Social class is a disposition that references a complex relationship to the world, a relationship that assigns cultural and personal values as it assigns economic values� (Bairner, 2007, pg. 27). Every aspect of your life is linked to your social class. Your social class determines what the type of house you have, the type of school you attend, the sports you play, and friends you meet along the way. Even though that is scary to think about, it is reality. Growing up, I did not participate in regular youth sports such as soccer, softball, etc. Instead, I was involved in Girl Scouts and dance. I started dance lessons when I was three years old, and continued dancing until eighth grade. Because finances were becoming tighter with a big tuition increase between private elementary/middle school and high school, my parents and I made the decision for me to discontinue my dance lessons.
Many people associate private school with the upper-middle and upper classes due to many reasons. The main reason private schools are associated with the upper middle and upper classes is because private schools cost money, and only a proportion of the population can afford to send their kids to private school. As a result, private schools are associated with the sports that belong to these classes such as tennis, golf, dancing, horseback riding, etc. A lot of these sports are offered at elite private high schools, but not at private Catholic high schools. I chose to attend Seton Keough High School which is an all girls private Catholic High School located right outside of Baltimore City. The only elite� sport my school offered was golf. My high school did not have a golf course or tennis courts. Honestly, my high school could not afford to build a golf course unless they charged an arm and a leg for tuition. As Eitzen states, Ironically the sports with the great monetary rewards for women are those of the middle and upper classes. These sports are expensive and require considerable individual coaching and access to private facilities� (Eitzen, 1999, pg. 254). Unless I attended Park School or McDonough which are both elite� private schools, I would not have been given the opportunity to play tennis or go horseback riding.

Social class and demographics definitely have an effect on what sport you would prefer and who you are going to be able to participate in that particular sport with.
Being from the islands, a vast majority of the sports that I really enjoyed getting involved with were water sports. I also was involved in pretty much all the middle school and high school sporting teams that were available during the year. I can say that I was truly fortunate that I was able to partake in most sports that a good majority of teens probably won t get involved with during their sport upbringing. I am referring to water sports such as water skiing, free diving, ocean swim races, Jet Ski racing, wave surfing, etc. I truly believe that my area of living and my social status of being able to afford these things allowed me to experience these types of sports. Most definitely the water sports so to speak. I was definitely involved with youth football, basketball, volleyball, and soccer, but water sports are unique in that you obviously need to be near recreational water to be able to participate in these. All the usual sports (basketball, soccer, football, volleyball) were played by pretty much the same student body that I had socialized with most of my childhood. But given that these sports were funded by the school system, it was easy to get involved with, and surprisingly enough, the equipment was funded by the school system as well. This made it easy for any student with the will and desire to come out for school sports and do well in them. I cannot say the same for water sports though. Usually an expensive piece of equipment is needed at the time (unless you are just swimming) and other people s involvement as well to have a water sport be successful. Probably my fondest sporting experience the islands have given me was the competitive Jet Ski racing that I was able to participate in. This involved a lot of financial support from family members and countless hours of practicing at high speeds on the water. I had two jet skis: a Yamaha Superjet 701 and as well as a Kawasaki 750 SXi. I absolutely loved these two machines. My uncle had to have a double trailer just so that we can transport the two watercraft from the shore back to the Jet Ski shop that he owned. Here we kept the machines for storage and maintenance. I would spend my weekends there helping out with all the other projects he had working on and the tourists that came to rent the jet skis. This way I could make money to pay for gasoline and entry fees for my racing tournaments. As you can see, this type of sporting practice did involve a lot of money just to be able to participate in. Social class does have a lot to do with being able to do this sport. I did not come from an extremely rich family, but from a family resourceful enough to help me fund my sporting desire. I did not have the best and most expensive equipment, but just the right enough equipment to get the job done. Demographics and area has a lot to do with it too. As soon as I moved to the mainland United States, my ocean sporting practices definitely ceased to exist anymore and I focused on the more mainstream sports. But when the time is right and the finances are able, I will return to the water sports which I grew up with.

