Conclusion

This is now my second time I have had Dr. Spencer for class and I have to say these have been two of my more favorable classes.  I find using discussion as the backbone of class really helps me understand the material better and get a better grasp on it.  I thought this class was more interesting than the history and philosophy class because I didn't know about the global market as much as I did the history of sports. 

I learned a lot in the class and because of my solipsist views I have broaden my intellectual horizon about the global market.  This class was a beneficial experience because to be successful in sports you need to know about the global market and how it is affected.  I am glad I chose to take this class instead of sport and gender.  This class has helped me prepare for my career. Learning about Rugby, Cricket, hooliganism etc. has really broadened my views and expanded my knowledge past the United States.  You never know, the global market could be your backyard in your future career so preparing for it in this class was extremely helpful.

Mike Vick: Then and Now

Michael Vick is one of the greatest sports stories of the decade.  He began with the Atlanta Falcons and was known as decent passer and an unbelievable runner.  His popularity grew by the minute and he was starting to be known as one the better quarterbacks.  The league was starting to recognize him as an NFL icon and fans loved him in Atlanta.  Then the allegations came out.

Mike Vick was brought into a legal case about dog fighting at his Virginia home.  Vick was not involved as much as his friends.  He definitely knew what was going on at his Virginia home, but I feel as if he wasn't a big part of it and that he rather provided the home, but didn't participate.  The FBI thought different and Vick was incarcerated for a year and a half.  In jail, Vick did nothing, but work at getting better.  He was allowed to throw the football during their recreational time and he worked out a lot.  His perspective on life changed and when he was released from jail he was allowed to rejoin his former colleagues in the NFL.  The Philadelphia Eagles picked him up.  After Kevin Kolb went down with a concussion Vick got a chance to show his skills as a starter once again.  Now he is doing outstanding and is in the discussion of MVP.

Mike Vick was a major disappointment when he first got arrested, but now he has become a global icon.  Michael Vick jerseys were the number one selling jersey this year.  He has gone from last to first in this amazing story.  This affects the global market because it is such an inspiring story.  Not only that, he is known as one of the best athletes in the NFL.  This helps with the global market because everyone around the world that enjoys sports, wants to see the best athlete performing.  This brings a lot of global attention to the NFL and Philadelphia.  Mike Vick has gone from bottom to top extremely fast.  His athleticism is similar to Cam Newton's, who I wrote about in another post.  These type of athletes are what is needed to catapult this sport into being loved on a global level.

UFC 124

Last night was UFC 124: George St. Pierre vs. Josh Koscheck in Montreal, Canada.  George St. Pierre is known as arguably the best pound for pound fighter in the world.  Koscheck came in the top contender to take the belt from St. Pierre.  St. Pierre being the overwhelming favorite displayed why he is arguably the best.  He defeated Koscheck in a decision that went all five rounds.  St. Pierre displayed some of the best fighting I have seen in the UFC by landing precision strikes and takedowns.  Koscheck's right eye was mangled in the fight because St. Pierre landed numerous jabs to it.

This event was absolutely huge for the UFC.  George St. Pierre got to fight in his home province in Canada which brought lots of global attention.  The UFC has not been international nearly as much as it has been in the U.S.  UFC is also one of the fastest growing sports in the global market.  Fighters from all over the world fight in the UFC and having the fights in different countries would be even bigger for the sport.  It is very easy to build an octagon in a venue making the UFC able to go anywhere willing to pay.  Dana White has created a sport that is surging.  UFC 124 was yet another step toward putting UFC on the global map.  I can see more international fights to come especially with the revenue and publicity that can be generated by such an event.  As one of the fastest growing sports, the global market will be eating up the UFC in the future.

Switching Domes

Today was a day of crazy weather around the United States.  In Chicago the Bears and Patriots played a game at Soldier Field where there were 50 mph winds and constant snow fall. Down in Jacksonville there were 30 mph winds.  Worst of all might have been Minnesota.  Although the Vikings play in a dome, so much snow fell that the Metrodome roof collapsed.  This was after the Giants plane was delayed in Kansas City and the game was postponed.  It was announced today that the game would be played at Ford Field in Detroit, home of the Lions.  It is thought that Detroit will offer a Giants friendly crowd considering the Lions are in the same division as the Vikings. 

Switches like this don't happen very often. In fact, I can't remember the last time this happened.  The switch from the Metrodome to Ford Field will have an affect on the global market.  One would say it is a good thing because Detroit is so close to on the border of Windsor, Canada.  Windsor has many Lions fans and could bring some Canadian fans into the U.S. to watch a division foe take on one of the best teams in the NFC.  Another reason this affects the global market is because it is one of Brett Favre's last games and tickets are free.  Fans are going to be able to enjoy a once in a lifetime chance of having free tickets to the game.  The fact that the Metrodome roof collapsed could be negative for sport in the global market as well.  People in other countries see that a roof collapsed and it could have happened while fans and players were in the stadium.  This causes international fans to not want to come to the game because of safety issues.  All in all though, the switch to Detroit should be good for the global market.

