Indianapolis Grand Prix Experience

Written by Mark Chipperfield

           

            In the year 2005 I had the unfortunate experience of seeing an event unfold similar to the one that happened at Indian Wells in 2001. I was attending the United States Grand Prix with my father and older brother for the third consecutive year. My dad had always been a huge fan of Formula one racing and he instilled that passion into us. We would and still do watch every race of the formula one season even though the majority require being up at odd hours in the morning. So when the series starting having a race in the United States we jumped at the chance to attend. It also helped that the race usually took place during the summer.

            The weekend started like any other with teams having multiple practice sessions on Friday and Saturday leading up to the race on Sunday. However there were a couple cars that kept spinning out on the last corner of the racetrack that led to the cars slamming into the wall at a very high speed. It was noticeable to me as one of the cars that this repeatedly happened to belonged to my favorite driver at the time. But it wasn’t really viewed as anything out of the ordinary in the media and things were going normally as they would on any race weekend. The day of the race came and there was excitement in the air due to the possibility of Formula one becoming more popular in the United States with an exciting race. Then things took a dramatic turn for the worse. After the cars were finished taking their warm up lap the vast majority of them pulled into the pits and did not lineup on the starting grid like the usually did. And all the cars that pulled into the pits drove straight into their respective garages and the drivers climbed out of their cars. It was a sure sign that they were not going to be participating in the race. Amid all the confusion the remaining six cars started the race as if nothing happened and the crowd started to get upset. The following video is the beginning of the US broadcast of the race and some of the shock expressed by the analysts’ sort of captures it all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhgnc6VruQs . This experience does differ from the Indian Wells event because it the dislike wasn’t really expressed towards individual people as it was against the Williams Sisters.

Reflection on "The Jordan Effect"

Post By: Nathan Wahle

In Monday's class I can honestly say that it felt like I was traveling back to my childhood days.  Michael Jordan meant everything to me when I was a kid and in a way still does to this day.  Basketball is definitely my favorite sport so it helped having such an icon to look up to while growing up.  Back when he played I followed the NBA religiously and every regular season loss was painful but I really took it hard on losses within a series during the playoffs, especially if it was against archrival Reggie Miller and the Pacers.  If I had to listen to a game on the radio I would, if a game of his was on television I would watch, if the game wasn't on either of those two types of media then I would watch the bottom line on ESPN and follow the score that way.  Meanwhile I had a miniature basketball court in my basement where I was pretending to be Michael Jordan and hoping one day I could reach his level.  It was more fun than any video games or computer games because in my mind I was actually him.

I say to this day Michael Jordan still means everything because ever since he left the NBA, I do not follow the season anywhere close to how I did when I was younger.  I do follow the NBA playoffs very close because I do think it is the best basketball and I tend to watch for great individual performances kind of like seeking that thrill and satisfaction of witnessing MJ's performances.  Plus, to this day I still have a fit anytime somebody makes a claim to a player in today's game being the next "Michael Jordan".  I get upset because I view Michael as mine just like thousands if not millions of others do as well.

After watching the video in class on Michael Jordan, it just proves how everyone took Michael as their own because the media protected him and nobody ever wanted to hear anything bad about him and if they did they would just deny it.  It is crazy because I don't think we as a society would do that for any other athlete especially in today's sports.  Michael Jordan reflected perfection in everything he did for whites and blacks, sports fans and non-sports fans, men and women it did not matter.  Not only that but he had a magic about him that had people downplay the flaws he did have more than they would for anybody else.  Not only will Michael go down as one of the best sports athletes of all time, but he might very well also go down as the greatest icon and hero of all time.

Post Four: Should Girls be Allowed to Play Football on Boys Teams

Author: Brady Munger

The question of whether girl's should be allowed to play football on boy's team's is a very large question that has been a large controversy for some time.  There is a large number of people that believe the answer to this question is yes, while there is also a large following of people that think the answer to this question should be no.  There are many reasons for each side of the argument.  Some people want to see even opportunities for both girl's and boy's which means letting them both play together and letting girl's on guy's teams.  Then there are other's that feel that their should be even opportunities, but this does not mean to them having both play on the same teams but having leagues available for girl's to play in.  In our in class assignment, our group created two lists one pro's and one con's of girls playing on boy's football teams.

Pro's
-Increase in diversity
-Equality for boy's and girl's
-Different perspectives of the game coming together
-Bigger target market to advertise game

Con's
-Locker room issues
-Physical contact differences (threat of injury)
-Different motives for playing
-Team relationships between girl and guy player's
-Question of player's playing or not playing (lack of skill or gender the cause)

Overall the pro's list had some great points in it.  The diversity of the sport would be a huge benefit, it would directly increase females interest in the sport, which would then increase the target market which was also on the list.  Also, the issue of equality for both boy's and girl's would be a issue being resolved being both boys and girls were being offered the same opportunities.  On the con's list, there were a few issues that really made you think.  One of the biggest themes were the issue of having two genders on the team. It would bring up a issue of team bonding between to gender's, the locker room issue of having two gender's. or the physical difference between the two genders.  Also, the question of playing time would be huge.  You could never tell whether it would be a reason of skill why a certain player was playing or not playing or a matter of gender.