When pondering this question about social class and sport and it s relation to my life, I can t help but to think, that as I grew up and our family s social standing and economic position improved, the sports I played changed. It really makes you think, that we are a product of your parent s social class and it is rare to see change in that class in one generation. In the article we read about the growing economic insecurity and inequality the author states that wealth is important because it is what people have to fall back on and pass on to their children�, and this concept of wealth usually constitutes which social class you and your family fall into.
I grew up a military brat. My father was in the Navy since he was seventeen and he met my mother in Germany when he was stationed overseas. When I was young we moved around a lot. My father would be stationed in far off places, and we as a family could not always follow him. The first sport that I was involved in was swimming (my mother loved to swim) and I was around 4 or 5 years old. I only did it for a few classes, because I believe we had to move again. By the time I turned eight my father decided to retire from the Navy. My parents bought a house, my mother started working as nurse, and my dad found a job on the private side. This gave our family the stability and the little bump in income, in order for my brothers and me to be properly introduced to sports.
I was always a very athletic kid, and once I got introduced to sports I really loved to play. I fell in love with Ice hockey from the start, my dad was always a big fan of the game, but I never really got introduced to it until he retired form the Navy. Ice hockey as most people know is a very expensive sport. The gear and fees cost thousands. The time it takes to drive your kids to practices and games is very demanding. It was something my parents just couldn t afford, so they did the next best thing. They gave us roller hockey equipment, so we could play right outside in the neighborhood. At this time my parents were trying to introduce us to all types of sports. I played baseball, soccer, and lacrosse, but it wasn t until my freshman year in high school when my older brother and I talked my parents in to letting us play ice hockey. I was hooked. I slept, breathed, and ate ice hockey for at least the next three years. I know it was tough on my parents financially, because they really couldn t afford it, but they knew we loved it, and we were good at it. So they made it work. I m sure they are still paying back credit cards and loans due to me playing hockey.
Looking back at playing the game of ice hockey for as long as I have, 15 years now, I have noticed that it truly is an upper echelon sport. I mean it was rare to see kids of middle class playing the game. My hockey teams usually consisted of upper middle class to upper classes families. I think the people on my team that I connected with the most, were usually the ones that were around my same social class or at least new what it felt like to be middle or lower middle class at one time or another. I believe that I could probably count the amount of kids that were of another ethnicity than Caucasian, on one hand. I believe that this is truly a shame, because these things hinder the growth of the sport in the U.S. The majority of the U.S. population is of middle class, and you have to make the game accessible if you wish to see it grow.

Mwenke1 pointed out what Eitzen mentions in his article about women and their limited opportunities to go professional in sport. I liked what she said about trying the sports Eitzen considers women to be successful with and not enjoying them. I feel the same way. Tennis, ice skating, skiing, cycling...none of that is for me either! It's sad that women can't make a career out of the sports we enjoy and have played in high school like field hockey and lacrosse. When I think of women sports on television, I think of basketball. I can only hope there will be a day when I can put on ESPN and catch some professional field hockey games!

In regards to jflesh 1's writing, I seem to have a lot in common with you because you mentioned how golf to you seemed more of a middle to lower class sport because you were able to play for free at a country club. I got the same opportunity to play tennis for free at a private club, which normally would cost 38 dollars an hour for a court. Also, I admire the fact that you are a loyal Kansas City Chiefs fan, even while living in another state, because I am a loyal Baltimore Ravens fan, even though I grew up in New Jersey around Philadelphia Eagles fans. I did have to throw out a bunch of Chiefs fans when I worked as an usher/security volunteer at M and T bank stadium at a game against the Ravens, but I guess it takes courage to get decked out in Chiefs gear, get drunk among drunk Ravens fans, and scream and curse at them every time the Chiefs made a good play. Anyway, your writing was easy to understand, and I definitely could connect with it. Well done.

From birth to age fifteen I considered myself part of the upper class in society. My dad was a very successful shoe salesman who ended up owning his own wholesale business. When I turned sixteen, my Dad lost his business and had lost a lot of money in the stock market. My life had changed forever. I now consider myself part of the lower to middle class in society. When I was younger, I played sports such as baseball and tennis. My parents got me into team sports when I was younger because they noticed that I was extremely shy by nature, and they felt that it would benefit me to have that pressure of being around my peers more often. They also noticed my great ability to pitch. After all, they did name me after the great Baltimore Orioles pitcher, Jim Palmer. From the time I could walk I had a waffle ball bat and ball in my hand. I would toss it up and hit it into our huge waffle ball field my Dad created. I became a great pitcher, always threw strikes, always knew how to get people out, but eventually when I got older, due to the decline in my parent s income, I was not able to hire a trainer and attend great baseball camps, which was necessary in developing my abilities and keeping up physically with other baseball players my age. I began playing tennis in high school. I had made plenty of friends who decided they were going out for the tennis team. I decided that I needed an individual sport to challenge myself, and see how good I could become with practice. I got a job at a private tennis club, where I answered calls at the front desk, swept and lined five tennis courts every Saturday and Sunday night. This job allowed me to hit the ball around with tennis instructors, which definitely helped my game. I was the best singles player on my team. We, as a team, won three conference titles during my sophomore, junior and senior year. Today I play basketball pick up games every Tuesday and Thursday, and tennis on Tuesday or Thursday as well. I also work-out five days a week. On Monday s, Wednesday s and Friday s, I do upper body, and on Tuesday s and Thursday s I do lower body. I am very active because I am going to be a gym teacher, and I feel it is extremely important to practice what you preach. I also have been so committed to weight-lifting because having a well sculpted, strong body gives me more confidence socially, especially when attracting the opposite sex.
When I played baseball, my parents bought very expensive equipment such as a new aluminum bat every year, cleats, as well as a new glove. They also had to pay for the new team uniform each year. For tennis, my parents agreed to pay half of all my equipment. I saved my money by working at the private tennis club, and decided to buy a two hundred dollar prince racquet, and sixty dollar adidas shoes. I felt I needed this great equipment because I felt it would increase my overall performance. Going to Baltimore Orioles games used to be my favorite thing to do. I probably went to at least ten a year when my Dad owned his own business, which allowed him to buy season tickets. If we could not go to one, we would give them away for free, to whatever loyal fan was sitting near us the game before. Today, I attend no sporting events, but do watch some on television. I enjoy watching baseball on television because it has a direct effect on whether or not I win my fantasy baseball leagues, which puts more money in my pocket. I also enjoy watching professional football because it is my favorite sport, and I always have dreamed of being a walk-on division one football player, specifically a cornerback or wide receiver. Now I realize this is a fantasy due to the statistics mentioned in Eitzen s article: In Colorado there were 3,481 male high school seniors who played football during the 1994 season. Of these, 31 received full scholarships at division 1-A schools (0.0089 percent).�
In conclusion, I have changed social class already in my lifetime, and although it means paying my own bills, less vacations, and attending far less professional sporting events, I still love what my parents have done and are doing for me. I feel Erika Goode is correct when she says: To some extent, people's ability to withstand stress, and the ways in which they interpret and respond to life events, are shaped by early life, the product of what one social scientist, Dr. Clyde Hertzman of the University of British Columbia, calls "the long arm of childhood.� Genetics play a role, as doe s nutrition.� I thank God every day for what he has given me. So for me, social class is irrelevant, because I feel as individuals, we can learn something from the rich and the poor. I guess what I am trying to say is that if we do not value peace of mind, doing good deeds, and constantly seeking improvement of ourselves, then what is the purpose of our life? Obviously we need to make enough money to survive in this world, but money alone does not bring everlasting happiness.

