Prompt 5

     "33" is an essay by Chuck Klosterman which discusses how the Celtics and Lakers represent politics, and also how this historic rivalry can represent almost every aspect of life.  Klosterman compares the Celtics to the Republican party, and the Lakers to the Democratic party.  The Celtics are compared to the Republican party because the players coach themselves in order to avoid anything too "taxing."  Which goes along with the Republican party's ideals of people running the government and wanting less taxes.  The Lakers are compared to the Democratic party because of their strong leader, Pat Riley.  Klosterman compares Pat Riley to LBJ, who he argues is one of the strongest and most influential leaders in the history of the Democratic party.  The poem "End of Practice," is about players on a football team running after practice.  Each time the players race, the person who finishes first will attain momentary glory, and be able to leave practice.  The author talks about how he had a dream to finish first and win, and this is what drove him to succeed.  But, he says that each players motivation comes from a different source, it may come from a relative who is ill, or a girlfriend.  Although, each has one common goal, which is to finish first and win.

     The combination of sport and community can undoubtedly define a culture.  A culture in many cases is dominated by the sports teams which surround it.  For example, when I played baseball for my high school team, all of the other teams that we played thought we were "red-necks."  This was due to the fact that most of our opponents thought our athletes drove pick up trucks, and used chewing tobacco.  This was true for a handful of the athletes at my school, but for many of us this was not the case.  I drive Honda Civic, and I have never used chewing tobacco.  But, this was the idea by which other schools defined my school and its athletes.  Many of the other teams would make rude remarks when we played at their fields about being red-necks.  But, we used this as fuel to play better.  Instead of running away from this idea, we embraced it.  Deep down inside I wanted to deny being a "red-neck," because I really hated what other teams had to say about me, and I knew it wasn't true (because let's be honest, how many "red-necks" do you know that lived in New York for most of their lives, the answer is not many).  When someone is a fan or is a part of the sports team, it is much easier to accept a culture which is defined by sports.  But, when someone is not a fan or not a part of a sports team which defines their culture, many more people will attempt to disassociate themselves from this culture.  I feel as though a culture which is defined by sports, will most influence a person when they are participating in the sports that define the culture.