Month: November 2018

CHASING RINGS: HOW THE NBA HAS BECOME LESS ENTERTAINING SINCE PLAYER TEAM JUMPS

Orange Basketball Hoop

“The super team is boring.”

paying for rings

With Lebron James moving to South Beach to play with DeWayne Wade for the Miami Heat, people thought it was just him chasing the rings. But then Kevin Durant keeps getting beat by the competition, now he joins forces and fights with the team that beat him. Now he has a championship ring with the Warriors. So with all this building super teams, how does this fair when watching the sport? Because the sport starts to get boring if it’s the same teams year in and out. Now this year may be different because Lebron is now on the west coast in Los Angeles. And on top of it, Los Angeles Lakers are really not a super team. They have a super hero in Lebron and really good role players.

what else is on television

We get sick of the same old same old. And from he looks of it, the Warriors could be headed back again to the mountain top. Only one problem, they have to beat Lebron and Lakers. But even if Lebron goes, he’s on a different team, but it’s still him and still the Lakers. So whoever gets close trust and believe people will be routing against them. Because otherwise we as citizens will be looking for the remote control to see what else is on television. Which could smell death for the NBA. But there is nothing they can do. You can’t force a trade, but it overall does bring down the value of the sport.

how soon we forget

What was Cleveland in the 1990’s, what about the Miami Heat or the Warriors? Or better yet, the Lakers weren’t great all from about 1989 to 1999 because Chicago dominated the decade. So we look at these cities as nobody, then they start winning and soon forget how much they were the laughing stock of the country. No all of a sudden we’re sick of who they have become as a team. I never would have put the Warriors as a dynasty team in the NBA. What next, the Buffalo Bills of the NFL will get their stuff together and start winning. But I guess that’s the human mind, we are very forgetful of the past.

what team is next

Now, my question is, whose next to stand atop the mountain as the next dynasty. The Bulls, Celtics, Lakers, Miami, Pistons, Spurs, Warriors, and then who else. Maybe the Denver Nuggets become great, or how about the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are way overdue for a ring. Whoever it is will become winners and we’ll get tired of them as well.

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IS IT FOR THEM OR YOU: PARENTS WHO WANT THEIR CHILDREN TO BE WHAT THEY WEREN’T

 

Girl Playing Golf

“Is it for them or you?”

overbearing parents

Growing up for me playing sports, my mother was involved, but for the most part it was up to me to play. She wasn’t to into me playing unless I wanted to play. But there were the parents growing up that you could clearly tell it was all for them. They might have been good when they were younger and never made it. Or they see the potential in their child that they didn’t have and want them to play. So now, they invest all their time into the kid to try to live vicariously through the child. It gives them an excuse to never have to move on in life past their time in sports.

way too pushy

Screaming at the kid and cursing, but for what? It seems to be kind of crazy when you think about it. And what’s even more unfortunate the kid might have been into the sport had the parent not have been so overbearing. Now, it seems like more of a job than having fun. And when the fun is gone, that is when you don’t want to play anymore. And how is it that a parent can take the fun out of the sport for the child. It’s because somewhere along the parent saw the kid had some sort of skill and over the top. That is how they ruined it.

i’m all in

When I played sports my mother bought the cleats for football and that was it. But you have parents who buy the cleats, gloves, sunglasses, visors, sneakers and socks, hats, and coats. They go all out like the kid is already in the pros. And it becomes and entire family affair. Even some parents go as far to dress their daughters up when the son is playing football in cheerleading outfits. It’s fine if it’s all in fun. But there are some parents where it means business. And even as a child when I played it seemed odd to see all this transpire. parents dipping deep into their banks accounts hoping it pays them back in the form of the kid going into the pros.

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AGE APPROPRIATE: WHEN SHOULD YOU PUT YOUR CHILD IN SPORTS?