I have to agree with hillswin4life...hockey is very expensive in the U.S. I am fortunate that I do have season tickets to the Capitals, but I also have begun playing league hockey. I'm telling you 400 dollar skates and 200 sticks....that is rather crazy. While the cost of attending a hockey game is half of what it cost to attend a football game, the cost of playing the sport is what averages out the seperation. How many people can afford to break 200 sticks and buy a new one tomorrow? Or who can afford to get the ice time to learn how to successfully power skate? I sometimes believe every sport caters to a specific social or sometimes even racial class.

This isn't necessarily a comment that is specific to one post, but I just wanted to say that I enjoyed hearing the different sports that people play, and the reason behind doing so. A lot of people have post's similar to mine, where they were almost "born" into a sport. It is interesting to see how social class and location shapes a person's childhood, in regards to sports.

Not so much did class play a role in my choice of sport, as did location. This is not to say that my family's social status did not have an impact on my decision to play lacrosse, because that would be entirely untrue. I grew up in Annapolis, MD. This meant that I would start playing lacrosse around the age of 6. I would continue to play through middle school and high school and then struggle through the grueling college recruitment process. This was how it always was. Although I would not like to compare my lacrosse experience to cockfighting, the NBC Sports article announces that two baseball players were discovered cockfighting, in their home country, the Dominican Republic. Just as I have been raised to play and love lacrosse, the sport is both legal and popular in their home country.

Although lacrosse is spreading like wildfire across the nation, it has not always been a popular sport. It was mainly concentrated through the Baltimore-Washington-Annapolis Area. It has since spread first, north, and then west and south. So, because of where I was born, it had been predetermined that I would play the sport. A second reason was because I was born into a family of lacrosse players. My dad played in college (University of Maryland), as well as other members of my extended family.

Relatively speaking, I wouldn't consider the actual sport of lacrosse to be expensive, but I do consider the players and the culture surrounding the sport to be middle and upper class. I also think that the culture of lacrosse is expensive; the clothes, the cleats, the running shoes, the turfs, the stick bags, the goggles, the tournaments, and the transportation it all adds up. A person doesn t need those things to be able to play the actual sport, but to fit in� it s the way to go.

I think our society should take a break from putting a social status on everything. I think sports should just be played to be played, but I have to admit, I don t mind the free under armour, stick bags, uniforms, sweats, and shoes that I get as a college athlete.

