Chris Crutcher, author of the short story “Fourth and Too Long”, demonstrates how important it is for players and coaches to have a mutual respect for each other on and off of the field. Over the course of the story, the main character, Benny struggles to find respect for himself as well as the coaches of his high school football team. Identically, the coaches lack respect for him as well. Benny woods is being penalized from playing football due to the length of his hair and his decision not to cut it. In the 1960’s long hair was said to have represented being a member of the hippie community. “It sends a message that the rest of the team can do any damn thing they want. First it’s the hair, then...who knows what”(160) is what Coach Greene …show more content…
says to Benny when they meet to converse on the topic. Coach Greene believes the long hair stands for drugs, alcohol and rebellious behavior and would give the team a bad reputation if the quarterback, leader of the team, kept his hair long.
Benny feels as though he is not being given an opportunity to defend or express himself, this in his eyes demonstrates a lack of respect from Coach Greene. In addition, Benny is undoubtedly a stubborn and self-righteous boy who won’t cut his hair partially to prove a point; however, he’s also insecure about the way the world sees him. For Benny it’s not about the political views associated with long hair it's moreso about his physical appearance. The decision not to do away with the long hair is seen as a sign of disrespect to the administration and coaching staff even though it really doesn’t pertain to them . Coach Greene states that “This is my football team, and if you want to play on it, you’ll do what I tell you to do.”(161) He goes on to say “The longhairs are trying to tear the system down, and as long as there's a breath in my body, it won’t happen on my watch.” (161) It can be concluded from this that Coach Greene is bringing his personal opinion into the situation and not keeping it about football. Not only is he disrespecting Benny with that statement but he made a contemptuous comment about the Hippie community as a
whole. Conversely, from Coach Greene's standpoint the hair does in fact represent attributes they don’t want associated with the team and he feels as though it’s for the good of the team if Benny isn’t part of the contingent while he still has long hair. Furthermore, he expresses his viewpoint in a way that is disrespectful to Benny, his beliefs and personal appearance. Above all, it’s necessary for players and coaches to have a commendable relationship. Coach Greene and Benny both don’t see eye to eye which results in an altercation that goes beyond playing football. Trust and respect should be given to each and every member of the organization without hesitation if they have earned it. Benny has been dedicated to the team for four consecutive years now doing what everyone else tells him to do, he has earned the trust. The moment he forms an opinion of his own and listens to a the wise words “Don’t do nothin’ nobody tells you without checking it out first” (156) he is suddenly seen as “lacking discipline”. Coach Greene is willing to jeopardize a seasonal championship and continues to deny Benny the reverence he is looking for.
High school sports can have a tremendous effect on not only those who participate but the members of the community in which they participate. These effects can be positive, but they can also be negative. In the book Friday Night Lights, H.G. Bissinger shows that they are often negative in communities where high school sports “keep the town alive” due to the social pressure. In this way, Friday Night Lights gives insight into the effects of high school football being the backbone of a community, revealing that the fate of the individual football players are inadvertently determined by the actions of the townspeople.
The first personal traits that Coach Dale was forced to exhibit were his toughness and his assertiveness. On his first night in Hickory he met the men of town in the barbershop who were all willing to provide their experience and insight on the team and how to coach. Coach Dale had enough self confidence to know that none of these “insights” were going to help the Hickory team win basketball games and let them know they weren’t welcome by turning his back and walking out. Additionally, he was forced to demonstrate his toughness twice more on the first day of practice by telling the temporary coach, “Secondly, your days of coaching are over,” and then by standing up to the group of men after he dismissed Buddy from the team. These actions made no friends of the men; however, th...
The author of “Sports’ Bully Culture” John Amaechi, throughout his essay focuses on the bully that very few consider, the coach. He presents an example that most, parents in particular, have heard about; Mike Rice, the former coach at Rutgers University’s. Amaechi recognizes that he can agree with the end result but he also recognizes the need for a different approach and continues to share his view. Amaechi then shares his own personal experience with this kind of bully when he was in university. Even though what he says appeals to many, some coaches, disagree with Amaechi view. He continues to show that these coaches are not just a select few, and the result of these coaches is severe. The essays purpose is to change the audience’s perspective
The football players in Odessa were generally a wild party crowd. It was typical that late in the fourth quarter, when the game was in the bag, the players would begin talking on the sidelines about what parties they were going to after the game, what girls they were going to try to pick up, and laughing about how drunk they were going to get. They cared nothing for academics. The senior star running back, Boobie Miles, was taking a math course that most students took as freshmen. Many of the senior players' schedules consisted of nothing but electives. For the Oddesa footbal players, school was nothing more than a social get-to-gether, served up to them as a chance to flirt with girls and hand out with their friends. They knew that their performance in class didn't matter; the teacher would provide the needed grade to stay on the team. It wasn't uncommon for players to receive answer keys for a test or simply to be exempt from taking the test at all. Some didn't know how they would cope without football after the season was over. They ate, drank, and slept it. On the whole, these 16 and 17-year-old boys' identity was wrapped up in a pigskin.
