The Importance Of Pressure In Sports

Pressure can be the defining moment where either someone is pushed to excel, or crumbles and ultimately fails. This can be the result of several different factors. Pressure is not always bad and it is not always good. Not everyone reacts the same when dealing with pressure as it can be healthy for some, or killer for others. For athletes, this pressure can come from multiple sources including fans and the media. It is often heard that a key athlete either choked away a big game in a defying moment by not performing up to expectations, or stepped up to another level in the most important moment of the big game to establish their legacy. Some of the most commonly debated topics surrounding athletes and pressure include success and decline of

Some of these athletes are on the verge of becoming professionals and making millions of dollars but are stuck generating the money instead for the universities that they play for, depending on the sport. It is because of this that the athletes are scrutinized for every move that they make, and ultimately feel like they should be paid. Athletes coming out of high school must go to play college athletics such as football and basketball players before they can become professionals. Wilfred Sheed explains in his essay “Why Sports Matter” that college athletes should not be paid. “In the old days, the players were paid in nothing but glory” (Sheed 496). Sheed is trying to say that before players started to become selfish and become the next millionaire in the professionals, the athletes played the game only for victory and tried their best to succeed. When they were recognized for success, that was glorious enough for them. Mark Emmert brings in another side of perspective in his article “Ben Simmons’ Anger Misdirected”. Ben Simmons is the main focus of this article; a now professional basketball player who spent one year playing for the Louisiana State Tigers. Simmons is not a fan of the one-and-done rule, established by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in order to get gifted high school athletes to attend college. Emmert claims, “Those kids have to be students…” (Emmert). He is saying that even though these kids may be very talented at what they do, they still have to have an emphasis on school, which is stressful for some. However, Sheed feels like these athletes develop more than just a simple education from college athletics, that they learn how not to be selfish and develop a winning mentality (Sheed 505). John Thelin goes on to add to the Sheed in his article, “Here’s Why We Shouldn’t Pay College Athletes”. Here he goes over the numbers and statistics of a