It would be nice if social class and sporting had no correlation. However, through my personal experiences, I have noticed that there is definitely a relation between the two. Social class appears to affect sport participation and enjoyment in a number of different ways. It regulates what sports we play whether that is in a league or simply for recreation. It also affects the way we watch sports. It is partially to blame for some of us watching from the nosebleeds and some of us in luxurious suites.
Different social classes participate in different sports. The examples that were given in class did a great job of illustrating that. Sports such as golf and polo cost a lot to play on a regular basis and can only be afforded by upper class individuals. Even some sports deemed middle class may be more associated with upper class due to the cost of participating. Lacrosse for example is played heavily at Towson and the majority of us are probably middle class Americans. According to the Sports Authority s website a stick can run you around $380, a helmet costs $170, and basic pads are another $100, on sale. I am not sure of the quality of this gear (I have never played lacrosse). That is a lot of money to put into one sport and that is just to dress. Ice Hockey is another costly sport. Every individual has his or her own tastes. I do not think that social class can really have a large affect on what sports we enjoy watching. With the internet and television it is fairly easy to watch any sport you wish. However, watching in person is completely different. What sport you go and watch and where you are located in the arena, stadium, etc. depends on how much you have to spend. You will be hard pressed to find someone on welfare in a suite at the Superbowl.
While social class limits the sports you can play, I do not believe it is affected vice versa. That is to say I don t think that sports you play define your social class. Basketball is a fairly cheap sport to play and is identified with lower and middle class America. However, it is easy to find many upper class children playing basketball. I think that to a certain extent the whole concept is circumstantial. Towson University has a fairly wide variety of sports available. You can play intramurals, club sports, or, if you are good enough, Towson s team. No matter what sport it is you are playing, you will most likely be middle or upper class. I think that simply by being a Towson student you are in this class, whether it is achieved or ascribed, you are a part of it. I personally have participated in many sports from basketball to cross country and track. I currently play ultimate Frisbee here. Throughout my life I have played cheap sports and have been middle class as well. Sport is a great way to build social skills and relations that will cross the class barriers. It provides common ground for people as well as separating them at times.
Sports are commonly believed to be a way to raise one s social class. This is possible as pointed out by Stanley Eitzen in his article Upward Mobility through Sport?� Eitzen pointed out a few individuals who came from a lower class background and maybe incredible amounts of money through sports. This provides many youths in poor lower class environments with hope of achieving a more comfortable and luxurious life for them and their families. However, the chances of this happening are very slim to none. As an athlete progresses in rank towards a professional status the chances become slimmer. However, if a person is good enough it is a useful way to get into better high schools and colleges. Ultimately, I think that Social class does affect us in our sporting experiences, whether good or bad, seeing as how money affects everything we do in one way or the other. However, I also believe that the affect an individual s social status has on sports is paired up with the passion, motivation, and determination of that individual.

Unlike most children my childhood involvement in sports was already determine and decided before I could even walk. My brother and I are the first generations Greeks in my family born in the United States and like most Europeans the sport of preference is soccer. My father who grew up playing soccer through his collegiate career instilled the game in our life from an early age. So frankly I never had a desire to play any other sport in my youth. Even though I did turn out to have a great soccer career and develop a love for the game of soccer I know the only reason I develop this love was because of my father. I often asked my self would I ever chose to play soccer on my own if it wasn t for my father and I think eventually I would since I grew up in Maryland soccer was a common sport to play at a young age. Back then almost every kid grew up playing soccer in local youth leagues. I believe it was one the few sports were both boys and girls were allowed to play on the same team. In the early years the equipment needed wasn t a lot or even expensive. All you really needed was some basic soccer cleats, pair of long socks and plastic shin guards. The uniforms were provided by the organizations and probably the only additional money you had to spend for was halftime snacks provided by the parents. As I grew older and played in more elite leagues and teams the cost of equipment and participation definitely increased. I think playing club soccer in the Columbia, Maryland definitely influenced how the game of soccer was presented to me and my involvement. You soon found that teams had a requirement for warm up suits that would run close to 100 dollars, out of state tournaments would cost as much as mini vacations, and you couldn t get by with the plain basic equipment anymore. Now every kid had to have their own personalize soccer bag, practice jerseys, and the newest authentic cleats just to fit in. Coming from a very humble background made it difficult for me to blend it with the wealthy kids from Howard County. It almost got the point where it wasn t about the love of the game no more it didn t matter about talent or having fun the only way to really move your way up and become a more elite player depended on your wallet. Only if you could afford the soccer camps, and the private coaches, and the expensive club teams could you develop into a better soccer player. This change in motive also change the type of people I saw myself playing with, at a young age I played with kids from all backgrounds, race, gender and social class when I entered my teenage years my teams were being composed of more and more wealthy white kids. This is obviously due to the fact that they were the ones who could afford to play select soccer. As I continue to play more soccer I notice that I didn t stand out as much as I did in my local youth leagues. I was no more the star of the team and players from out state and even out of the country were being recruited to play on my teams. At this point I soon learn the same thing Eitzen mention in his article, that A career in professional sports is nearly impossible to attain because of the fierce competition for so few openings�.
My background and social status also determine the various sports events I experienced. Coming from a middle class family I rarely went to sport events and if I did it was to Baltimore Blast indoor soccer or Oriole games. Half the time the tickets to the Blast games were provided by my youth organization so paying for them was never really a problem and as far the baseball games I would get the cheap seats in left field. A few times I would be ask to go to ravens game and even then I would be seating way up high in the nose bleed sections. Though I believe that s the way I like it. Growing up in the area I did with the kids I did I don t think we could experience the game another way. Seating with the ignorant fans who just cursed all game and wouldn t shut up just seem the norm to me. Even today if someone ask me to watch the game from the sky box I would probably turn them down to me the real experience is being amongst the crowd and the hostile environment.

