"This is part of your life — it's the second tier," Deford says about sports. "The first tier is eating, drinking and procreation. The second tier is religion, the spirit, music, art and the physical. Sports. It deserves to have as much attention paid to it, seriously."
This is a quote by famous sports commentator Frank Deford who retired from NPR. What do you think about it? After listening to this interview, what do you think his legacy is? And what say you about sports at Elk County Catholic High School.
http://www.npr.org/2017/05/05/526879714/frank-deford-a-career-spent-bringing-something-new-to-sports
There is no doubt that sports impact everyone. Some people use them as a pass time, others as a stress reliever, others as more of a religion, a way of life. It does not matter how a person feels about sports, they will inevitably be effected by them at some point in their life, even if they hate them. Sports can be a driving force in a community. They can bring people together or tear them apart; that have the capacity to change the world. Without a community, sports do not work. When I was in eighth grade, Wee J gave a speech at sports awards for cross country that I think puts the sports community into perspective. He told everyone who ran cross county to stand, then if you came to a cross county meet, the if you ever feed someone on the cross county team, this went on until the whole auditorium was standing. He did this to show that their success came form everyone; they could not have achieved what they did without the whole community. I think this shows that we effect sports, and sports effect us. I believe that sports have their time and place, and I understand that this is different for everyone. For some sports come to a screeching halt after high school, while others continue their career through college, and a select few turn sports into a a way of putting food on the table, but regardless of how long an individual participates in a sport, they are effected in a way that not many other things can do. Referring to sports, Freank Deford said, "This is part of your life," and I think he was correct. I think that the way that Deford announced sports brought something new to the table, a fresh perspective that related sports to things that we may never think about. He made people think of sports differently, as if they were more important when he was the one commenting on the games. He brought many people who were not huge sports fans into the world of sports and I think that it changed their life's, even if in a minuscule way. I think that Elk County Catholic High School is very involved in sports, but I do not think that we go overboard with them. Everyone is different, but the school does not let students compete if they are not in good standings academically and and I think that most student-athletes use that as motivation in the classroom. I do not think that students grades fall during sports, but rather I think that most people make sure that their grades are as good as possible so they can participate in their sport of choice. Personally, without sports, my grades would be much lower because I would have more time to procrastinate. I have found that in the weeks between soccer season and the start of regular swim practice, when I am only working out a few times a week, I have trouble completing my work because I have to much time without anything scheduled. I think that some people may say that at ECC people take sports to seriously, but I think that if all sports were taken away that grades would fall and students would get into a lot more trouble. Sports brings all types of people together that otherwise would have never meet. Most of my friends have came into my life because of sports and I am grateful for all the blessings that have come into my life because of sports at Elk County Catholic.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the story about WeeJ, it applies to your argument very well. I also agree that without sports some students may suffer. Sports are good for the mind and body in moderation. Good blog.
DeleteI like how you used personal experience and weej's speech in your blog, it added to your point a lot. I also like how you considered how the business involved with sports has helped you and that you would be hitting without it. I haven't thought about it before, but I can agree that I would probably be hurting academically without my activities to keep me busy.
DeleteOne thing that people will worry about is their legacy. What they are going to leave behind or be remembered by. This can be many different things, good and bad alike. When it comes to the legacy of Frank Deford, I would say it was mostly good. He was a sports writer for Sports Illustrated when he got an interview to go do a sports commentary. This was not really a stretch for him, as he described himself as a “ham” and can get up and talk his mind while being a goof. The company that offered him his job was Morning Edition, which is where he said, what the heck, took the job for what he said was going to be a few months, but ended up working for 37 years until his retirement. What he did for a living was every Wednesday he would go on air and talk about what had happened in the sports world since the last time he had been on air. When you think about it, most games are over the weekend, like football. While there are definitely others on other days, most are on the weekends. Being on Wednesday, people would have already heard about the games and what happened, as they would have had so much time to listen to others before he even came on air. With that, he had to be interesting if he wanted to keep his job, and interesting he was. He was kind of like that one person that is so far out there with their thoughts and connections that you are wondering how they even got to their point. Some of the different thing he would compare would be a play that happened in a game and a play of Shakespeare. That would not be something that most people could come up with, but a lot of non-sport people could really understand. He would make people who hated sports, or even worse, didn’t care about them, want to listen to his show and care what happened. While many of his views were controversial, he always wanted to bring people together for something, “He wanted to show a largely non-sport audience that sports are closer to them than they thought (para. 34)” When people have something in common, they then will wish to get closer to others and talk about something that is more helpful than harmful. He would do more than just that. Deford would bring up many issues with the sporting community as a whole that some people did not like, but needed to be addressed. There is a stereotype that student athletes are dumb and completely idiotic. There are many athletes that have broken this stereotype, and led the common person to believe that it is not a problem anymore. Deford went off about the way that many college athletes are still using academic fraud to get through their studies. He spoke of a woman who worked with athletes at the University of North Carolina as a study help. She was trying to get the fact out that these athletes are so behind their peers in reading and writing, but with the schedules they have because of their sports, they are never going to be able to get ahead again. She said that the saddest thing was that most of these kids wanted to learn and be smart, but that was next to impossible for them, with time and how far behind they were. When Deford told this woman’s story on his show, there was much backlash from people in the business of college sports, but he spoke on about the dark side that others refused to speak of. I would say that is his legacy. The fact that he would say what others were afraid or unwilling to say. This would bring people together and bring the awful side of sports to light, where they can be addressed and fixed.
