Josh Gibson
In the article, “The Pros the Pros Would Pay To See” the article talked about which professional athletes would pay to see other athletes play from the three most popular sports which included basketball, football and baseball. Hockey wasn’t included, because when this survey was taken, Hockey was in a lockout. In the beginning of the article, Mccallum talked about how if the question had been asked during the 1990s, Michael Jordan most likely would have had the majority of the votes. I know if I was able to vote for someone who had already retired, my vote definitely would of went to Michael Jordan. When reviewing the votes that each athlete got, what stood out to me was the fact that the basketball players tended to vote for football players and vice-versa. My opinion of why they did this was probably because these athletes probably had previous experience in that specific sport. Another reason that I thought of was the fact that a lot of the moves you do in basketball are the same in football. What I mean by this is that players from both sports try and use juke moves to get past the defenders as well as jumping up in the air to catch a pass. An example of this would have to be Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers. While he was a student at Kent State, Gates played basketball for two seasons before graduating. After graduating, Gates arranged a workout in front of NFL scouts where he was later signed by the Chargers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJiSF3OJtLI
Another example that we talked about in class was that many football players voted for Shaq. Many athletes referred to him as a “beast” or an “animal” due to his ability to control the paint. I believe football athletes voted for him, because they understands the game of basketball and coming from such a violent sport, it’s only possible that they chose Shaq because of his After reading the article I personally wasn’t happy with the athletes that were chosen mainly because of what I know today. I don’t think cheaters should be allowed to play in professional sports and the fact that Barry Bonds was on the list, really made me mad. However, since this poll was taken before all of the different events and investigations took place I am happy that Tiger Woods took the majority of the votes because I remember when I was a kid in 2004, Tiger Woods was one of my favorite athletes and still is today even though he has lost some of my trust and respect.
ESPN. (Producer) (2010). Back n the day: Antonio gates [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJiSF3OJtLI
By: Matt Goryance
ReplyDeleteI agree that most of the pro athletes in football most likely played basketball in the past and likewise for basketball players having played football before. This prior playing of the sport might be part of the reason why they chose the athletes they did however I also think maybe it had something to do with them not wanting pick their opponents. I know this article was written in 2004 and the athletes were probably more friendly towards each other already but I know Skip Bayless had tweeted once saying something along the lines of sports being better and more fun to watch when players of other teams hated each other. Since that strictly competitive aspect of sports, athletes have become more friendly and I think it has become more about the money but I think if I was a pro athlete and someone asked me who I would pay to see I certainly wouldn’t pick someone from another team in my same league.
By: Taylor Cook
ReplyDeleteI believe that if hockey wasn't in a lockout that more of the pro athletes would have voted to pay to watch them play. Hockey players are also exceptional athletes and it is one of the most fun sports to watch. I also agree with you that some of the football players chose mainly basketball players because they may have played basketball in college or high school and watching them play allows them to relive there so called "glory days." I personally have seen Shaq play up close and personal and he is the true definition of a "beast." He physically dominated the entire paint and did it for many many years. Its funny to see that a few of the players that the pros voted for in 2004 are hated now because of their cheating status.