Overall, I do believe this is an issue that need's to be looked at much more closely.  In my personal opinion there is no right answer to the question.  I believe the best solution would be to have both girls and guys football team's, but the amount of participants usually would not allow for it.  I think that before setting the issue aside it needs to be looked at very closely, and the best solution needs to be found.

Post Number Three: Budget Allocation Assignment

Post Number Three: Budget Allocation Assignment

Written by Mark Chipperfield

 

              The premise of this assignment was that the high school whose budget we were in charge of had an athletic budget of $120,000. However the needs of the teams and athletes were greater than the $120,000 budget that was available to us. We were allowed to have four fundraiser’s that would gain $60 per participant in that sport along with a $20,000 donation from an alum of the school to help buffer the expenses. So the major decisions that we needed to make was what teams we were going to have fund-raise and then what teams were going to get their extra expenses paid for with the leftover money.

            

            The first thing our group did when presented with this assignment was to add up all the necessary expenses. Overall we found that the necessary expenses of the athletic department were $148,350 meaning we were over budget by a fair amount. The next step was to figure out what teams we were going to force to take part in fundraisers. We decided to go with a realistic mixture of teams with a large number of participants as well as successful teams that would generate excitement if they actually had a fundraiser. The four teams we chose were the football team (largest number of participants), the softball team (1^st in conference), the downhill skiing team (1^st in conference) and the women’s track and field team (2^nd largest number of participants). After doing all the math we found out that all that fundraising would raise $11,040 for the athletic program. So we added that $11,040 with the $20,000 donation and the current $120,000 budget to figure out the total money we could spend on athletics. The sum of those three ended up being $151,040. Next we subtracted the $148,350 needed for necessary expenses from $151,040 and found that we had only $2,690 dollars to spend on extra expenses for the sports teams. The three things that we decided to spend that excess money on were new jerseys for the men’s and women’s soccer teams (both are successfully 3^rd in the conference) as well as new shot puts for the women’s track and field team. The reason why the women’s track and field team got new shot puts is because they participated in a fundraiser while finishing second in their conference.

Post Number Two: Reflective Response to Title IX and Sports

The facts and statements about Title IX seem to be repetitive especially in the realm of sports.

-Established in 1972
-Equal opportunity for women as men
-AIAW vs. NCAA
-etc.

But what does it all mean?

Ok sure the basic theme of Title IX (in reference to sport) means that an equal amount of women are able to participate in sports as men.  However, this statement only brushes the surface on the full impact of Title IX.  Sport has grown so much in our society that it comes close to being the only thing that will have an adult paint his body for a game or cause one to cry after a loss.  The power of sports is increasing dramatically.  So, limiting participation due to gender in an area of our society with such impact is just as civilly wrong as saying a person cannot vote based on their gender.  One thing to keep in mind is that one of the biggest arguments against Title IX is that women athletics do not bring in the type of revenue that men's athletics do.  This is true, but it is not about the money but rather giving both men and women the same opportunity to pursue their dreams.  Title IX extends much further than just the sports world.  Let's say a female who comes from a low income background cannot afford college.  However, due to her great athletic ability she receives an athletic scholarship in a particular sport.  This opportunity gave her a chance to go to college, and assuming she took advantage of it, developed into her potential and was not limited by gender.  So, when looking at the grand scheme of things, sure men's athletics may consistently bring in more money than women's right now, but it is about so much more than that.  It is about living up to country's nickname of "Land of Opportunity". 

This reflective stance sort of wraps up what Carpenter and Acosta's article "Title IX in Social and Legislative Context" addresses.  They go on to explain the struggle for the NCAA to accept women athletics and how the AIAW was a monumental organization to get the ball rolling for women athletics.  If it was not for the AIAW, the NCAA might have gotten away with their attempt to exclude athletics from Title IX.  I believe as a society, I am guilty of this sometimes as well, we need to stop looking at everything from a money standpoint.  First, women's athletics are relatively new anyway so they have a major gap to catch up with and I think we need to be patient and not so critical sometimes.  I think if I had one criticism of women athletics right now it would be that in a large number of sports, women play with slightly different rules and regulations.  I would like to see this changed just so that women are able to practice and train under the same rules and conditions so that maybe one day they will catch up to men.  So not only will we have equal men and women sports, but possibly we will unify sports by combining men and women.