ReplyDeleteyou did a good job summarizing this interview, and i agree with what you think his legacy was. However, I would like to know more about your opinion on this topic and less restating. But overall, good job.
DeleteI think you are correct in saying that he will be remembered for all the good he did and you seem to understand what he was talking about, but I, too, would like to know more about your personal beliefs with sports and in particular those at ECC.
DeleteI agree with Emily, you did an excellent job summarizing the interview and defining a legacy, but I would have liked to know more about your views in particular. Nice work though!
DeleteFrank Deford seems like a man who has his priorities set, and he will not change them. To him, eating, drinking, breathing, and pro creating are the most important things in life. For him, the next most important things involve religion, the spirit, music, art, and sports. For this man, this is an accurate representation d the most important things in his life. I do not completely agree, as I would not place sports, music, or art on the same level as religion and the spirit. But, that is just me. I think that in some places, sports are regarded lower than music or art. Frank Deford seems, by this quote, to believe that sports is not generally as highly regarded as music, religion, or art. In some places of the world, physical abilities are not as important as one's ability to paint or draw or create art of any kind. If a sports player walked into an orchestra practice, he would most likely have no clue what was going on, and therefore would probably be looked down upon by most of the people there. That is how it is for some parts of our country, as well. Not everyone is totally sports oriented. As a sports writer, I'm sure Deford was made aware of this. Where we live, in Elk County, it is hard for us to understand that sports could be underestimated in any society, because it is so highly regarded in ours. To Frank, it seems as though would be rare for people to prefer sports over the fine arts. Maybe, by observing this quote, we can learn that sports aren't the center of the world for everyone. The way it was worded by frank, it seems as though many people throughout the world do underestimate sports, but we just don't see it because in our little town, we glorify sports.
ReplyDeleteSports and fine arts, I believe, deserve the same amount of fame. They both involve unique talents, but in different ways. With the way we interpret people's views on sports in our small town, it is hard to believe that anyone could regard the arts higher than sports. But by this quote, I think that it is brought to light that that is not how it is for everyone.
By this interview, I can tell that frank Deford is not like most people. He looks at things differently and takes a different approach to his thinking. His legacy, I think, is to be unique. He had strong opinions and he stood by them, which caused him to receive hate from some people. But he didn't care, and he kept his opinions. He introduced to the society how to relate things that aren't really related, and how to put things in their rightful place. His legacy is that he brought to society an alternate way of thinking of things, a way to prioritize and regard things where they belong.
I enjoyed this because it had a different view on the interview with placing fine arts and sports on the same level and of equal importance. They do involve nearly the same amount of skill indifferent ways. I don't know why art and music is not regarded higher here, it's interesting. I also agree with the fact that Deford never changed his opinion on his belies. Goood blog.
DeleteYou have a unique perspective on this blog and I did not really get the vibe that he thinks people hold sports lower than fine arts, but rather people are not always fond of sports because some people are over the top with them. I think that it is interesting that you said that people frond elk County are not aware that some people do not enjoy sports because we glorify them here because I think that many places are way more "sports crazy" than elk County, but I think that it is because there are far less things to do here as in a big city. I liked how you talked about his legacy directly, and I think you did a good job explaining it.
DeleteI really enjoyed your example of the sports player walking into an orchestra. That real life situation is really easy to visualize and it simply just makes sense. That really helps convey your stance on sports and their importance. I thought you did a really nice job with that.