If there’s one thing we dread in the summer more than the heat, it’s the afflicting sentiment that surrounds oneself when one is inhibited from experiencing the thrills of football for six long and gruesome months. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football is a part of many Americans’ Saturdays, but to fewer does it mean their lives. Recently coming under debate, many sporting fans and college athletes believe that players should be paid more than just tuition, room, board, and books. Two articles on this issue that bring up valid points worth discussing are Paul Marx’ “Athlete’s New Day” and Warren Hartenstine’s “College Athletes Should Not Be Paid.” From these articles I have found on the basis of logical,
Coach Herman Boone is the main African-American character in this film. He is a football coach who is brought in by the newly diversified T.C. Williams High School as a form of affirmative action. This character struggles throughout the movie with dealing with the prejudices of his players, of other football coaches, of parents, and even of the school board who hired him in order to try to create a winning football team. Another key black character is Julius Campbell. He plays a linebacker who ends up becoming best friends with a white linebacker on the team. He, too, struggles with prejudices from some of his teammates and people in the town because of the new desegregation of the team. The remaining black players on the T.C. Williams High School had very similar roles in the film. Petey Jones, Jerry Williams (quarterback), and Blue Stanton all are shown facing racial inequality by players, citizens, and even other football coaches. The attitudes of ...
In "thinking outside the idiot box", Dana Stevens responds to Steven Johnson's New York Times article in which Johnson believes that watching television makes you smarter. Indeed, Steven Johnson claimed that television shows have become more and more complex over the years in order to follow the viewers need for an interesting plot instead of an easy, linear story. However, Dana Stevens is opposed to this viewpoint. Stevens is not against television, he does not think it makes you smarter nor that it is poisenous for the brain, he simply states that the viewer should watch television intelligently. That is to say that, viewers should know how much television they should watch and what to watch as well.
The movie I decided to analyze was Remember the Titans. I examined the dilemmas and ethical choices that were displayed throughout the story. In the early 1970s, two schools in Alexandria Virginia integrate forming T.C. Williams High School. The Caucasian head coach of the Titans is replaced by an African American coach (Denzel Washington) from North Carolina, which causes a fury among white parents and students. Tensions arise quickly among the players and throughout the community when players of different races are forced together on the same football team. Coach Boone is a great example of a leader. He knows he faces a tough year of teaching his hated team. But, instead of listening to the hating town or administrators, Boone pushes his team to their limits and forces good relationships between players, regardless of race. His vision for the team involves getting the players concerned in what the team needs to become, and not what it is supposed to be; a waste. Boone is a convincing leader with a brutal, boot camp approach to coaching. He believes in making the players re-build themselves as a team. When Boone says, You will wear a jacket, shirt, and tie. If you don't have one buy one, can't afford one then borrow one from your old man, if you don't have an old man, then find a drunk, trade him for his. It showed that he was a handy Craftsman and wanted done what he wanted done no matter what it took.During training camp, Boone pairs black players with white players and instructs them to learn about each other. This idea is met with a lot of fighting, but black linebacker Julius Campbell and stubborn white All-American Gerry Bertier. It was difficult for the players to cope with the fact they had to play with and compete with ...
Abstract: High school football in the state of Texas has become out of control. The sport is no longer played for the sake of the school but rather has become a Friday night ritual to these small towns in Texas. The players are no longer just high school kids inter acting in school sports but have now become heroes to these small town communities. Communities simply no longer support their local high school team but rally in pride of their hometown rivalry against another team. School administrators and coaches no longer are teachers and mentors for the kids but are the equivalent to what in professional football are team owners and "real coaches". Parents have become agents and sacrifice their jobs and homes so that their child may play for the right team. Finally the fans, the fans have lost the sense that it is just a high school sport and changed the game to a level of professional sports. I plan to prove and show that for all these reasons Texas high school football has become out of control. It is no longer the game that it was originally meant to be.
Pappano, Laura. “How Big-Time Sports Ate College Life” Norton Sampler: Short Essays for Composition, 8th ed. Pages 591-600. 2013.
Hooks, Bell. “Straightening Our hair”. Good Reasons. eds, Lester Faigley, Jack Selzer. Boston: Longman Publishers, 2001. 446-452.
Something as seemingly simple as hair can be much more complex when we take the time to think about another person’s perspective, history, values, culture, and feelings. The interaction in Seminole, Texas wasn’t just about a haircut.
"The Coach-Athlete Relationship." Liberty Mutual Insurance: Responsible Sports. Positive Coaching Alliance, 2013. Web. 6 Nov 2013.
Television has come a long way since it was first introduced. Originally, it was thought that the masses that watch television enjoyed the more simple shows that would tell you exactly what was going on from start to finish. In Steven Johnson’s article, “Watching TV Makes You Smarter”, Johnson argues that this is actually not the case. In fact, Johnson argues that much more people enjoy shows that involve multi threading, or multiple plots that are all connected.