Uncontrollable Struggles

So, what is an athlete to do that can compete in the 2012 U.S. Track and Field Trials and not the Olympics.    LaShawn Merritt is the 2008 Olympic champion and 2009 World champion in the 400m race.  He also tested positive on three different occasions for the use of anabolic steroids.  Unfortunately, due to these circumstances and the need for his punishment, Merritt is unable to compete for a total of 24 months at a minimum if he does not violate this law during that period of time.  Due to the length of his suspension time from the sport and competition his case had to be presented before the Olympic Committee to be ruled that he was unable to compete in the next Olympics.  So far, recent news detected that Merritt has been abiding the rules and has not used the steroid and therefore, is rewarded by only having to be suspended for 21 months instead of the original 24.  So far, this reduction raises hopes that just maybe the punishment will be reduced again, but not one can get their hopes up yet.  Only time will tell if Merritt will make an appearance at the 2012 Olympics or if he will have to wait until the time presents itself again.

Rules, Rules, Rules

So I am pretty sure that each sport out there has certain rules that it has to follow.  There are certain guidelines and qualifications that must be met in order for a team to play, certain uniform regulations and restrictions, and certain play rules that must be followed to ensure the safety of the players.  At the same time though, there comes a point when there are so many rules that restrict what a player can and cannot do or how something must be performed that the sport is no longer interesting.  Football is becoming this way and since the new judging system that was implemented for figure skating it has not only made these sports less of a risk taking sport, but it has also made them boring.  Pretty soon hockey will be the same way since it is a high intensity sport as well.  In the figure skating world now every skater is not taking risks and instead playing it safe trying to avoid any deductions.  Also, everyone is trying to get a high level score on each element so the programs are all looking the same just a different skater to different music in a different costume.  That is not how any sport should be, so before making all these rules, regulations, and restrictions one should really think if it is worth it to create a rule that will change the livelihood of many for the years to come.

Devoting Your Time

Along with being an athlete, whether professional, ameature, college, or high school, there is always a time to volunteer your time and give back to the community.  Even if it not required it is always nice to take a chance and thank one's community that supported the team through the season or even helped get the team funding to get the proper facilities for training.  Sometimes one might not want to and they feel as if practice is more important, but at the same time making sure people know how thankful you are for their help and encouragement is necessary as well.  Thorughout college there are numerous chances to give back to the community.  There are times when one can volunteer to work meets and games, and then there are others like Adopt-A-Highway and Special Olympics that might not be directly related, but still make one realize how lucky we are.  So, even though we might feel as if we are too busy and focused on our sports we still need to save the time and energy to make sure we thank and show respect to those that are helping us along our way in search of our dreams.

What does it actually mean?

There are large amounts of students that attend college that used to play sports in high school, but few seek out their abilities at college for numerous reasons.  The athletics at different colleges and universities are stressed at different levels of intensity.  Which each Division, brings about different restrictions, qualifications, and rules.  Also, not only is an athlete expected to attend practices, lifting sessions, and team meetings there are a lot of other activities that one must complete as well.  Community service and volunteer opportunities come into effect along with meetings that are set up just for specific sports.  There are NCAA meetings, alcohol and drug meetings, as well as Title IX meetings.  One must also maintain thier grades to be elligible to participate in meets, games, and matches.  Each team may differ in the requirement for a minimum GPA, while others just strive to have the highest GPA on campus year round.  It takes a lot more of ones time to dedicate to a sport in college along with a lot of other adjustments.  While in high school practices might only be one hour each day with the weekends off, in college the intesitiy is increased along with practice time and the amount of days that practice takes place.  Even though it might be a little discouraging, at the same time there are a lot of perks that come along as well.  There will always be a group of friends for you turn to, a lot of respect is given to a college athlete, and one would get to schedule early for their classes just by being a member of the sports' team in college.  So, there is no reason not to give it a try if there is a desire to do so.

Uh Oh...

It's game time!! After a years of practicing and games and learning the ropes, do professional athletes still get anxious and nervous before they take to the field, court, mat, or ice?  From personal experience, no matter how big or small a meet or competition was, I was just as nervous for the small local ones as I was the large invitationals or regionals far away from home.  Does it ever go away?  Is there a time when things just calm down and there is a feeling of comfort when it is time to shine?  I guess it also has to do with each individual and the sport as well, but some are just naturally calm while others still get all worked up and stressed about the up and coming event.  I wonder if the media has something to do with how an athlete feels heading into a game as well or if the game will be televised or not has any effect on their feelings.  I mean it i basically assumed that now a days there is going to be some type of technology that will cover every game no matter what.  If there was a way to make the nerves go away I sure wish there was a cure to do so.

Effort

So why does it seem as if the college athletes put out more effort on the fields and courts when they are not getting paid as compared to the professional athletes that are getting paid?  I mean that just does not make much sense to me.  I thought no matter what, a true athlete would participate in a sport for the love of the game; not the money.  Also, if you were getting paid, doesn't it make more sense to put more effort out to do better so you actually deserve the money; not less effort.  Football and ice hockey, those guys go all out, but professional baseball just isn't the same.  I would rather see the batter run all the way down the baseline and try to beat the ball out, instead of slowly trotting down and getting out without a care.  I just wish some of these athletes that were making the big bucks still played the game like they used to when they were doing it for the love of the game.

Not Another One...

Commercial after commercial after commercial.  Definitely one plus of actually being at the game is that there are no commercial interruptions.  There really needs to be a limit in how many that can air in a certain span of time.  Sometimes it feels as if ten minutes goes by and commercials are still being played instead of getting back to the action of the game.  I know companies pay large amounts of money to have their company advertised on television, but is it really necessary to see the same company three times in a twenty minute span?  I am to the point that I would rather have a whole different channel for commercials and advertisements because otherwise, we see the same things being sold and promoted every time there is a break in the action.  I would prefer to be able to sit and watch a game all the way through without any advertisement interruptions.  This way, there are not any breaks in the action and it is not as though you are playing catch up on what happened while the time passed that a commercial was on.  It also, gives one the feeling that they are truly watching the game just from the comforts of their own home.

Is it Just A Game?

We all put so much hype and excitement on the line when it comes down to game time even though we are told that it is just a game.  If it is just a game, why does it feel like it means much more to us than that at any given time?  If we are playing the game, running the meet, or competing at any given time we feel as if we are dedicating our lives, sweat, and hard work just to make a name for ourselves and earn a title.  In reality though it does seem like just a game, a meet, or a match to others, but those are not the ones taking part in it and may not have the goals we aspire to achieve.
This is also the same, when we are spectators.  We tend to call our favorite teams "My Team" and show ownership like the team belongs to us, when really we have no relation what so ever to the team; other than just being a fan.  Even though we are not involved in the games or matches, we feel as if we are and try to yell at the players to make this move or you should have had that play.  In this day and age, we really take our sports seriously and makes me wonder if it is really just a sport or if it is more.