Cam Newton joins the Heisman Fraternity

Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday in a land slide.  He got 93% of the first place votes. Newton has been through a lot lately with the allegations of accepting money to attend Mississippi State.  His father ended up getting banned from all football activities and essentially taking the heat.  Newton's numbers have been unprecedented with 49 total touchdowns.  He led the SEC in rushing yards as a quarterback as well as throwing for almost 2600 yards.  He was one of the most exciting players to watch since Reggie Bush.  Along with the Heisman, Newton won 4 other awards.  In the last game vs. South Carolina a comparison was shown with Vince Young and Cam Newton's statistics.  Cam Newton was better in every one.  He is now about to play for a national championship and undefeated record.

Players with such high caliber talent and athleticism such as Cam Newton are great for the sport.  College football is not very big in the global market.  It is mostly a national appreciated sport, but when players such as Cam Newton, Reggie Bush, and Vince Young come into the game the global interest rises.  Players of that caliber are seen as freak athletes that have potential to be the next greatest.  When people hear about this in other countries they want to see the athlete for them, increasing viewers and ticket sales.  This will also bring publicity to the NFL draft to see where Cam Newton is going to go and how high of a pick he will be. It is always good for the global market when talent like Cam Newton's appears.

NFL in London

On October 31st the NFL took its talents to London's Wembley Stadium.  The Denver Broncos took on the San Francisco 49ers in a week 9 match-up.  The game itself didn't seem to be too interesting until the fourth quarter when San Francisco won 24-16.  I can't recall what everyone's opinions on this were when we discussed it in class.  I personally think it could have been a better match-up.  When the NFL scheduled this game they should have sent two Superbowl contenders to London.  If I can remember correctly, I think the tickets for this game sold out in 9 minutes which doesn't really suggest changing anything.  Europeans loved having the NFL in their backyards.  I am just suggesting that we show them some superstar players. 

From a global standpoint, the NFL would get more publicity if they were better teams with superstar caliber players.  If Tom Brady played Drew Brees in London the NFL would be more exposed.  I don't mind seeing  one or two games over there, but I would not want this to be a regular thing.  That could just be my solipsist view, but I feel like it's America's sport.  I do like seeing more fans beginning to follow the NFL though because it deserves the credit.  In conclusion, the NFL in London isn't a bad idea.  I just think they need to show some better teams.

NFL Fines

This year there have been a lot of ruthless hits in the NFL.  I believe we discussed the NFL fines in class for illegal hits, granted it was probably a couple of months ago considering I am waiting until the last minute to finish my blogs.  I was reminded about this subject when I saw that Ndamukong Suh of the Detroit Lions was fined for a completely legal hit.  I have been getting very upset this year with the fines that have been dished out for head-to-head hits and in Suh's case, a forearm to Jay Cutler's back.  Roger Goodell decided that Suh's forearm was worthy of a hefty fine.  I completely disagree with the fine.  If you look at the hit Suh basically just pushes Jay Cutler down.  Now obviously it looked bad otherwise there wouldn't have been a penalty or a fine, but it was completely legal. 

Another instance is when James Harrison got fined for making a great hit on Mohammed Massaquoi.  This hit was completely legal as well.  Harrison extended his arms out and made a hit that looked brutal, but it wasn't illegal.  I think that the NFL is stretching the fines outside of the precious rules that they abide by. Roger Goodell has looked into head to head contact a little too closely.  I absolutely agree that the first priority is player safety.  I do not agree that there needs to be a different fine every week.  Instead of looking into the hits so much why doesn't Goodell just try to improve the helmets or something.  He is ruining the game by making it soft and now players are backing off more which is affecting the sport.

The subject of NFL fines might not seem like it affects the global market when it actually makes a huge difference.  The NFL is known around the world as being the biggest contact sport.  By fining these players and penalizing them the NFL is decreasing the big hits.  That is why most people watch football is to see players get knocked on their butts.  Other countries are going to see that players are becoming soft and they will not continue to watch.  Huge hits are what makes the NFL the sport that it is.  Football  is probably the biggest sport in the U.S. besides maybe baseball.  This means that our country will lose some of our identity on a global level in sport if the fines continue.  Roger Goodell needs to ease up on the fines and let the game play out.

