When the first caveman made a bet with his buddy that he could outrun a sabertooth tiger, the legend of the daredevil was born. From then, it evolved throughout the ages, from sword swallowers to snake charmers, X-Games gold medalists to professional B.A.S.E. jumpers: every culture and time period had some sort of daredevil. These people routinely defy death to bring entertainment to scores of people, and hopefully a bit of fame and sustenance to themselves. In 1960’s and 70’s America, the greatest of them all was Evel Knievel. When Robert Craig Knievel was born into the small mining town of Butte, Montana, the world was a very different place from the world now. During Knievels childhood, the nation was enraptured with what came to be known as the “Roaring 50’s”. World War II had recently ended, and it seemed that almost every facet of America and the rest of the world was thriving. But in the small town of Butte, much of this had little to no effect on young Knievel. He was raised in a culture where the mental disposition of many of the people was “work hard, play harder”(Montville). This mentality that Knievel grew up around was conspicuous in many of his ventures later in life. Furthermore, the world began a form of cultural insurrection in the 60’s, as the children of the boom period began to grow up (“Boom-Time...”). People began to question and dispute the political and social norms that in been in place for many years. This decade saw the ascendancy of the individual to a social hegemony, as people began to become more forthright in their beliefs and way of living. This was the culture that formed Evel Knievel. As told in Evel: The High Flying Life of Evel Knievel, written by Leigh Montville, Evel was equal parts showman, ...
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...nd his tenacity when it came to accomplishing what he wanted. Knievels success also helped him help the nation as a whole, educating our youth about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and keeping a strong moral code. Through out his countless crashes and injuries, Knievel never stayed down. He got right back up, got on his bike and tried again. A quote from Knievel himself says it best: "All my life people have been waitin' around to watch me die. But I'm still here. I really think that there is a hereafter and this is just a testing ground. Years ago I was just helter-skelter. I defied death. And I'm still doing it -- only from a bed instead of a bike. There's just no quit in me. There's just no stopping me. I went through life bing-bang-bada-boom-bada-boom. Now it's just bing, but I'm still Evel Knievel. I am. There's just nothing you could do to stop me" (Brinkley).
road-life and drug abuse. When he came out of the coma the Dead made a tribute
Stereotypes are dangerous in today’s society as they force individuals to compromise safety in order to meet society’s want for entertainment. In “It’s Time to Think About Visors,” Ken Dryden explores the idea that society has pressured athletes to sacrifice safety for performance. Furthermore, he uses first hand experience to warn the public of the consequences that can occur when safety is neglected. Dryden’s experiences show a stunning fact that is people will focus on pleasing others stereotypes of risk in entertainment and inevitably reduce the barriers that separate the individual from danger. Ultimately, resulting in an increased rate of preventable injuries due to the influence of the world around them. In the essay
Even with knowledge of Mosher’s Ph.D. in Sports Studies, the essay would have been stronger if it included additional credible resources. I agree with Mosher’s unstated evaluative claim that society should not expect someone to possess the characteristics of a hero simply because they are a sports athlete. Yet, Mosher asserts that society unrealistically demands their sports athletes to possess traits of high character. After reading this essay, I still ask; why not?
I say that he was a true hero for America and for aviation. He did no matter what he had to do to make sure he helped advance aviation. He was a true hero for aviation because he worked and risked his life multiple times not just for his fame but so aviation could continue to grow. I believe he never turned on America and everything he did was for the benefit of America. He was a true hero that had a goal and he wanted to complete that goal. He did all he could to help aviation because that is what he believed very deeply in.
he suffered through-out his life, ie. the war, the holocaust, his wife's suicide, and his heart disease.