Social class standing is a key factor in the way sports are experienced. In any sport, there are individuals who grew up shooting balls into trash cans like Micheal Jordan, and then there are those who are fortunate enough to be from a higher social class like Tiger Woods. Both stars had different childhoods, yet their accomplishments are equivalent. There are many aspiring athletes though that have a disadvantage at receiving the same experience of a sport because of their low or working class social standing.
I grew up in the small town of Kiln, Mississippi, as known as home of Brett Farve. Most of the families in this area are of either low, working, or middle class standings. There are a rare few who sit in a high social class. Brett Farve, as well as I and many others, had to seek out to stand out in our low social class town that was home to a family of running backs. Football is the man sport of the area I grew up in, while my mother and father urged me to practice soccer and boxing. When I signed up to pee-wee football my parents really could not afford cleats nor to bring me to practice and home because of their work schedules. As my family became more experiences, they all received better paying jobs, and that is when things came to a change. By the time I reached junior high, my family was earning a pretty decent amount to live a little more than comfortable. Things started to change because instead of my 20 dollar cleats, my parents were buying me 120 dollar cleats and sending me to football camps over summer. I realized that this gave me more experience in the sport, and I was succeeding faster than many others. I was one of the three 4-year letterman varsity starters, and received many offers to Division I colleges upon graduation. Nonetheless, there where those who just were less fortunate.

As I said before our town was home to running backs. Brett Farve struggled to stand out with his powerful arm because our former high school football program is a run-strictly playset. There was this one family though which stood out on those Friday nights, the Golfs. Terrance and Christopher Golf were the two of the best runnings back to ever come out of the state. Terrance was the running back behind Brett Farve, and I had the privaledge to play with Chris for 2 years where he broke for 2200 yards in a single season. Although great football success, these brothers grew up in a very poor social class. Their parents could rarely afford to buy them much, and others would have to help them to keep them in our program. They both also experienced learning disabilities. The two running backs could have attending any Division I school in the nation if only their grades were not so drastic. It was hard for their parents to get them help in their studies, therefore they failed short of any chance at an NFL career.

As noticed in my self-experiences, it goes to show that sometimes it really matters how you experience a sport depending on social class. In hockey and basketball games, you ll encounter a business social class, but at football games, you see a more working class individuals than business class. This social class advantages/disadvantage also can be accompanied by cultural standings. Recently, there have been athletes who have been denounced due to animal cruelty sports like Micheal Vick for dogfighting and Pedro Martinez and Juan Marichal for cockfighing. Why now though? Pitbull fighing is something I grew up watching my friends part in. Its more of a childhood sport played in low or working social classes. There is only one reason some of my friends had pitbulls, so they could tear somethings head off. Deer and bird hunting is just as big as a sport in my hometown as well. During a basketball shoe promotion, New York Knicks player, Stephon Marbury, said to the associated press that we don t say anything about people who shoot deer or hunt other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighing is a sport� (Marbury, ESPN, The Associated Press). Then there is cockfighting, where in my mother s country of Honduras, it is a traditionary sport as it is in the Domincan Republic. Cockfighting is a traditonal and highly practiced sport in the Dominican Republic (NBC Sports, The Associated Press). It is so popular that generals, politicians and cockfighting celebrities have their names painted onto assigned parking spaces outside� (NBC Sports, The Associated Press). I agree that it is childish for these players to parttake in these activities, but they should not be denounced. These sports have been going on for hundreds or thousands of years dating back to the Egyptians. These athletes should be held somewhat accountable, but should not completely be denounced. This goes back to the basics of sociology, where the actions taken by someone are affected by the ideas that were presented to them from their surrounding society and social class.

Social class standing is a key factor in the way sports are experienced. In any sport, there are individuals who grew up shooting balls into trash cans like Micheal Jordan, and then there are those who are fortunate enough to be from a higher social class like Tiger Woods. Both stars had different childhoods, yet their accomplishments are equivalent. There are many aspiring athletes though that have a disadvantage at receiving the same experience of a sport because of their low or working class social standing.
I grew up in the small town of Kiln, Mississippi, as known as home of Brett Farve. Most of the families in this area are of either low, working, or middle class standings. There are a rare few who sit in a high social class. Brett Farve, as well as I and many others, had to seek out to stand out in our low social class town that was home to a family of running backs. Football is the man sport of the area I grew up in, while my mother and father urged me to practice soccer and boxing. When I signed up to pee-wee football my parents really could not afford cleats nor to bring me to practice and home because of their work schedules. As my family became more experiences, they all received better paying jobs, and that is when things came to a change. By the time I reached junior high, my family was earning a pretty decent amount to live a little more than comfortable. Things started to change because instead of my 20 dollar cleats, my parents were buying me 120 dollar cleats and sending me to football camps over summer. I realized that this gave me more experience in the sport, and I was succeeding faster than many others. I was one of the three 4-year letterman varsity starters, and received many offers to Division I colleges upon graduation. Nonetheless, there where those who just were less fortunate.

