The Way We Ran

I enjoyed reading "The Way We Ran," by Jim Denison. And how could I not? It contained many colorful and evocative stories of members of his running team, and I certainly enjoy reading entertaining stories. Who doesn't?

But is there more to this article than just a collection of amusing stories? I think there is, and to me, this appears to be the reason for this article. He tells his stories as examples of a new way of writing, a way that will fulfill promises that he learned in Norman's class. A way that will contain "such concepts as situated interpretation, transgression, and deconstruction" (Denison, 2006, p. 337). Denison wishes to frame particular stories in a way that will instruct the reader, a way to frame the past so that it teaches the reader an important lesson. The lesson will be easy for the reader to digest because it is told in a real way that the reader can relate to.

I appreciated this method of storytelling because it highlights something that I have attempted to do in my own life. I think that experiences that we, or others, go through should serve as a learning platform for us to grow from. If we simply pass through this life and do not learn or grow as we age, then what is the point? It reminds me of a saying that I heard when I was 20 years old. "Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone." I do not know who I heard it from, or from where it originates, but it has stuck with me. If we wish to age with wisdom, then we need to learn from the experiences we pass through.

When you live through an experience, go back and replay it in your head and glean what lessons you can from it. For Denison, he does this through his writing. For most of us, it may just be an internal process. Either way - live and learn!

Imagining Sociological Narratives

While an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, I took a class similar to our sport and society class. It had a powerful effect on me and is one of the reasons that I am pursuing a master's degree in the field. The "Introduction: Imagining Sociological Narratives" by Denison and Reinhart (2000) led me to realize that there is one particular reason that the class connected with me. It is because it focused on social narratives, teaching me about history through others experience thereby helping me to relate on a personal level.

The authors' description of their college professor Norman Denzin and his class made me feel as if I was right there with them. In fact, it made me want to attend college all over again. It was then that I remembered that I am already in college! I was so engrossed in the story that I lost personal reference. To me, this is the power of ethnography. It is a way to reach many people while at the same time helping them to learn facts about a time, person, group, or period of history. The authors have the goal of making evocative texts and "fictional and other types of storied representations an accepted form of scholarship" (p. 2). I applaud this goal and see the value of these types of work.

However, it is a difficult field, as Denison and Reinhart state, "We found that many authors of fiction did not, in fact, hold to the standard ideas of rights for manuscripts as determined by academics" (p. 4). I would be interested to find out what the "standard ideas of rights" are and how they can be properly applied.

Millennials

January 24/ 2011

    The readings this week, "The flight of the Millennials in higher education" (Monaco & Martin, 2009), and "Are pro sports growing more altruistic?" (Howe, 2010), seem to be a continuation on last week's reading of the Promise. The Promise (Mills, 1959), emphasized societies' influence on its individuals as a general principle, while these new readings speak specifically to how a generation has been effected by its society. In particular, the Millennial generation and how it has changed compared to the previous generations before it, Generation X and the Boomers.

    To me, the most important point that the Millennial article makes is that the Millennial generation is a generation of efficiency. Monaco and Martin reference an article that states the millennial generation is "achievement oriented, confident, conventional, pressured, sheltered, and special and team oriented, "(p. 2) and "overly scheduled" (p. 3). I completely agree and think that this is an accurate description of this generation. I look at all those descriptions and pull out the word "efficient." Millennials know what is important, find out what they have to do to achieve it, and then find a way to make it happen in the most effective way possible. Wasting time doing unnecessary tasks is not something they choose to do. I find myself doing the same thing, and in order to accomplish that, I create lists. Lists are an overly scheduled person's best friend. J

The blog article covers the changes occurring in the professional sport world. "Millennials want to see more about athletes who can be good parents, neighbors, citizens, and good Samaritans" as opposed to previous generations, who craved "fighting, the profanity, the performance drugs, the super-lux seats, and the renting of stadium names" (Howe, 2010, p. 1). It seems that Millennials would like more interaction with theirs sports icons, figures that they can look to as heroes and examples. I was born in November of 1981, and therefore fall right on the boundary of the two generations. As a "boarder lander", I completely agree with this blog and what it is saying. I have noticed this shift in athletics and think that we are excepting fewer excuses from the sports icons of our day. An example of this can be found in "The Decision," when LeBron James left Cleveland for Miami. The amount of negative press that the debacle received goes to show that this generation is fed up with prima-donnas in sport.