Toddler Playing Soccer

“Best time to start.”

when it’s time

As a parent, you can hardly wait for the time to come when you are able to put your small child in sports. Especially if you were active yourself when you were young. Seeing them suit up in that uniform for the very first time is so precious. I was 11 years old the first time I actively started to compete in sports. I went to try out for football and my mother wondered where I managed to know so much about sports given I grew up with her and my two sisters. I stood out quite well that day for tryouts. And managed to play on a team and continued to do so all through high school.

group think

We all in society have this thing where we know what the other person is going to do when they are going to do it because it is so typical. We know there is this appropriate time to do something or say something. It’s like when you have to talk to your child about where babies come from, there really is no time you want to talk to your kid. But we all know that around a certain age we have to have that talk. The same exist for sports; there are ages where people say when, but we all have come to this agreement about when. Once they start school initially, we allow them to go to school, make some friends, and then we place them into sports. This way they have some type of social skills outside of the sport.

always easy when you have an example

Whenever your child has a sibling, or better a cousin that is in sports, then you can observe from up close. You are able to see an example of around the age you can start to place your child in sports. And you can start to see when your child will become interested in sports. So the culmination of options makes the decision easier. Otherwise you will be lost. And then there are the parents who never had a sibling, parent, cousin, aunt, or uncle interested in sports. That is when the choices are really limited. You are lost, don’t know what to buy or bow to go about buying anything. But in today’s society, there are so many resources that will aid you in your decision making process.

Personal Website: http://www.faheemjackson.squarespace.com

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THROWING IN THE TOWEL: REALIZING YOU DON’T HAVE IT ANYMORE

Pair of White-and-yellow Nike Cleats

“Know when to say when.”

hard to say good-bye

When I officially stopped playing sports I was a senior in high school. It was track and field season and that is when I hung it up. I tried to get myself in the mode of running again, but the passion was gone. Luckily for me, I was on to something else in life. And that is when you realize there is more to life. But some people have a hard time moving on. And I am not just referring to professional athletes. I am talking about the people who were once upon a time good at their thing. Now they must go into society and be like everyone else. And for some reason they hold on to the past.

holding on

I won the state championship back in 1995. You should have saw how popular I was in school. Everyone knows this guy, the one who still owns his letterman jacket at age 35 or 40. This is where you don’t want to be in life because high school or college was the highlight of your existence. You have to realize there is more and that was an after thought. But when that was such a high time in life it’s hard to let go. Well, why was it such a high time? The reason being is that life tends to be mundane on a daily basis, so you have to resort back to a time when it was good. And for men, we tend to hold on to high school a lot, then college. This is because it’s our sports years when we were popular jocks.

no one gives a shit

Enough time has gone by where no know one will care. And that is the realization of you playing sports. No one cares how good you were in the past, there is a new batch of kids and their peers who look to them. You will just be seen as the creepy old guy that keeps talking shit about how good you were and how you could have made it pro. Real talk, drop it, no cares. And what’s worst is trying to get through to your children how good you were; they don’t care either. Focus on your new goal and purpose in life. Raising your children, being a good spouse, building your business, growing with a company; that’s you now. Stopping living off the past of what you were and to the future. Don’t let life past you by with no end goal.

My Personal Website: http://www.faheemjackson.squarespace.com

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FUTURE ANCIENT RELICS: WHAT WILL BE THE VISITED SPORTS SITES 1,000 YEARS FROM NOW

Colosseum, Italy

“They will eventually come to visit and not watch.”

the new colosseum

The Colosseum was a stadium where numerous sporting events took place during the hay day of the Romans. Built by the Flavian Dynasty in 72 AD, it could only be described as their soccer, baseball, and football stadiums. Only difference between that time period and today, is that people fought to the death at that time. The more civil we became as a society, the more civil the sport became. And that is what brings us to today. But in the next 1,000 years, will we look back and be able to visit some of these relics that we have today? Or will they be demolished and only shown in photographic and video form? Because anytime a stadium is no longer used we tear it down.

the olympics

If you ever get the chance, look up the photos of abandoned Olympic stadiums and other venues. There are some venues that have been abandoned for decades, even longer. The ones in America don’t stand long before they are demolished and replaced with something else. But the stadiums in other foreign countries stand for a very long period of time. Some look older than what they are because of over-growth. Yet there is something so interesting about looking back over time at a structure that would have been occupied by tens of thousands of people. Now it has long gone to decay.

