Bowling Ethnography

Abstract: Society is affected every day by many different kinds of sports.  These sports often govern society's way of life.  People all over the nation turn their TVs to sporting events, such as golf, during the weekends.   Scott Stossel states that "more than six million Americans enjoy watching golf on the weekends."  Parents  use sports as a teaching tool for their children.  Kids learn teamwork and discipline from team sports programs and  sports have also helped many students with their grades.  Kids who want to compete in school sports are taught to keep their grades up or they won't be able to play, but the greedy coaches and schools often look around grades to keep their "star athletes" in the games.  Adults have

Sports in a society bring people together and help aid in people making friendships or gaining respect for each other. Baseball isn’t a traditional game that minorities play in and possibly one of the most well-known sports for segregation with the Negro League being formed for African Americans before they integrated. Whites were perceived as the better baseball players so African American and minority baseball players weren’t allowed to play with them (Jiobu, 1988). African American baseball players weren’t worse baseball players and actually had better stats and success in the Negro League. Some even believed they were worse players because they were told so by the white people who were seen as the smarter race even though the numbers said

This Article, is from the Sociology of Sport Journal, title “Learning Lessons in Tee Ball”: “The Reinforcement of Gender and Status in Kindergarten Sport”. The article was written by Melissa A. Landers and Gary Alan Fine University of Georgia (1996). The article describes how “status and gender roles can become reinforced at the earliest stage of organized sports” (Landers & Fine 1996). The data collected was done “through field notes that the authors took during participation” (Landers & Fine). The children that were being observed were “between the ages of 5 and 6”. There was a total of 24 children “13 Caucasian boys”, “6 Caucasian girls”. “4 African American boys”, and “1 Asian-American boy” all this children were from “working-class and middle class families” (Landers & Fine 1996).

In our society sports are a very important social construction. As sports continue to grow, they are becoming more integrated into the major spheres of social life. Sports have become an entity, due to the fact that they not only create entertainment and jobs; sports have become a huge platform for various causes. Sports are extremely important to our society and have very powerful influences. Though experiences vary from person to person, most people have some sort of experience with sports. I personally have experienced sports more from the spectator and participant stance, and have been impacted from each perspective a great deal. Compared to sophomore safety, Jamal Adams my sports experience has been very different from impact and perspective.

Who has watched the Olympics game or a professional basketball game and not wondered, “Why are so many of the best black athletes?” or “are they better suited to athletics than Whites or Asians genetically? It is well known that black athletes participate more in basketball and football. Comparing with black and white, Asian athletes are less participate in basketball or football. There are racial differences in participation in football, basketball, and other sports. Black males are 2.5 times as likely to participate in basketball. On the other hand, white males are 1.3 times more likely than black males to participate in other sports such as baseball, soccer, and swimming. (Jennifer E) Besides, most of people will curious about why black athletes participate more in basketball or football, and why more Asian-American participate more in table tennis and why Latino are more willing to participate more in baseball. The three factors can

There have been many arguments and disputes about the origin of the sport known as baseball. This has led many people to wonder where 'America's favorite pastime' came from. Some people believe that the sport has taken shape from a primeval community game called rounders. Other historical sources remark that Thomas Wilson condemned this game and a few other sports. In England he was considered a conformist leader. These speculations have led to curiosity to the game of stool ball. In this game, the batter would stand in front of a stool while a different person pitched him the ball. If the batter's ball was caught in the field he would be out. Also, if the ball hit the stool that was behind the batter, he would again be out. (http://www.historyofbaseball.us/)

Andrew is a third year chemical engineering student at the University of Louisville. He grew up in Hodgenville, KY. Which is a small town just south east of Elizabethtown. He lives in an apartment with one other student also attending the University of Louisville and myself. This apartment is where the interview took place.

The game of baseball has been argued to be the number one game in America and also around the world. Respectively the game is also known as “America’s pastime” had over 14 million people in the U.S. alone watching the World Series in 20151. Due to the growing popularity of baseball throughout the world the players of Major League Baseball (MLB) have become more diverse. Since 1950 when baseball started to grow in popularity the attendance per game has risen over 40%2.

For the past century, baseball has been America’s national pastime. As these games play out on television, younger athletes are primed to take these players places someday. As kids begin playing, they have to often learn the basics of hitting, fielding, pitching, and running. Parents often push their kids into playing sports at such a young age to begin creating a positive friend circle. Often known as the Boys of Summer, these young baseball players play often throughout the spring and entire summer with their friends, with pizza parties and ice cream stops after a victory sprinkled in. During the long and usually overwhelming season, these young children rock the diamond in often many cities and towns across their home state and beyond.

The sport of bowling has a lengthy history packed with an evolution that has comprehensive rules; and is an indoor activity that has become one of the most popular sports in the world. It can easily be said that over 50% of Americans have bowled once in their lifetime, whether it was for a birthday party or on a date. However, many people bowl routinely without knowing anything about the interesting history of the game.

Sports participation is something that is looked at closely in todays society because of the amount of participants there are in sports today. Social classes and participation is heavily influenced by the way people live their lives, where they live, what country they live in , and perhaps most importantly, the socioeconomic class they may fall into. In some understatements, sports may serve as an identifier of what social class a family or individual may fall into, simply by looking at who we are dealing with and what sport this individual may play. As a student in a sport sociology class we find trends in countries worldwide when comparing certain sport involvement and social class. Throughout this essay I will have three arguments that will support my point about social class and participation in sports. My first point will be how economic resources affect the middle-class, second will be how social capital affects middle-class sports, and lastly lower-class and participation in sports.

By turning women away from playing certain sports, we are influenced to believe that they are not as qualified to play, compared to men. (Creedon, 1994). Ironically, women on the field seem to have to act tougher than the men. If an

What is the social role of sport? To what extent does social structure influence the practice and experience of sport? Discuss in relation to two of the following: gender, class, ethnicity or Aboriginality, or region. Illustrate your answer with at least three examples from sporting contexts (local or international).

American society has many different types’ sports from all around the world. For example, the main two contemporary sports are basketball and football. Both sports require people, a ball, and open area to play in. However, these two sports are played differently. By comparing and contrasting basketball and football, we can examine them in terms of how they’re played, the amount of people in each teams, and the location the sports are being played in.

Sports become stereotyped as gender-neutral, feminine, or masculine based on conceptions regarding gender, gender differences, and beliefs about the appropriateness of participation due to gender (Colley et al., 1987; Csizma, Wittig, & Schurr, 1988; Koivula, 1995; Matteo, 1986). Sports labeled as feminine seem to be those that allow women participants to act in accordance with the stereotyped expectations of femininity (such as being graceful and nonagressive) and that provide for beauty and aesthetic pleasure (based on largely male standards). A sport is labeled as masculine if it involves the following: 1) attempts to physically overpower the opponent(s) by bodily contact; 2) a direct use of bodily force to a heavy object; 3) a