Final Reflections

Before this class started i had my own preconceived notions on sports here in the US. With me being an athlete all i see is the glory aspect of sports. This includes the fame, the money, the girls, the lifestyle, all things that i am striving to attain because this is what i see in american sports. Of course the passion and hard work of these athletes don't go unnoticed to me because i know how difficult it is to get to that position. The media doesn't portray to the masses so its easy to only see the glamor and greed in american sports. After taking this class this semester everything that i thought i knew about sports was flipped entirely on its head. There is so so so much more to american sport than the fame and glamor. American sport has a very important history/ herstory that enabled it to get to the point its at today. One topic i found the most interesting this semester was when the magazines were brought to class and we were told to look critically at race, class, and gender throughout each one. I later wrote a blog on the women of sports illustrated. I should probably say the WOMAN of sports illustrated. In the past 20 years there has only been one woman on the cover and she was not even an athlete but a mode (Kate Upton). This was a shocker to me. I know women's sports are no where near as popular as mens sports, but there are plenty of great female athletes out there that should have been on the cover in my opinion. Because of this i will definitely begin to think more critically about sports after this class. If i make it to the NFL i will use what i learned in this class to advocate for women and athletes with disabilities. I would and will also recommend this class to a friend because the teacher is just so awesome.