Justin Cherpin Professor Brown

Professor Brown

English 101-26

10 March 2015

Response to “How I Learned to Love Football” and

“Move Over Boys, Make Room in the Crease”

In Rogers’ essay, she begins by talking about how Rich, now her husband, constantly talks of his love for the game of football. She then takes a turn to the flashback of her childhood. For the most part, she had an interest in poetry and presidential history. Felisa was brought up in an atmosphere that had no sports. While most Americans watch football every weekend, her mom and dad had other interests. She identifies within herself that possibly not being exposed to sports early on had a profound effect on her throughout schooling and life after. She attended a school in Mapelton, Oregon where sports acted like ambient air on her social status. Getting discouraged from constant talk of sports, she soon had hatred towards anything that encompassed sports. In her freshman year at high school, she played clarinet in a pep band. This provided minimal exposure to sports, and, although she noticed the intense game of football, she was still at a loss from what was exactly going on in the game. In the very next school year, she moved to South Eugene High School, and she found her place right at home. As Rogers explained, “there were hundreds of students who never seemed to know whether our team had won or lost” (531). This quote shows that she could, for once in her life, not have to fake an interest in sports. Going to this school concluded that she would dislike sports forever, or at least she thought so.

Even though she disliked sports, Felisa dated a man named Josh who was a huge Atlanta Falcons football fan. He educated her on the game, but her distain for football and sports came through like she was back in her childhood. She realized she did not need love for football just because she wanted to date a particular man. Then she married a hardcore Green Bay Packers football fan named Rich. She soon found out they had a lot in common like presidential history, vans, and music. However, she learned quickly that like Josh, he too had a love for football. It became a problem like it was with Josh, early school life, and her childhood. This among other things in their married life, began to cause stress. They had many setbacks, but she found one common lifeline for them was football. Rogers’s states, “… it was a lifeline between who he had become and who he used to be” (533). This quote demonstrates that she had to take the time to comprehend his football language. From here on, it had an impact on her interpretation of sports. She describes that football fandom is a lifeline in society. Felisa often found herself talking football, particularly Green Bay Packers football. She came to the conclusion that football is what drives Rich to be happy and actually turned out to be the good denominator in their relationship.

In Maratta’s essay, she begins by discussing from the age of fourteen the sport took over her life. The author flashes back to when she was younger wanting to watch television one night. She found her father surprisingly watching hockey. She was intrigued by all of the actions taking place on the ice, in addition to the broadcasters using the hockey language. Feeling an addiction like no other, she wanted to find out what exactly drives these hockey fans to love the game unconditionally. She was amazed that she had consumed tons of knowledge and love of hockey, even though she was female. Maratta makes a claim that she is not accepted as a real fan of hockey just because she is a woman. She explains that men still dominate the sports world and women are rather not looked upon as potential candidates for the game. Sara Maratta says, “the awareness that sports are not exclusively male-oriented; therefore, females can and should be involved and have the opportunity to provide insightful opinions about these pastimes” (539). This is important to include because this is where she takes her stand and expresses her belief on women with sports.

I agree with the essay “How I Learned to Love Football” because many situations have happened much like the one in the case of Felisa. There are common meeting grounds like the bar, where men and women get together and express feelings other than sports. I agree that it does take years sometimes to love what was once always hated. Sometimes it requires an additional person to impact or influence the way one thinks on a particular topic. I can relate with Rogers that even though you may have problems with someone, there is always room for common ground. I find myself at times getting disheartened because of continuous general education classes I have to take before accomplishing my Fire Technology degree. However, when discussing anything that encompasses fire service, I can rant and just get intrigued in anything about it because I have a passion for it.

I agree with the essay “Move Over Boys, Make Room in the Crease” because there is a substantial amount of controversy a person hears about women not being accepted in sports. I agree with much of the information she has to say about the examples. I agree that women are not being accepted equally as men and it should not happen. There are numerous stereotypical people that say women cannot play sports or women do not have the same body as a man to perform at a high physical state. I agree that media has an effect on women in sports as well. The media constantly downplays the actions of women compared to men. When watching a sport in which a woman accomplishes a feat that a man does every day, the media tends to overstate their accomplishment as if it has never happened before. When something like this happens, there should be minimal talk because both sexes are equal. In addition, I agree that women are judged upon their appearance when competing. I envision both sides want to come out victorious. We are all human and should all be treated equally. Unlike Felisa, who was able to find the love for football through a mate, others may say no matter how much someone tries to explain all the objectives and tactics of the game, a person might still hold their objections. They might never be able to gain love for the thing they once hated. On the other hand, in the Maratta essay, many say that women do not have the same structure and strength as men do when competing in a sports environment. However, the concept of the game does not change regardless of what sex a player is. The same skill set is still needed for the ultimate goal to win. Women will create the same plays on the floor as men. They are in the WNBA because they have a talent and earned the position just as the men have in the NBA.

While both articles have the common thread of love, it is defined differently in each article. Whether a person has love for the game from a young age or the person learns to love the sport at a later age, the depth and complexity of one’s love for the game will depend on many factors. Both individual and social influences can control the love for the game. Being a woman should not alone automatically define her strength and skill in a sport. While men and women have similar body structure, their own individual skill set can stand out as to how they perform in a given sport.

Works Cited

Maratta, Sara. “Move Over Boys, Make Room in the Crease.” They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing with Readings. 2nd Edition. New York: Norton, 2012. 537-543. Print.