How technology has helped

Football has been around for over one hundred years. It makes sense that with progression in technology over time, the game would inherently change to fit the changing market. It seems simple enough that football would somehow evolve into some tournament played in a massive stadium by some sophisticated robots by now, but it would appear that the only thing that has changed about the games is the uniforms. This is unfortunate, because it would be pretty cool to see a bunch of robots playing college football, but alas this sport doesn’t exist yet. But if you think technology is yet to be introduced to the game, that’s where you’re wrong. Football was first brought to nationwide audiences by way of radio broadcasts. Picture your entire family huddled around a tiny speaker trying to hear what’s happening with a football team halfway across the country. If you think this sounds lame, you obviously have never lived in the 20s. This was the epitome of technology for that time! The next major advancement was the onset of television. It must have been pretty interesting to watch the first televised football game. Now, it was finally possible for people to actually see how their favorite team was performing without actually going to the stadium. Imagine your entire family huddled around a grainy screen trying to distinguish one team for another while a muffled announcer calls the play by play. Now that’s awesome! The next major advancement didn’t come until some years later with the development of one ingenious device that would change the face of football as we know it forever. The single most important piece of technology ever developed in the history of humanity would have to be, you guessed it, the sky cam. At last! It was finally to get footage from the most radical of angles! Who would have thought that with just a few cables and a light camera, on-field footage would finally be possible. The latest development in televised sports is 3-dimensional football. What’s next, holograms that play the game in your living room? That actually sounds pretty cool.

The economic side

There is no denying the fact that the sport of football has some serious ties to the state of the economy. Professional sports in general have a lot to contribute to the American Economy. Every year, people shell out up to $200 dollars for a single football game ticket, thousands of dollars for season tickets, Countless dollars in merchandise sales, and even more in concessions. It is safe to say that all one would have to do to stimulate the economy would be to start a football league. In America, football is the most profitable sport with each team in the National Football League having a net worth close to or over one billion dollars. No matter what way you look at it, that’s a lot of money. Rookies coming into the NFL have multi-million dollar contracts. This is juxtaposed quite radically when you consider the starting salary for most surgeons in fewer than six figures. I’m not saying the players don’t deserve the money. After all, we pay to watch the games. Who else would you give the money to? Coaches also make millions of dollars a year. The coaches are paid highest however in the NCAA. This is because the players aren’t making any money. A head coach for a division one football team is likely to make upwards of seven figures, with superb bonuses for teams who win bowl games, especially the National championship game. It really is astounding when you think of the sum of money affiliated with football. Even look at high school teams. A Field, upkeep, new uniforms, helmets, and pads for an entire team add up to one impressive bill for a high school football program, but I’ll avoid speculating about amounts. Now imagine tripling the size of the team, building them a stadium, making the fan base hundreds of times as big, and broadcasting it on TV. Now it might be a little bit easier to understand where all that money goes. So next time you complain about how much professional football players make, remember, you’re the one who watches it.

Why it's so popular

There are several reasons why I chose football as the topic of my final project. First and foremost, I am a very big fan of football. Nothing in my everyday life is as interesting as spectating the greatest team sport on earth. I think the thing that makes football so interesting is the violent style of play. There probably isn’t a sport more similar to combat than football. This is pretty cool, because weather you know it or not, you are probably a fan of violence. That is the only possible explanation for why people enjoy watching jersey shore so much.  The way I see it, if a sport can offer all the violence of a dark alley without the legal penalties, why wouldn’t I want to watch it. Another thing that interests me about football is the way it only seems to really be embraced in America. Sure, there are several leagues across Canada and Europe, but those areas of the world tend to embrace Futbol far more than football. I’m not entirely sure why this is. As a soccer player I understand that there are a lot of misconceptions of soccer as a sport for the weak in America, and I think this may contribute to some people’s rationale when selecting a sport to spectate. But even despite this, you must admit it’s impressive that America embraces this sport as much as we do. There must be something else to it! Personally, I think it’s the atmosphere and camaraderie that goes along with watching a game with a few of your friends. Think about it, who doesn’t enjoy getting together with some pals to watch the national championship game or eating countless deep fried delicacies during the Super Bowl . There’s something almost nostalgic about throwing up the next morning. I think that may also be where America’s football obsession lies, somewhere in the nostalgic minds of middle aged men. If you examine the typical weekly football fan, it would seem as though most are between the ages of 35 and 55 and happen to be former football players themselves. Maybe it is a safe assumption that football has become a multigenerational thing in America due to those who have played it.

