Where Is an Athlete’s Place in Politics?

Paul Seyferth, sec10

Over the last several months, the case of Michael Brown being shot by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, has become probably the most controversial issue in the country currently. After Officer Darren Wilson was not indicted by the Grand Jury, several movements- some peaceful, some not so much– have broken out all across the country.

The following week, 6 players from the St. Louis Rams entered the game with their hands up, which has become a symbol for Michael Brown supporters. Their open support for Brown sparked a massive controversy by those who did not agree with their stance. The St. Louis Police Officers Agency even released a statement, condemning the players for implying that one of their own officers murdered Brown in cold blood.

Sports: A Game Or a Job?

Earlier in the semester, we read and discussed Louis Menand’s article “Live and Learn” which talked about the different purposes of college. He proposed several theories about why we attend college. The first was that we are here to be sorted by intelligence and talents, and this process will weed us into our careers. The second theory is that we are in college to develop skills and become “informed citizens” through a higher education.

I recently attended the Michigan basketball game against Syracuse, where the Wolverines pulled out a great win. I also went to one of my former high school’s football games earlier in the semester. Watching both of these events got me asking a similar question as the one Menand asks.

Why Aren’t NFL Coaches Bolder?

By Paul Seyferth

Blog post 3, Sport and the University, section 10

Earlier in the semester, we brought the entire Polsci 101 class together for a game in the union. The premise of the game was to acquire other people’s territories through attack, fortify, and sharing methods. The winning team ended up being the one that began attacking other teams from the very start.

“Fortune favors the bold” turned out to be a pretty obvious theme for the game. But in modern sports, does fortune really favor the bold?

Imperfections Make Sports Perfect

           By Paul Seyferth, section10

          In the 2001 MLB playoffs, the New York Yankees defeated the Oakland Athletics in the American League Division Series. Coming into the series, these 2 teams looked pretty even. In fact, the A’s won more games than the Yankees during the regular season. The main difference wasn’t one seen on the field, though, it was in the payroll. The A’s were the second poorest team in baseball, spending a total of 33 million dollars that year on their team. The Yankees, on the other hand, spent 109 million, making them the wealthiest.

How can an organization be expected to compete when they are spending not even a third as much as some other teams? More importantly, how is this allowed?

Should We Really Idolize Professional Athletes? by Paul Seyferth

I am a terrible person. Don’t blame me, though. It’s how I was raised. I guess you could blame society. In reality, though, I’m just your average sports fan.

Adrian Peterson Mugshot

A couple weeks ago, charges came forth and Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson admitted to physically disciplining his child with a switch. To any rational person, the normal reaction to hearing that would be something along the lines of: “how terrible, treating a child like that is absolutely disgusting”, w