As I said before our town was home to running backs. Brett Farve struggled to stand out with his powerful arm because our former high school football program is a run-strictly playset. There was this one family though which stood out on those Friday nights, the Golfs. Terrance and Christopher Golf were the two of the best runnings back to ever come out of the state. Terrance was the running back behind Brett Farve, and I had the privaledge to play with Chris for 2 years where he broke for 2200 yards in a single season. Although great football success, these brothers grew up in a very poor social class. Their parents could rarely afford to buy them much, and others would have to help them to keep them in our program. They both also experienced learning disabilities. The two running backs could have attending any Division I school in the nation if only their grades were not so drastic. It was hard for their parents to get them help in their studies, therefore they failed short of any chance at an NFL career.

As noticed in my self-experiences, it goes to show that sometimes it really matters how you experience a sport depending on social class. In hockey and basketball games, you ll encounter a business social class, but at football games, you see a more working class individuals than business class. This social class advantages/disadvantage also can be accompanied by cultural standings. Recently, there have been athletes who have been denounced due to animal cruelty sports like Micheal Vick for dogfighting and Pedro Martinez and Juan Marichal for cockfighing. Why now though? Pitbull fighing is something I grew up watching my friends part in. Its more of a childhood sport played in low or working social classes. There is only one reason some of my friends had pitbulls, so they could tear somethings head off. Deer and bird hunting is just as big as a sport in my hometown as well. During a basketball shoe promotion, New York Knicks player, Stephon Marbury, said to the associated press that we don t say anything about people who shoot deer or hunt other animals. You know, from what I hear, dogfighing is a sport� (Marbury, ESPN, The Associated Press). Then there is cockfighting, where in my mother s country of Honduras, it is a traditionary sport as it is in the Domincan Republic. Cockfighting is a traditonal and highly practiced sport in the Dominican Republic (NBC Sports, The Associated Press). It is so popular that generals, politicians and cockfighting celebrities have their names painted onto assigned parking spaces outside� (NBC Sports, The Associated Press). I agree that it is childish for these players to parttake in these activities, but they should not be denounced. These sports have been going on for hundreds or thousands of years dating back to the Egyptians. These athletes should be held somewhat accountable, but should not completely be denounced. This goes back to the basics of sociology, where the actions taken by someone are affected by the ideas that were presented to them from their surrounding society and social class.

I agree with ladytigerswim with the fact that my community also predetermined the sports that myself and others chose to play. Growing up, the kids in my town played baseball, however the town ten minutes down the road played nothing but lacrosse. Up until high school, i couldnt have told you what lacrosse was, let alone what it meant to play "lax". I became very interested in the sport, and in high school all of my friends were laxers. Its saddening to see that kids are deprived in certain areas of certain sports just because its not a norm. I would like to see in the future the chance for inner city kids to play golf, or rural children to have the opportunities to participate in sports outside the social norms.

I agree with hillswin4life's comments about hockey in the U.S. The main reason more kids don't get into it isn't because it's not cold but because it costs so much. I love hockey, but I couldn't afford to play. I can't afford to go to a game unless it's where you can't see what's going on. I can't even afford to pay the extra fees to watch it on TV.

Chris Richards talks about how expensive it is to play hockey in America. I agree with him 100% that the cost of playing hockey is too high. It is almost impossible to start a hockey league in an poverty stricken area because the people would not be able to afford it with out aid from the state.

i would agree with jflesh's argument that bowling is a middle class sport. many people don't realize but a high class ball can reach as high as $250. i used to be a very competitve bowler and between balls, league fees, tournament fees, and travel expenses it racked up and clearly someone from a lower class would have difficulty to compete on the high competitve level i once competed on