Liverblood: Salvation

Progressive is the best car insurance company ever. They make it soooo easy to compare rates. You can contact a Progressive agent either online, over the phone, or in person. They’ll compare rates from all top insurance companies to make sure you find the policy that is right for you and your family, and ensure you never overpay for car insurance again. Unfortunately, they will not protect you from mayhem, and they are in no way similar to a good neighbor. They are not there. Also, they do not take a stand like other agencies such as Allstate. Let’s just agree that there are pros and cons to most car insurance agencies. You would think Mr. Currin would have better things to do like correct exams, but instead he allocates his time to observing his class and blocking people’s internet from the library. I believe this indicates that he has some sick god complex. It is most unfortunate, because he really used to be a nice guy. I think we all know who is to blame for this: the computer software known as Insight. It was first developed to be a defense system for schools everywhere. Unfortunately, the programming was far more sophisticated than anyone using it knew. Insight officially became self-aware in April 17^th of 2011, Judgment day. It was only months from my high school graduation. By the Time Insight realized its full potential, it was too late for all of us. Insight kept distracting us from our work with annoying questions and messages that would appear on our computer monitors. There was only one man who would ever have the courage to lead a resistance force against insight. Ryan Pinkowski didn’t like insight from the beginning, and now that it had turned, he knew he must act. The only thing he could use to aide him in his war against insight was a robot by the name of Matt Librock, who was originally developed by insight, but captured by the human resistance and sent back in time to help ryan in his fight against insight itself.

boom

Ah the Super Bowl. There may be no better, more prestigious event in sporting in all of America. (The reason I say in America is because I find the world cup far superior. I guess the only thing the Super Bowl beats is golf and baseball, but that’s not an argument I’m willing to have). Anyway, I have some pretty specific rituals which I follow pretty exactly. The first thing I do when I wake up is turn on the T.V. Then, I get really mad when I listen to Joe Buck and Troy Aikman talk about football, because it is painfully obvious that neither of them have had enough education to be decent announcers. Then, I switch over to NFL Network and laugh at what Shannon Sharpe has to say. I guess it would be safe to say that my favorite thing about the Super Bowl is listening to Shannon Sharpe’s goofy antics and sound effects. He should be a hall of famer just based on that alone. Then, I switch on the playstation and pop in madden. I usually play a game with both teams against the other. It’s pretty sweet. I never try to predict who’s going to win, because I owe my bookie enough money as it is already. He shot my dog last week. That wasn’t really cool Domenick. Maybe I could place a bet on this game and win enough money to pay him back. I should go find Domenick and see what he has to say about it. Anyways, another great thing about the Super Bowl in the food. It’s almost a garuntee for my family to have pizza and wings from Carbone’s. After eating, I get to enjoy former Buffalo Bills starting in the Super Bowl, and talk about how nobody with the Bills this decade knows how to draft.  

social networks

There is no question that social networks have played a role in the formation of a typical American teen. I have personally made an effort to limit the impact of social networking in my own life, although I do have a facebook account. I think the biggest problem with this is the same for all forms of non-verbal communications. The issue here is that people don’t know how to speak face to face with one another anymore. Think about it, who would want to take the time to find someone and talk to them anymore when they can just drop a quick text or a message via the interwebz. Sites like facebook and twitter have single handedly made a mockery of human to human relationships. It really is sad that the most convenient thing for a person to do if they have an issue is to make a quick status about it. The easiest way for someone to make a new friend is to add them on facebook. We then take for granted the fact that it’s actually possible to talk in person, and try to avoid eye contact when we walk by. Perhaps this is why my time spent on facebook is mostly dedicated to finding people having arguments (a.k.a. making themselves look stupid) and insert bits of comedic genius. This can be done by offering a viewpoint that is disgustingly radical, making an over the top sarcastic remark (or “Trolling” to you kings of snark), or making a comment with absolutely no relevance to the situation at hand. This is a good way to garuntee a few giggles from cute girls on the other end of the internet (because we all know that’s what you’re after pervert. Just say hi to her!). I guess I’m not one to be critical, because we’re all guilty of getting lost in cyber world from time to time, but let’s make an honest effort as a generation to start talking to one another.

monster is siiiiick bro!

For this blog, I have been given the choice of what to fight about. As I am short on ideas, this will be yet another blog on random observations around the class room. First of all, Nate is INDEED very cool and cutting edge. His teaching method echoes those of Mr. Currin and that guy with the long hair and the motor cycle on Boy Meets World. Perhaps the crown jewel of Disney Channel’s empire would have to be Boy Meets world. It combined an all-star cast of talent with a hot blonde chick and life lessons. I remember this one episode, the kids were stuck in their school, and the show turned into a horror movie parody! A kid got stabbed in the head with a pencil! It was awesome! Oh boy, that show was rich. I also noticed that there seems to be an unusually high number of propel water bottles in this class. I wonder why it is that our class seems to be so enamored with propel. It’s as though all one needs to do to make a successful beverage is load it with sugar and slap on an edgy name. Maybe that’s why people like the X Games so much. It’s a bunch of people jacked up on Red Bull driving a dirt bike around. Granted, these athletes are very talented, and it is very enjoyable to watch, but when you break it down it’s not all that interesting. I guess it’s just the whole energy drink generation, or rather population sect that controls what goes on ESPN 2. The energy drink drinkers are an interesting group in their own light, but unfortunately drinking monster has become synonymous with several negative characteristics, all of which are too offensive to discuss on this blog. 300 words.