So while I may be a "border lander" and could claim either generation, I think that based off these descriptions, I am more of a millennial.

The Promise of Sociology – C. Wright Mills

    C. Wright Mills "The Promise of Sociology" is a complex and well written article. With proper effort, many different layers of understanding can be gleaned from the text. However, over-shadowing the content of the article is an impression of superiority that is very off-putting. My impression is that C. Wright Mills is not as superior to the human race as C. Wright Mills thinks he is. For example, Mills (1959) states that "they do not possess the quality of mind essential to grasp the interplay of man and society, of biography and history, of self and world" (p. 1). If he was able to "grasp" these concepts, why should the rest of the world not "possess the quality of mind" to do the same? In answer, maybe society in 1959 was less interested in information than our current society in 2011. I cannot believe that is the answer, however, because I do not believe that the thirst for information that our modern society possesses is a new or novel trait. I believe this thirst for knowledge is something inherent in every human being.

    Perhaps, even though this thirst for information may be inherent, Mills and other like-minded sociologists are to thank for the direction that our self-examination has gone since this was published. As a human race, maybe we have always sought knowledge. However, it might just be that because of Mills (1959) and his peers, we now seek to understand the "interplay of man and society" (p. 2). In this we should be grateful because it gives us the ability to erase indifference and uneasiness and enables us to experience well-being and crisis (Mills, 1959).

    Personally, I learn two different things from this article. First, humility is worth its weight in gold. If Mills had been a little more humble in the construction of his text, he might have been able to connect better with the readers. Second, I am grateful for the self-awareness that our society today possesses. I do believe that as an individual understands where they are, it makes it easier for them to go where they want to be. Having global knowledge of the one's society makes that transition possible.

Introduction

Introduction

My name is Matthew Weight and I am a 29 year old pilot, flying for Pinnacle Airlines. I am married to Erianne Weight, an Assistant Professor at Bowling Green State University. We have a two and half year old daughter, Aleah, who possesses an intellect that far surpasses her mother and father. We moved to Bowling Green five and half years ago from Champaign, Illinois. It was there that I attended college, receiving a degree in Aviation Human Factors while earning the required licenses and ratings necessary to become a commercial pilot. While enrolled there, I attended a conference for my church, where I met my future wife, who was studying at Indiana University to become a doctor of philosophy in sport management. During that time, I also wrestled for the Fighting Illini, starting my senior year and qualifying for the national tournament. It was the meshing of these two worlds, wrestling and marriage, which helped me to realize that I had a passion for sport that could be manifest through research and academy.

My high school experience was one big sporting event. Along with wrestling, I played football, and it seemed that I was in some sort of training for one of those sports all year round. I pursued my training with a dedication and passion that eventually bled over into other aspects of my life, such as with school work and service. I learned invaluable lessons from all the hard work, patience, pain, reward, and sacrifice that came with participating in sport. These lessons have molded me into the man I am today.

Along with the lessons it taught me, athletics also created opportunities. Because of the drive I had toward sport, I was able to place third nationally in wrestling while in high school. As a result of this and other accomplishments, I was able to earn a scholarship to the University of Illinois, thereby giving me the opportunity to attend college.

While I was wrestling in college, my passion for the sport grew, as did my desire to see it preserved. Fortunately, I had married a doctoral student who shared that passion for the preservation of non-revenue sport. While she was working on her dissertation (which involved interviewing my coaches), we frequently discussed the intricacies of collegiate sport. Although my interest grew through these discussions, it was not until an opportunity presented itself that allowed me to attend grad school at BGSU that I realized I could play a role in the research too.

To that end, I began writing my thesis on the arms race within intercollegiate athletics, specifically with regard to conference commissioner perspectives. Commercialization has led to increased spending which has the potential to undermine athletics in the college environment. I believe that the conference commissioners of FBS schools possess a unique and important view on this subject and for some reason have gone un-factored. Last Tuesday, I proposed this to my thesis committee and received their approval to move forward with my research. I am anxious to see what the conference commissioners have to say.

So it is that I am enrolled in the Sport Administration program at Bowling Green State University. I am here because I truly believe that the lessons learned in sport are invaluable and cannot be taught in any other way. Through research we can learn the ways that these experiences can be preserved and even expanded. That is what drives me in my studies.