Final Reflection

Before taking this class, I viewed United States sports culture very similarly, I think, to the ways a majority of people see it: Entertaining, lively, sometimes heartbreaking, and definitely operative as a business above all else. Throughout the semester, my perceptions of sporting culture changed in the sense that I am now much more comfortable with recognizing and identifying the inequalities that permeate our "merit based" sporting landscape. For example, I never really sat down and thought about the ways that being a white, middle class male operate as a factor for success in sports due to an increase in opportunities (especially because, as it stands, the major sports in the US are so blatantly racialized).
The discussion of violence in sports really stood out to me. It's obvious that hegemonic masculinity is an ideal within the confines of American society, but it was very interesting-- and a little bit alarming-- to see just how far some people are willing to go to assert their strength and dominance.
Asking more questions about cultural constructions seems to be a common outcome of classes that are based in sociology or the social sciences, and this class is no exception. It's hard to keep living life the way you were before having your eyes opened-- ignorance is bliss, is it not?
As an athlete, I would certainly recommend this class to my friends and teammates-- it made me not only conscious of the way that sports influence society (and vice versa), but also made me very aware of the ways that my behaviors in a team context (over adhering to the sports ethic, etc) impact the rest of the women that I row with. It would be interesting to see how athletics and the sporting world would be reformed if all athletes and coaches were exposed to a class like this.

The University of Colorado Women's Crew Team (Spring 2014) after a great day of racing
(I'm in the obnoxious blue shoes)