Nathan Wahle

Post Number One: Response to "Whats the Problem"

Author: Brady Munger
The article "Whats the Problem?" by McDonugh and Pappano is one that speaks directly on the issue and topic of Masculinity in sport and in general.  In society today, there is no arguing how important a role sport plays in society.  For almost everyone, there is at least one sport that has played a part in their life whether it be playing it as a kid, or being a fan of it into their older age.  As the article quotes; "some sociologists argue that sports have replaced religion as a dominant force in the lives of many Americans" (McDonugh, Pappano, 2008 pg 2).  This quote in among it self is a testament to how large sports have grown.  With the large place that sports hold in society though, it obviously attracts problems and issues along with it.  One of the large issues that comes with sport, one that already has existed in society is the issue of gender and its place in sport.  Largely in sports history, females have been neglected and biased against.  Men have been playing most of the sports, and have been the main participants.  But as time has gone by, and society has changed so has that old ideal.  In today's society men and women are largely equal in sport, with the passing of title 9 and the fight of feminists to be equal, the bias in sport has greatly decreased.  But even with all of the work done to eliminate it, there is still issues regarding women in sport.  Men are often looked upon as the superior athlete, and more athletic than the female.  They are perceived to have more ability, skill, as well as they demand more respect from the spectators of sports.  This is one problem that has not gone away yet. There is also still an issue of sex segregation in sport.  Many sports available to men are not as readily available to women, as well as sports having different rules and perceptions.  The article explains what it calls the "three I's" of sex segregation in sport, these are immorality, inferiority, and injury (McDonugh Pappano, 2008 pg 7).  These are the three words the authors use to describe the sex segregation in sport.  Immorality refers to the idea that people feel it is immoral to have females and males competing directly and shouldn't be done. Inferiority refers the ideal that women are inferior to men in athletic prowess and that men are naturally better.  Finally injury refers to the fear of women being injured if playing against men head to head (McDonugh Pappano, 2008 pg 7).  The article explains that these three I's are huge barriers to the advancement of women's sport, especially to those who want to see men and women faced against each other.  The idea of these three I's has been developed throughout the history of man, and for them to be overcome it will take a lot of work and effort on everyone.  The feminist movement still has a lot of strength and they will keep going until complete equality is achieved. Sport does hold a huge place in society, but still has a lot of growing up to do. The issue of gender segregation is large, and will continue to be fought and worked out in the future until it is resolved.

Wahle's Intro

My name is Nathan Wahle and I am a junior in the Sport Management program here at Bowling Green.  I am from Kettering, OH which is a suburb just outside of Dayton.  Since I am from southern Ohio I am a Cincinnati Reds and Bengals fan.  My favorite team I root for, though, is the University of Kentucky Wildcats basketball.  Basketball has always been my favorite sport and Kentucky has always been my favorite team ever since I can remember.

Because basketball is my favorite sport, the past two years I have worked as a basketball manager for the Bowling Green men's basketball team here.  I followed that up by completing my practicum with the men's basketball office and have really enjoyed every moment and relationship I have had a privelege of creating.  Currently I am the Varsity Assistant boys' basketball coach for Maumee High School.  It has been an incredible experience and I love every moment of spending time teaching, coaching, and building relationships with the kids I work with.

The male athlete that I would pay to watch play is Larry Bird.  His nickname "Larry Legend" pretty much explains it all for why he would be an athlete worth paying to see.  From the games I have seen of him on ESPN Classic, I think he played the game to its purest form.  His jumpshot was so smooth and consistent, his passing was always crisp and right on the mark, his basketball IQ kept him a step ahead of his opponent, and his hustle provided inspiration for what hard work can provide.  This all helped to contribute to Larry Bird winning three MVP awards and being a part of three NBA Championships with the Boston Celtics.  His career is probably most highlighted by his rivalry (friendly) with Erving "Magic" Johnson.  The rivalry began in college and then spilled over into the NBA where they met each other for quite a few NBA Championship matchups.  These performances always provided fireworks and both players typically played up to their best ability.  Larry Bird and Magic Johnson together helped revolutionized the game of basketball and that is why I would pay to see Bird play.

The female athlete I would pay to see is Mia Hamm.  I feel as though she might be the best female athletes in all sports and she went a long way in setting the standard for women sports and showing that women can be dominant and exciting to watch and competitive as well.  Mia Hamm's athleticism and skill electrified the sport of soccer as a whole not just from a women's side but overall.  She was such competitor and she along with the US Women's World Cup team represented America so well and gave America something to really be proud of.  Mia Hamm was the catalyst of that team and she was so exciting to watch because you felt like at any time she could bust out an incredible goal.  She was reaching her prime right around when Michael Jordan was in his prime and at that time both of them were the leading sport role models for each gender.  So for as exciting as Mia Hamm was to watch on television I can only imagine how exciting she would be to watch in person.

When I graduate from college I would like to go into coaching for the early part of my career and maybe become a high school athletic director.  However, as I grow older I would like to get into a front office position and ideally a General Manager position for any professional sport organiztion.