I grew up lower-middle class in Baltimore city. I played soccer at my earliest ages in life as do many Americans (who mostly seem to lose interest of it by high school). When my parents divorced when I was still young, it made our family s living conditions even worse. As our social class seemed to be dropping, I notice, looking back now, that my opportunities also seemed to be dropping. It varied across the board, from not being able to go to private school like my older brother and sister to not having the best technology available for a growing boy. The worst loss of opportunity in my eyes, at the time, was in sports.
I never got the chance to play little league baseball or football like kids were doing that I knew. My mom didn t have money for equipment or fees and didn t have much time to take me to these events. Obviously, we didn t have the means for sports like tennis, golf, or hockey because they were even more expensive. I was stuck with basketball which is probably the cheapest organized sport for children to play. Don t get me wrong, I loved basketball; I just wish I could have played other sports on real teams.
I had a glimpse of the dream that many city kids do, and that is to make rich through basketball. Yeah, plenty of children dream of becoming famous athletes, but the link between basketball and the poor in the city is different. Call it a stereotype if you want, but I lived it, as did many of my fellow players at the run-down rec center. I didn t stay that naïve for long. I was decent on my team, but I knew I wouldn t make a profession out of it. As Eitzen talks about in Upward Mobility Through Sport? The Myths and Realities�, it isn t realistic to think that you re going to be a superstar.
After high school, I didn t play sports in leagues anymore. I would occasionally play with some friends, but nothing serious. I enjoy watching sports of many kinds which always throws me back to wishing I could have played more as a child. I would say that I m not as poor as my family was growing up, but that s only because I don t have to support others. I still don t have the money it would take to buy most of the equipment even if I wanted to join a league. I enjoy going to professional sporting events, but I rarely have the money for them either. It seems that usually only people with money get to do the things I want to do. Oh well, that s fine. I don t mind watching a game in the comfort of my home with some friends.

I too was one that never really thought too in-depth about sports while growing up. I was always under the impression that it was just something that I was just supposed to like and do just being a male. But now the more I think of it, I start to wonder could there be something more to why I like sports. As much as I wanted to I could never really play sports much. I was raised in a lower/middle class environment and household. I was raised by my mother in a single parent household. My mother was always worried about me getting hurt and I never could see myself making her upset for anything so I decided not to try out. Even though I never tried out I was always a big sports fan. All of my friends and family played sports for recreation purposes or for their schools. When we were in the neighborhood they even played at the closests parks and recreational centers. I always had a schedule that wouldn't permit me to even play just for fun. I may have gotten into a pickup game here or there but definitely not often. So instead of playing myself, I started to just watch sports as much as I could and even tried to learn as much about it too. I figured I would still like to be in circles where I could still be in a good position to hold an intelligent conversation about it. I was always around basketball as I grew up. So as a youth I started trying to keep up with that sport. I mean what can I say it was easy to play that's all you really needed was a ball. It didn't matter what type of ball anything would do. In my neighborhood we used to just put up an old milk crate and use that. But once I got to high school all of that changed. Football seemed to be the new sport to play. It seemed that all of the males that I knew around my age played football. I again attempted to go out for the team but my mother was even more worried that I might have gotten hurt. So again I decided not to play. But ever since the 9th grade I have been a huge football fan. I guess you can say that I am just fascinated about the talent and physicality that football players have. That fascination has helped me to develop a love for working out. I tend to spend more time working out then doing things that have more priority. But what I have noticed is that sports tends to have a major influence in almost every neighborhood that is similar to mines; neighborhoods full of single parent homes and what one might view as below standard conditions. From all of the people that I have talked to all say the same thing in that they have been playing sports all of their lives and that they really wouldn't know what to do if they weren't playing. It's almost like lower-class and middle-class people are almost "brain-washed" with the idea that they have to play a sport, and in some cases multiple sports. Some people have even said that they used sports as their only escape from those conditions that they were forced to grow up in. I really don't think that will ever change and I figure if playing a sport brings about new opportunities and happiness to people then I don't think that it should.

In response to jredding I agree that baseball is not that expensive when you are in youth league, but when you get older it becomes very expensive and almost seems like an investment. I also agree that there are a lot of kids out there thinking that they are the next Michael Jordon� when in reality they probably have a better chance at winning the lottery than becoming a professional athlete. As for attending sporting events compared to watching them on TV, I know the reason I go to the games is for the experience and that is something you can t put a price on.

jredding - those freaking peanuts are super addicting, I agree!

Social class and sports is an area of study in which I have devoted little time analyzing until this class. After discussing the different types of sports and their related participants in regards to social class there are obvious trends in why they are so segregated. Having attended a public school in a prominently middle class area our sports were directly related to this demographic. Our big sports were lacrosse, baseball, football, cross country, golf, and regardless of producing one of the world s best swimmers (Michael Phelps) we had no swim team. Growing up playing Americas favorite pass time, baseball, I enjoyed dreaming of becoming a professional but knew the difficult odds of that accomplishment so the true motivation behind my participation was for the interaction with my teammates. Baseball from my experience growing up seemed to be pretty middle class, but I believe ranges from lower class due to the cheap equipment to upper class due to the little risk involved. I then became involved in golf and will be addicted to the game for life. Golf as discussed in class ranges from the extremely upper class down to more recently the middle class. In certain areas, such as Baltimore County, there are numerous affordable public courses such as; Mt. Pleasant, Pine Ridge, and Long View all of which have reasonable greens fees along with even better twilight rates. This trend has engulfed the middle class into the game of golf, and continues to get cheaper with the options to rent clubs.
Attending sporting events as a kid was a spectacular event never considering where in the stadium you were sitting or what your seats implied your social class may have been. Now with the popular football games and the sky high price tags the tickets draw it is much more evident that the social segregation exists inside the stadium. Personally I don t think there is a bad seat in Ravens Stadium (unless it s a cold day and you are on the shaded side), but this is never a deterrent in trying to buy the better tickets with the higher price especially if you are taking a date. This proves the social class implications in that to impress your date you need to buy tickets closer to the players. Baseball games in Baltimore on the other hand are dirt cheap, yet it is still rare to get behind the plate seats, you can virtually sit anywhere in the stadium for a low price tag (assuming it s not opening day, nor the Yanks or Sox are in town). But if you take a stadium like Fenway Park the social segregation is highly played out in the stadium, much like the Ravens games here.
It is eye-opening looking at sports from a social class point of view, but the more in depth you inspect the more it becomes clear how our personal economic situations affect all aspects of our lives.

