Becoming A Pro Athlete In Dave Zirin's It

Politics, education and economics all have many things in common. Primarily, they all are important aspects of the way we live and all have value. They can all be dependent upon many different circumstances and by the words and actions of people of power. When thinking of people in power, many immediately think of politicians, businessmen and women, the police force and even clergymen. But what about athletes? Think about it. If you were to walk into a kindergarten class and ask the students who their role models were, the answers would probably not be the owners of Fortune 500 companies or their local mayor. More realistically kids would probably answer that their parents or a famous athlete was their role model. But why? In Dave Zirin’s

If one wants to become a pro athlete in any sport much time, dedication and passion must be put into the pursuit of complete mastery of their craft. Kids sometimes are trained in their sports from an early age to work hard practice sports to become the best they can. Vince Lombardi an ex professional football player and NFL Hall of Famer once said, “Winning means you're willing to go longer, work harder, and give more than anyone else.” Even basketball hall of famer Michael Jordan is rumored to have practiced for hours on end in the pursuit of perfecting his basketball skill. Because of how much skill people who play on the professional level possess, they can sometimes seem to be almost superhuman which makes them the perfect contenders to be role model

He says, “Our sports culture shapes societal norms attitudes, relationships, and power arrangements.” (Game Over pg 10) He is not wrong by saying this. Great athletes like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant have shoes named and marketed after them that sell at top-dollar prices around the world all because they play basketball well. Kids and adults alike aspire to play, think and even dress like them. On social media sites sports moguls have millions of online followers who praise and comment on everything they have to say. The power that athletes have can be used as positive influence as well as negative influence .Many athletes use their spare time to do good in their communities by donating their money and even their time to help the public out in some way, this can inspire people to be and do better in life and motivate many to keep pushing for their dreams. However, there are also many athletes that decide to use their time in the lime light poorly by engaging in uncouth and even illegal activity, thus creating negative image for the public. “If, instead of modeling crass materialism, more athletes chose to display a broader sense of community awareness- no matter the issue or politics- we’d all be better off.” (Game Over pg.