Evel Knievel did not, as you would say, come from the best childhood. He was born in the tiny little copper mining town of Butte, Montana. His first introduction to being a daredevil started when he saw, “Joey Chitwoods Auto Daredevil Show” which was later credited for Evel Knievels career choice. After his father abandoned him and his mother, his mother found it hard to make ends meet. His mother soon found that she was unable to care for Evel Knievel and put him in the care of his grandparents. His grandparent claimed that even at his young age he was a “little” daredevil. He first started his career of stunts by doing tricks on his bicycle for the neighborhood children. Then, for his thirteenth birthday, Evel Knievel got his first motorcycle. This was his most favorite present, but sadly it didn’t last very long. He crashed it into their neighbor’s garage while showing off again and nearly caught their whole house on fire when the gas tank of the motorcycle ignited and exploded. For much of Evel Knievels teenage life, he landed himself in jail very many times for things like robbery, breaking into houses, and stealing small things like motorcycles. Then, on one particular “job” he decided that th...
Do I sacrifice my ‘womanly attributes’ by making the choice to ski down a mountain with a 3000+ vertical drop, while traveling at 50-60 mph? Does my choice to do squats and engage in strength training, or my desire to do 300 sit-ups each night in order to achieve a six-pack, make me less of a woman? Is it odd that I do not enjoy displaying polite, ladylike behavior during every second of my existence? I do not think so. Society today would not exactly agree either, yet society today is far different from the early 1920’s. Today, the desirable female body image is not necessarily a thin, dainty woman. At some point in history, though, something went terribly wrong. Women were conditioned to drink tea and mingle socially over snacks while knitting. The progression for women in sports has been slow, and women still have a long way to go in order to achieve the towering status of men’s sport. Although times have changed since the 1920’s, women continue to struggle with issues of the past—the notion of “mannishness” and the characteristics that compose the ideal female athlete.
He had worked very hard to get where he was, which made him a very real person in an
what others thought of him. His life symbolized what a lot of people have gone
An essay “Man and Superman: In athletic competitions, what qualifies as a sporting chance?” by Malcolm Gladwell is attempted to answer an issue “Do genetic advantages make sports unfair?” The essay contains two arguments: human biological diversity makes sports unfair, and, consequently, as human attempts to equalise all the players as considered a moral obligation, the sports industry has no problem with athletes’ self-transformation while doping athletes is prohibited which, in his opinion, they should be justified just like those self-transformations. Gladwell also criticises the sports industry who is actually a culprit of this fairness, they try to level the playing by measuring that no one has an advantage over others but the consequence is a catalyst of science intervention.
Schraff, Anne E. Daredevil American Heroes of Exploration and Flight. Berkeley Heights: Enslow, 2014. Print.
As a son of a sharecropper and grandson of a slave, Jesse Owens created History in 1936 when he achieved what no athlete had done before: four Olympic Gold Medals. (jesseowens.com). During this era, the United States had limited civil rights and was approaching a World War with Hitler rising into power in Germany. Although Owens was victorious on the track, because of the color of his skin, He was looked down upon and unrecognized by even his own country. Through the excessive racism, one may ask how Owens moved forward and dealt with such negativity in a situation that should have been celebrated.
won millions to his cause. Even though he said that at his death he was "...the
In his controversial book, Darwin's Athletes: How Sport Has Damaged Black America and Preserved the Myth of Race, "The whole problem here," writes author John Hoberman, "is that the black middle class is rendered essentially invisible by the parade of black athletes and criminals on television." That in turn fuels the perception that African-Americans excel in physical pursuits and Caucasians in i...
Discrimination and segregation of African Americans had existed for generations. Whites and blacks were separated in schools, churches, on buses, in restaurants and on the playing fields. In the early 1900’s, there was not only continued bias towards African Americans; many lived in contiguous neighborhoods, minimizing interaction with other Americans. Sports where African Americans once demonstrated dominance such as cycling and horse racing discriminated also. Cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor at one time dominated American cycling until “jealous white rivals colluded to force Taylor to see his sustenance in Europe by 1901” (Wiggins, p.158) Taylor was a pioneer for African American athletes. He “overcame the constraints of a society bounded by the racial hypocrisy...