Kye Allums

In class we recently discussed a the topic of transgendered athletes.  During this discussion we came across a woman who thinks she's a man.  Kye Allums is a girl that plays basketball for George Washington college.  She plays on the women's team, but she thinks she is a man.  Kye has the biological qualities of a woman, but she believes that she was supposed to be born a man. This is known as being transgender. It is different than transsexual and transvestite. There are no rules forbidding a transgender athlete to play, unless hormone drugs are being used.  Therefore, Kye is currently on the women's basketball team at George Washington.  Although she is on the team she is not very good. She only averages 17 minutes a game and isn't even top 5 in scoring on the team.  I personally think that transgender people are just messed up in the head.  I don't see how you can be born with the anatomy of a woman and think your a man.  Nonetheless, that is how it is classified.

Transgender athletes are affecting the global market place because they are stories that you don't hear everyday.  When another person on the opposite side of the world sees this story they too might pursue sports.  It gives transgender people around the world hope that they can pursue their dreams.  I personally don't agree with the whole concept, but I do think that transgender people everywhere deserve the same chance to play sports as any other person because in the end they are people too.

The King's Return

On Thursday December 2nd Lebron James made his return to his beloved city of Cleveland.  Lebron was far from welcomed to the Q after taking his talents to South Beach.  Outside of the game there were people selling shirts saying "Princess James" and "The Lyin' King".  The sales of these shirts show the hate that Cleveland has developed for the one who they called King.  The Akron native did not change anything for this game.  He still did his chalk routine which irritated the Cleveland crowd even more.  The hostility in the Q was so high it drew the attention of extra security.  Only one time in the game was something thrown at Lebron and that culprit missed.  I heard from a couple of people who went to the game that there were fights that broke out between Cleveland fans and those wearing Miami Heat attire.

All of the hatred and hostility combined to fuel Lebron into giving his best performance of the year with 38 points in just three quarters of play.  The Heat when on to dismantle the Cavs in a game that was pretty much over before halftime.  The big three finally looked like a championship caliber trio, but against a lowly Cavs team that has not performed well this season.  Lebron ended up getting the last laugh in Cleveland, but showed some class at the same time.  Even though it was a blowout, the game put up very high television ratings for a regular season NBA game.

This all relates to globalization because of a couple of factors.  The first reason it relates to globalization is because Lebron is a global figure.  Whether it be through Nike, the NBA, or the commercials with Lebron, this game drew a lot of interest.  The NBA has many foreign players in it which causes the countries of origin for these players to watch the NBA.  By watching the NBA, many people have seen Lebron at his finest.  This draws more interest from other countries to watch someone as talented as Lebron or Kobe.  Also, the Nike commercials with Lebron have been broadcasted all over the globe.  This ensures that people were watching because they wanted to see if Lebron would have his revenge on the Cavs and if so, how he would handle it.  Lebron showed why his skill is bringing in global viewers during this game.  High profile players and their built up press stories draw attention from the global market and therefore, bring money in from countries other than just the U.S. and Canada.

World Cup is Awarded to Qatar and Russia

Morgan Freeman speaking on the United States' behalf turned out to be inadequate for hosting the World Cup.  Instead we finished second and will hold the World Cup if it doesn't work out in Qatar.  This is the first World Cup in the Middle East.  There are many questions and concerns about this World Cup considering our political state with the Middle East.  I believe that this could be a good thing.  If The United States goes to Qatar and everything goes smoothly, we could possibly close the gap of peace with the Middle East.  At the same time I think that the United States my not be treated with respect in this situation. 

From Qatar's standpoint, this might not be as great as they think.  Given that Qatar is an oil company and has quite the sum of money, these stadiums must all be built strictly for the World Cup.  After the tournament the stadiums will be reduced to rubble.  This is going to be a lot of money burned just for the World Cup.  Qatar is banking on making a lot of money from the sales and publicity.  It is a shame that FIFA takes so much of the profit. A World Cup could have enough profitability to make positive changes in a country, but instead FIFA takes a hefty portion.

The destination of the World Cup relates to globalization in many ways.  First, there are countries all over the world that try to get awarded the World Cup.  It brings a plethora of money and publicity despite FIFA taking so much of the money.  It also shows that even though every country has their armies and hostility toward other countries, we can all get together and enjoy the biggest event in sports.  The World Cup has introduced soccer to many and even little things such as the vuvuzuelas.  The World Cup in the United States could have brought us a lot of money because we already have the stadiums in place.  We could have used this to help out our economy which is why important figures such as Morgan Freeman were the presenters.  Even though we didn't get to host the World Cup we are still going to benefit globally.  All the viewers will be introduced to another part of the world in Qatar.  This event could even help the oil situation for the World by generating enough money to excavate more oil out of Qatar. The benefits from the World Cup could be better by having it in Qatar.