DeleteFrank Deford is absolutely correct about sports. They affect everyone in some way without them even knowing it. It does not matter if a person is a sports fanatic or hates sports with a passion, it still affects their lives. To hate sports one must acknowledge their existence and be able to comprehend their reasoning behind why they hate them. People also come into contact with current and former athletes almost every day. In the U.S. alone sports has the power to regulate industry and change the way relations are carried out. It can even go as far as influencing business decisions. It can do this in two ways. One being relations may go better if both sides like the same sports team bringing them together in a way, and the other more powerful one, is the fact that many companies participate in advertising sports teams, and depending on their following and success, business can be affected. Frank Deford was a man whose legacy was built up around making sports deeper than just a game, and that it is in today's world. He would make analogies about sports and show the world how beneficial sports can be. It is educational, but also has its negatives. Sports, when abused as an obsession for colleges, or professional sports teams, or high schools is detrimental to the athletes. Even if an individual athlete treats it as an obsession it can hurt them. Some colleges for example, recruit athletes that do not even closely meet the educational standards of the school. Why? Because they disregard education for the value of having a stud player. These athletes never even have a chance to be a student and get a real education, in fact many want to but can't. Frank Deford identifies this as a problem. This is not for all schools and athletes, just some. The same can happen in high school; if all the schools want is good athletes, the student athletes may suffer a lack of good education. This is among one of the largest problems with sports, but other than its abuse it really can unify people and bring out success with its healthy use. Sports have their place. I feel that our school, ECC, understands that sports have their place and have a very strict eligibility program. It is important that the athletes get a good education. School comes before sports. I don't feel that ECC is obsessed with sports, we just take pride in our athletes because they have a healthy balance of education and sports, and if they don't they are not eligible to play a sport until that student's grades are brought back up. Sports is America's favorite pastime for a reason, and with a healthy balance it is a great use of ability and talent.
ReplyDeleteI think you did a very great job at saying that Frank Deford's legacy was that of one that goes deeper than the game. I think that truly describes the type of man that he was and still is. Great job with that.
DeleteI agree with Logan, Frank's legacy went deeper than the game and you explained that nicely. You yourself go deeper than the text.
DeleteTo me this quote by Frank Deford hits a special spot. Sure, in life there may be many things that people consider to be greater than sports, and to be frank, there is. However, as Frank Deford stated in his interview, sport "deserves to have as much attention paid to it, seriously." This is a statement I can completely agree with and defend wholeheartedly. The actual concept may be as frivolous as making a paper airplane. Sport, just as that, is done for pleasure and recreation. However, I can argue that sports are more than just a recreational activity such as making an airplane. Sports teach us things that are impossible to gather anywhere else in human activity. Sport teaches us, most importantly, how to see God in both our victories and our defeats, and in our teammates and in our rivals. I truly believe sports belong in the "second tier" that Frank Deford talked about. Personally, I would not be nearly as close to God if it weren't through athletics, especially athletics here at Elk County Catholic High School. I am blessed enough to have a cross country coach by the name of WeeJ Fernan, who has taught me how to see God in all I do out on the course, especially in my pain and suffering. I was always one who appreciated mass and did not feel the need to attend based off demands but rather out of love. That being said, I believe sports are so important to me because they allow me to see God in a different way, while I am simultaneously discovering how much pain and suffering I can endure. This past cross country season showed me why sports belong at Elk County Catholic. They truly lead you to great qualities if you play the sport well and in the right mindset. Like anything, sports can be abused and turned into an activity that only brings out the bad in people. However, pure sport, the type of sport that Frank Deford and Elk County Catholic teach about, brings out the good in people. That is why it belongs in that "second tier" because sports are good for the mind, body, and soul.
ReplyDeleteI feel mentioning God and tying WeeJ into your response really strengthened your argument. Nice work- excellent connection to the "second tier".
DeleteThe personal information in your blog, it really gave some emotion to your writings. Maybe try to write more. Great work with this blog!
DeleteTo me, Frank Deford's legacy is something along the lines of "say what you believe needs to be said". Notice I did not put it as "say what others believe needs to be said", because that did not seem like the message Frank had been alluding to all his life. He did activities and had hobbies that he enjoyed. Sure, sports did become a big part of his life, but they certainly were not the central focus in his time on Earth. In his youth, he enjoyed acting and other artsy activities, so it seems as though he did not discriminate between what was okay to like or not like. Without directly saying it, Frank tells us it is perfectly fine to be unable to fit in one particular classification. He alludes to the fact that young people of all ages have been more than just "jocks", "nerds, "artsy folk", or "musical people" all along. Yet, it seems society had blurred this message, because many teens still seem to believe they must fit into that one category to retain a sense of self. For example, I personally find myself becoming mildly rritated after someone asks me, for what seems like the umpteenth time, if I am "in the band". Most individuals make this assumption based on the fact that many of my close friends participate in band, which I can understand, to a certain degree. It is not as if I do not adore and respect the band, I just do not appreciate people assuming "what kind of person I am" based on the people I surround myself with. I have participated in many sports my whole life, but that does not inhibit my ability to interact with my fellow peers that may not have been well acquainted with sports. I surround myself with people I find wholesome and genuine, not because they have a particular interest I feel I need to group myself with. So, I feel Frank's message helps me to better relay my own, "do not limit yourself, and do not submit to being categorized". Sports are not everything, but they do affect everything. Even a lack of sports will influence an individual in some way, but that is not to say that will be a negative influence.
ReplyDeleteI like the stark differ make you make between things that need to be said. I like the personal story about what people think you should be. Great job relating it to your own life!
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