Introduction by Jessica Gatten

Hello! My name is Jessica Gatten and I am a junior in the Sport Management program. I am from Wixom Michigan which is directly between Lansing and Detroit and an hour and a half away from Bowling Green.  I was involved in a number of sports in high school, basketball, volleyball and soccer. I only played basketball and volleyball my freshman year so that I could focus on soccer for the rest of school. I played soccer my whole life and it’s truly my favorite sport. I played from the age of 7 until my senior year of high school.  Although I love playing sports and staying active I knew I would need to focus on my academics to do well in college. I did not try out for the team despite strong encouragement to, instead I joined a sorority and continuously play intramural with them. I have won championships in intramural flag football, co-ed soccer, and corn-hole almost every year I have played. I was offered a position on the club soccer team my freshman year but timing and money were an issue at the time.

A female athlete that I would love to see play live would have to be Abby Wambach. She is such an iconic woman in soccer and sport alone and is one of my role models in life. When I was younger I wanted to be Mia Hamm or Abby Wambach, and then I became a goalkeeper and players changed; but I did strive to have the leadership she does on the field. The United States Women’s Soccer Team would be nothing without Wambach.  In the clip I included she talks about her experience in the 2011 World Cup semifinals against France, while the highlights of the games are being shown Abby explains what she was thinking at those moments and why the game is so important to that team and to young girls around the world. In the clip you also see what she does best, heading the ball into the goal. One of the most difficult things to do in soccer is time a corner kick or any cross for that matter perfectly and Wambach makes it look like a piece of cake!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyFna_Tc1ag

The male athlete I would love to watch play would be Justin Verlander.  I am a huge Tigers fan and when they brought Verlander into the league in 2005 no one knew what was about to come. Justin Verlander is arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball. At age twenty nine he has already pitched two no-hitters, was named the 2011 AL Cy Young winner also winning the AL MVP the same year. When Verlander pitches everyone watches. I have been to a lot of Tigers games but I have never seen him pitch live. I was supposed to go this summer, the night he almost threw a perfect game but I had a family emergency, I like to think it would have happened if I was there. My goal for this summer is to make to a game to see him pitch and hopefully watch him pitch the Tigers into a World Series Championship! I attached a video of his second no-hitter to display his impact on the game of baseball. The video is pretty long because it shows every at bat he faced during the game, but something that is interesting to note that this is in Toronto and by the end the fans realize what is happening and are routing for Verlander. When fans experience an event like this one no matter what team you’re routing for it is a special day and all of those fans will be say they attended and I want to do the same one day!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73AA3a7OmsU

I am really excited to get the ball rolling in this class. I think that our class discussions will be informative and resourceful, and I hope to learn a variety of material I didn't already know. We have a wide range of sports people are interested in so I think that will bring some diversity into our conversations. I am curious to see how our topics are presented and perceived and I hope to gain a lot of knowledge in this class.