My name is Andrew Karr and I am a Junior Sport Management major with a specialization in marketing. I am from Parma Heights, Ohio outside of Cleveland. I am taking this course not only because it is a requirement of my major but because I am also very interested in the subject of history and philosophy of sports. All my life I have been a fan of and participated in sports and still do both today. I am a huge Cleveland sports fan and Ohio State Buckeyes fan even though I go to BG. I like to believe I know a lot already about the history of sports and different sports stars and icons. I am actually hoping that I don’t know as much as I think I know and that this class can teach me a lot more.
As for my own history playing and watching sports I started when I was five with soccer. I never really got into soccer and stopped playing at age 8. At the age of six I got into tee-ball. I gradually moved my way up and kept with it. I played many years of travel baseball and started four years on my high school’s varsity baseball team where I hold two school records. To this day I still play in an adult wood bat league in the summer. I realized while growing up my passion was for football. I never played organized until I was in 7th grade but I started playing pick-up games around six years old. I went on to be very successful playing football in high school being named 1st team all conference and all district three times as well as honorable mention for the all-state team three times setting my schools’ rushing record. I decided to play football after high school but because of my small size was not given any scholarship offers. I played for a year at a small division III school called Baldwin-Wallace. After a year I realized college football wasn’t for me though I still had a lot of passion for the game. I still like to stay active and play other sports like basketball and golf, but nothing ever compared to playing football.
That was my playing career. As for my experience as a fan, being from Cleveland, it wasn’t very exciting. I remember watching the Browns before they left when Bernie just didn’t seem to have it anymore. I remember how heartbroken I was in 1995 and ’97 when the Indians just fell short. Until recently I remember how dismal the Cavs always were. And I will never forget in 1995 when the undefeated Buckeyes and Eddie George got ran over by Tim Biakabatuka and the Wolverines. I’d have to say I really started paying attention to sports at age six or seven which would have been 1993 or 1994. Since then the Buckeyes have been pretty consistently good and it’s not painful to watch them. The Indians are inconsistent now, the Cavs are looking great and who knows about the Browns. All I want is a championship for Cleveland really. I think we deserve it.
I hope this class gives me a chance to learn new things and gain more respect for different aspects of sport. I am excited about the things I may be able to learn in this class.
Thanks for reading!
3 comments:
Hi Andrew,
This is an excellent introductory post. I liked what you said about hoping that you will learn a lot more about the history of sport. I find that I am continually learning about sports history as a result of teaching this class. Your sports history started at a young age. What were the school records that you still hold in baseball? It sounds like you had a distinguished career in football too. What made you decide that college football was not for you?
I can really relate to what you wrote about being a fan of Cleveland sports (in addition to the Buckeyes). During the 1980s I lived in Los Angeles, and I remember an article that came out in LA about the "dismal face of sports in Cleveland." It was a feature article, and made references to how Cleveland was "the mistake by the lake," and the Cavaliers were referred to as the "Cadavers." As embarassing as that was, it did not change my devotion to Cleveland sports teams. Like you, I am ready for a championship, and if it comes with the Cavs, I would love to see it. Of course, I would also like to see Lebron stay in Cleveland, but that is another story for another day.
I really enjoyed reading your introduction and look forward to reading your future posts.
Dr. Spencer
Thanks for responding to my blog. In response to your questions I currently hold the record at my school in baseball for stolen bases and triples. I guess you could say I had warning track power but a lot of speed to go with it. I decided college football wasn't for me when I realized that it was a job. But I didn't get paid for it. Playing at the D-3 level I didn't get any type of athletic scholarship. I was strapped for cash and didn't have much time to work and make any money. So that's when I decided it wasn't for me. And there really wasn't anything like playing on Friday nights.
As for being a Cleveland Sports fan I am definitely glad to hear it. A question has arrived with my friends from Cincy though that I think maybe you could give your opinion to. Being from Cleveland you know that recently we have gotten to a few championships but failed to win. My friends from Cincy tell me that we at least got there. I then say that I would rather not get there than to get there and lose because it hurts even more. What is your opinion on this question?
This is a tough one! When you get there and come so close, like Cleveland did in 2007, that is difficult. I went to those games against the Red Sox, and after going up 3-1, it just seemed that we should have been able to close them out. I guess if I had to choose, I would rather go as far as we can because at least by making the play-offs, we have a chance. If we don't make it to the play-offs, then we cannot possibly win a championship. I know that last year's baseball season was so disappointing to me because it was decided so early that we would not have a chance to make the play-offs. So it was difficult to watch games knowing that they were basically meaningless.
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