A Sport Fan's Dream

Fantasy Sports are becoming more and more popular with sports fans. In any type of sport, people want to make money off of it. Fantasy sports are just one of the many examples of commodification. Fantasy sports now are more focused on accumulating money (spending over $1.5 billion annually) and finding new ways to get people to participate in the fantasy draft so they become more popular.

You may have heard about cases where players are suing the fantasy league for using their image or style. This is a common occurrence because a lot of the college players are good but they are not able to be used in games without being paid for their image or name. The fantasy corporations try to find ways around this by using different names and only using a resemblance to the player and their playing style. Synergy is used when the athletes are used in the games in order to get more people to buy and/or play the games so the companies can get more money.

In fantasy sports money is the one of the main goals. A lot of people gamble on their fantasy sports teams so it has moved to being mostly about accumulation. No one really cares about the sport much anymore. They mostly care about winning the money. Atlantic City has even added fantasy sports to its gambling options. It’s becoming more and more popular that it’s almost becoming a spectacle. They need to make it more interesting it get a larger audience to gain more money. Some people are even starting to have an addiction to gambling on fantasy sports.

Overall, fantasy sports are focusing more so on the money and fan base then they are on the actual game. The way our economy is going this could be an easy way to make some money that people desperately need.  The fantasy sports game started out with just statistical enthusiasts and it has since evolved to people who just want to make some easy money. What they don’t take into account when they play is they need to know the different teams and players in order to pick a winning team. It's not all about luck, you need to know what you're talking about in order to win the pot.

Is Big Ben A Big Liar?

Back in 2010, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was accused of raping a 20 year old college student. Having this allegation brought upon him, he had to defend himself. He needed to make himself look better in the eyes of his fans and even try and save the image of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Big Ben made several public apologia. In his several apologies it was seen Roethlisberger used several strategies to make himself and the Steelers look better again.

Roethlisberger talked to Sally Wiggin about what he “truly” wanted to say to the public about the events that took place in Georgia in 2010. He seemed to be trying to imply corrective action was taking place. Wiggin mentioned at the end of the segment he was getting help from councilors along with family and friends. However, a lot of people would think that was an unfair punishment, even though he was suspended for six consecutive games.

During the apologia Roethlisberger gave to TMZ he seemed to be almost in denial when giving his apologia. He read from a notecard which made it less believable. It almost seemed like members of the marketing team for the Steelers had him say those things because they were getting viewed as “the bad guy” as well. They wanted to restore their image as being a well-respected organization and not “the team with the rapist.”

Roethlisberger also brought up in sever of this interviews that he was going to be a better person because of these allegations. He was using the bolstering strategy by telling the interviewers he was “going to be a better person because of this” and “this has shown him he isn’t the same man he was before football.”

Athletes sometimes do things they think they can get away with just because they’re famous. This is not true and when they get caught they try and restore their image; they want to be loved again. In the case of Ben Roethlisberger he seemed to do that quite well. He defended himself and showed he was going to get help for the problem he had caused.

Stereotypes

Jillian Michaels is a very well-known personal trainer. She has had many successes in helping people get into shape and even she herself needed to get into shape. Given the general stereotype, if you're muscular that makes you a homosexual, Jillian Michaels both proves it correct and wrong. It shouldn't matter if you’re a homosexual in sports or not.

Michaels is open about her sexuality is currently in a relationship with a women but she believes that you fall in love with shouldn't matter. She has had previous boyfriends. "Let's just say I believe in healthy love. If I fall in love with a woman, that's awesome. If I fall in love with a man, that's awesome. As long as you fall in love ... it's like organic food. I only eat healthy food, and I only want healthy love!" She also has an adopted child which doesn't help prove her more feminine because she didn't have the child herself, she did rescue her. People may see this as her being homosexual because she is with a girl and adopted a baby. I do agree with that to an extent, but she still is attracted to men.

It could be said that Michaels preforms masculinity in her workouts by making it seem like a lot. However, she dresses very feminine and gives you an option of intensity in the workouts. If you have seen any of her workouts, you will see they are both intense and simple to do. If you think about it, she fits both masculinity and femininity because she is intense and gentile. You can even take a look at her techniques on her website.

Sexuality in sport shouldn't matter to people; it actually shouldn't matter at all. People just make small things like this a big deal. Gender shouldn't matter either; it doesn't make a difference to who you are as a person in sports. Seeing as Michaels is a very successful personal trainer her gender and sexuality should not matter at all. These stereotypes people give her could actually help make her a better personal trainer by trying to prove then wrong.

The Underdog

A classic tale in the world of sports is that of the underdog. Lots of sports teams have one or several underdogs. In the case of the Pittsburgh Steelers, one of their underdogs is Isaac Redman. Redman Was signed by the Steelers in April of 2009 and was seen as someone to fill a spot but in two short years he was soon a fan favorite.

Generally an underdog is defined as one who is expected to lose. When Redman first came to the Steelers he was expected to do very well right off the bat. Redman being drafted from Bowie State University in Maryland was determined to become a great football player no matter how much time and practice it took. Hard work and determination set up Redman to become a great player. Looking back to 2009 not many people knew who Redman was but if you ask anyone now they could tell you exactly who he is. He went out and made a name for himself.

If you look at Redman's stats from start with the Pittsburgh Steelers you can see how much better he has gotten:

From the beginning of his career he obviously got more running yards, but he didn't get to plat at first. So looking at his second year, he has almost doubled that in rushing yards to this day.

Redman could even be considered a hero. Children can look up to him and get the lesson that if they put their mind to it they can do whatever they want even if it seems impossible. Heros are generally people who you look up to and admire. Not heros like superman but like people who you want to be like when you grow up. Isaac Redman seems like a perfect example of this simply because he is an underdog.

Hard work and determination will help you get through even the toughest obstacles. Sports is just the main example to see how to excel in life. Isaac Redman is just the perfect example to show it. From his journey from college football player to professional.

Hero to Zero: Mike Wallace

If Pittsburgh Steeler Fans were in charge of the team who do you think would get cut? A lot of the die-hard Steeler fans want to get rid of Mike Wallace because they think he is making the team worse. He used to be such a good player until he didn’t show up to training camp in 2012 while trying to get a pay raise. Looking at this past season shows it pretty well. WTAE gives statistics of the Baltimore game where Wallace only completed one catch for nine yards in the 20-14 loss on November 25^th.

Recently it’s been a miracle when you don’t hear booing for the fans when Wallace is passed the ball. During the San Diego Chargers game on December 9^th “Wide receiver Mike Wallace was booed after getting flagged for a holding penalty and dropping a perfectly thrown deep ball from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger” according to Ralph Paulk. There are the die-hard that boo him generally because they don’t like him, and then there are the social fans who just boo him because they want to fit in with everyone else.

“I think they’re out to get me a little bit,” said Mike Wallace to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Wallace understands his playing has gotten worse since he didn't go to training camp but he thinks he could get better; “Whatever happens, I take responsibility for it.” Die-Hard Fans don’t seem to care if it’s a live or mediated event they will still boo Wallace if they don’t like what he’s doing. They could be in the stadium or in their living room it’s not going to matter because they don’t have anything to prove to people, it’s just their opinion.

Then there are Fans like Drew Brown who think differently than everyone else; he thinks Mike Wallace is being treated unfairly. There are many players who have dropped the ball a lot more than Wallace, but it’s more of the fact that he used to be very good and since he didn't come to training camp he got worse. It can be said that whether he’s a good player is a matter of opinion, but looking at his passed statistics from ESPN, he was much better when he came to training camp and got the practice in.