives colleges unfair advantages, and jeopardizes player’s eligibility.
It is no secret that college has absurd tuition prices. If colleges were to lower the prices of tuition, everyone would be universally happier. Brooks uses the following quote to address the obvious “it is the outrageous sticker price of a college education, and its steep upward climb in seeming defiance of the rest of the economy, that has fueled a demand to know why American families should sacrifice so much to a possibly dubious product.” (Brooks 59). Although I agree that college may be too inflated compared to off campus, I came to the realization that the price of college is mostly worth it. Umass Amherst has the best Sports Management program and is worth the money because they have the largest alumni in this field. They have alumni in all the major sports leagues in America and even in the other continents. They have a strong connection to Umass and tend to hire other Umass Amherst graduates from the McCormack Department of Sport Management. Brooks believes that instrumental learning, teaching students to pass the course, rather to understand the central questions of humanity hinders the value of college (Brooks 65). Yet this could not be further from the truth. The first time reading the essay I supported his arguments, but the more times I read the essay the more I began to disagree. At first, I questioned if a year’s tuition for
First, college basketball has paid off by losing its most talented players to the NBA as many as three years early. This has resulted in not only an overall lessening of the game, but in certain circumstances caused the downfall of once great basketball programs. This is how it happens, as colleges recruit players based on what their needs are or what they will need shortly in the future. So let us say that one school has a great core of sophomore and junior players for the upcoming season. The coaches do not have the need or the room for many new top-notch players.