UKC114 Sport Blog Fall 2020

Najiah Hunter  Week 5 Reflection  Dr. Knabe Zoom Speech 19 September 20 Reflection  Looking back on the lecture that Dr.Knabe gave on the sport Soccer and the political influence of the Berlin Wall really helped me understand more, not just this event in particular, of the political impact that sports have and how fans can be a part of that, not just the team. In particular the tension of the German people really fueled the fans especially at the games that took place and the gate that separated them was even torn down by the fans. An event that I can compare to this is when NFL player Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem to peacefully protest against the unjust and corrupt America and the irony of the song and its lyrics. This struck an uproar with “ fans” of him and caused a media frenzy and political shock. Fans in the stands booed him during the game and a trend went around burning Nike merchandise since Nike was a sponsor to Colin. This event sort ...

       While I was not alive during the time of the Berlin Wall and the divide between East and West Germany, Dr Knabe’s talk about the football culture in Germany during that time really helped me understand the political tension the German people experienced during these times. Sports have been such a big cornerstone of human society and culture that the impact that the athletes that play those sports are starting to have more and more impact off the field as well as on it. Modern day athletes garner so much respect and admiration from fans all over the country and with the huge platforms that these professional athletes have, they are able to use that respect and admiration for good. With the recent racial tension and political unrest in our country especially as of recently, we have seen many prominent athletes step up and use their platforms to push for social justice reform and racial equality, with many other athletes and entire sports leagues following suit. ...

  Sophie O’Donnell 18 September 2020 UKC 114 I knew basically nothing before the lecture so I found it very interesting to hear about German soccer’s history. I learned about East Germany’s success and how over time more and more soccer clubs are appearing in the former West Germany. This was an interesting insight into how there is still a divide in Germany based on wealth and age (as seen in the graphs he showed us). I knew German soccer was successful but I did not know how many World Cups they had won or how it stood as a symbol that separated the two sides of Germany for so long. I think the information and athletic politicization can relate to the current athletic climate in the US because how East and West Germany were once compared, men and women are constantly compared in the US. If a woman is successful in her sport she is seen as performing “like a man” instead of performing the best she can. Athletes in the US also use their platform to discuss current political and soc...

 

The way that we now describe sports wouldn’t really include much comparisons to the gladiatorial games, but in my personal opinion, I believe that the games could be regarded as a sport. I believe this because most sports today have a motive behind the games, to win, they trained for these fights, people came to watch them etc. The only thing that people try to seperate from the games today is the “fighting for the death” part which makes sense. Back then in the greek times, anytime there was a fight or anything physical it was not for fun and was fought to end someone else and conqure. One sport that the gladiatorial games has been compared to is American Football which is very much tenable, pointing back to the class zoom Sophie said, “ They are similar in that both train professionally. The graffito also resembles a team’s record” . Which is true, they both train for the games, they try to win, they get paid for it, tackle and they both dress to protect themselves from harm. However...

  Sophie O’Donnell 4 September 2020 UKC 114             I think gladiatorial games can be regarded as a sport because competitions include competitiveness to the death (unless spared), arenas full of fans, and professionally trained gladiators. Training gladiators to perform resembles many modern-day pro sports (basketball, baseball, football, etc.) along with the aspect of fans cheering on the gladiators and picking sides. This sense of competitiveness is what I think classifies gladiatorial games as a sport. I think the comparison between gladiatorial games and football is tenable because they are both played in front of large crowds, there are referees/ rules, they keep records of wins and losses, and both sports put their athletes under intense physical training.  However, I think they are compared too often. Other American sports, such as boxing, resemble gladiator combat more than football does. It’s two pe...

  Katie O’Malley   Blog #2: Gladiators, Football and Culture               Gladiatorial Games can be perceived as a sport to some people. In my opinion it comes down to violence involved. Yes, in today’s world sports can be aggressive but it does not involve violence like killing. Many athletes can bleed from falling down, getting pushed over, breaking a bone, but that’s not the same as killing to me. In the article Roman Gladiators Modern Spoting Hero’s it says  “ They were equipped with a tall rectangular shield, a helmet similar to that of the  murmillo , greaves and a  gladius . To protect the wearer from the deadly net and trident of the  retiarius , the  secutor’s  helmet covered the whole face with two small holes for the eyes and was rounded” they were dressed and prepared for a violent game, but in today’s sports we now have rules and dress for safety. American Football and ...