 disbelief of how they competed

It’s hard to believe man once had entertainment where people fought to the death. Tens of thousands of fans would cheer at the sight of someone losing their life. Now we kneel around the person if they get a gruesome injury. And that only means that in life we as a civilization get softer and the more time progress. So that could mean our entertainment would change as well from a hard hitting football, to something safer. Could we be watching a sport like hockey and football headed for extension in the future? Because the rules change to make it safer, but more and more people lose interest with every rule change. Never say never because the always remember the Colosseum.

My Personal Website: http://www.faheemjackson.squarespace.com

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TO STAND OR NOT TO STAND: THE NFL DILEMMA OR PLAYERS PROTESTING

Image result for TAKE A KNEE

“The right to do it.”

taking a knee

Over the past couple of years there has been the controversy over the former Quarterback Colin Kaepernick taking a knee during the national anthem to protest against police brutality. And since then there has been protest similar throughout sports across the country and even outside the United States. So, my question is, is the protest relevant in the NFL anymore? Because since the beginning of the season, a few protest have taken place. But not much has been spoken about the matter. Maybe the protest has ran its course and they are over. Because when it happened initially, you would think it was never going to end. It was a situation that put the NFL in a very precarious position.

freedom vs feeling

In America we have the right to do a lot, but that does not mean we will all like when something is done. And that is where the idea of being able to and not wanting someone to do so clashes. Colin has the right to do so, and did so in alignment with the first amendment. But with the freedom comes the emotions of people who feel otherwise. And that is a tough position to be in because  Flag of the USAyou can’t keep someone from expressing their freedom so long as they don’t break any laws. But you cannot also expect people to like what you are doing. Yet Colin is out of a job, so what is that about? Which brings me to the next position.

right to hire or fire

Having the right to do something and an employer pushing back can put the employer in a bind. But when you have proven to force the employer to lose revenue, then it’s a different story. So once the people refused to watch causing the NFL to lose money, that’s when the right to do so stops. On the other hand, the problems that the NFL ran into was a counter-protest where they will still lose money. So it becomes a choice of lose a little or lose a lot. And they stood a chance to lose more by keeping Colin. Now the argument is, he was fighting for something he felt was a just cause, followed the law, and didn’t insight violence. True, but the people have a choice not to include themselves.

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THE BEST IS YET TO COME: WHO WILL BECOME THE NEXT GREAT ATHLETE

Grayscale Photography of Person Holding Basketball

“Whose on deck?”

where are they at the moment

Currently, we are enamored by the likes of Lebron James, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and Kyrie Irving. In the NFL we love Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Odell Beckham Jr., and JJ Watt. And what about the MLB and NHL, not to mention the Serena Sisters in tennis. But who, who will be the next group, or better yet the next great athlete to change sports. Because Lebron James is the biggest name right now. But he has been in the league for a while now and could be retiring in the next few years. So who will come along from college, or better yet, are they in high school or middle school now.

can we project the talent

In the past it was difficult to tell. But today, there are trackers who watch out for names already ranked in high school. They are individuals like that of the high school basketball phenom Zion Williamson who is a freshman at Duke University. So to a degree, we can project, but there is no real way to tell who will break out and be great. Because the tracking report is contingent on who stays healthy when they break out. If the big names get injured or don’t perform as well, we call them a bust.

sleepers

Does the name Steve Largent ring a bell? Well, a lot of people don’t know this name, but should because he is known for the grind in sports history. He came into the NFL unknown, but went on to become one the of greatest NFL players in history breaking numerous records. His bust is enshrined in Canton, Ohio, but you would have never known him, had he not have pushed past all the critics. He even beat out some names on the list that year for future Hall of Fame that were top draft picks. So here is yet another reason to not know the next best athletes because we constantly see the sleepers in the league.

My Personal Website: http://www.faheemjackson.squarespace.com

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