I agree with what Travis Hubbard says about the social class issue in regards to professional sporting events. 10-15 years ago people could afford to have season tickets to a professional football team but nowadays you have to either be pretty well off or not have a family. Social class has much more to do with who owns season tickets and who watches the games at home than it used to.

I have been playing sports since I was five years old and over that time, I was able to play many different sports, which allowed me to experience what each sport had to offer. I believe that the number one reason why I ever played sports was to have fun. If I wasn t having fun playing one sport I would switch to another and another until I was enjoying myself. A sport that isn t fun or enjoyable at least part of the time isn t a sport worth playing. Another reason why I played sports was for the social aspect. I loved being the athlete in high school who walked down the hallway dressed up for game day and everyone acknowledged them and wished them a good game. I felt important and respected when I was that person. Also, most if not all of my friends played the same sports that I did so I was able to hang out with them every time I stepped onto the field. By having my friends close to me while playing a particular sport, I was able to enjoy it much more and turn it fun instead of work.
For all of the sports I played I had to buy equipment. For soccer I needed cleats and shin guards, football and baseball needed high-top cleats for ankle support, basketball needed high-top basketball shoes for ankle support, and lastly for lacrosse I needed every pad and stick they used. For the soccer, football, baseball, and basketball, the cost of equipment wasn t too high depending on the type of cleat or shoe I bought. Once I started playing lacrosse, I spent probably close to $500 the first time I had to buy my equipment but then anytime something broke or didn t fit anymore I had to buy a new piece of equipment. I don t know for sure but I believe I ve spent about $2500 on lacrosse equipment over the past 8 years. I couldn t have ever played any of these sports if it wasn t for my parents supporting me financially through it all. Luckily my parents had the ability to provide whatever was needed monetarily so that I could participate from season to season. I remember that the club soccer team which I played for, for about 10 years cost $300 per year for tournament costs, field costs, and other miscellaneous fees. It was a very large financial commitment to play any sports at the upper levels in the area where I grew up. I can remember some teammates of mine not being able to go to a tournament for the weekend because their family couldn t afford the hotel costs on top of the gas and food needed for the weekend trip. I didn t come from a rich family by any means but growing up in an upper middle class family allowed me to excel in any sport that I decided to play.
When it came to going to sporting events, my family and I usually just watched the games on TV. It would have been too expensive then and especially now to take the entire family to a Redskins game. I remember going to a Skin s game with only my dad when I was about 5 and I can remember going to a few University of Maryland football and basketball games here and there over the years. Now looking back on my sporting experiences throughout my life, I am glad that I didn t go to a lot of games and that my parents decided to put that money towards myself and my sister playing the sports that we loved.

jredding and me seem to have a very similar experience with starting a sport. I ended up playing softball on my older sisters team because they needed a player one day. I loved it and played until I was a junior is High school.

After reading jflesh1 s response about how golf is a low class sport to him I can completely relate to that. I worked at a golf course for a little bit and still have friends that do and also had the opportunity to play golf for free on numerous occasions. To everyone else I was around outside of that experience, golf was an expensive thing to do, but for me it was cheap because I never had to pay for anything.

I have to agree with jredding about the sporting experience. I believe its more the excitement of being there with the crowd and whatnot rather than spending extremem amounts of money to sit inside with plasma tv's. It seems as though the people experienceing the weather and everything appreciate the experience more.

I found I have a very similar viewpoint to Sruben's response. I never paid attention either to the way i was raised with veiwing sports and thought very much ab the money my parents were putting into it because it just seemed so normal that they would spend that much on my dancing because they did it with my sister. And he also talks about how he didn't realize that the seats he was in were the more expensive ones because he just enjoyed being there with his family and friends . I think this is very similar to my own views because i never cared that we would sit in the high seats because i was enjoying the game and the company i was with.

Jay Redding-knes 353

I began my sports career when I was 2 years old. My mom was a coach on my older sister s t-ball team, and she snuck me into the batting order each game so I could hit and run around the bases. It was then that I discovered my love for sports. I grew up in a small rural town, surrounded by farms and trees, so making it out as a professional athlete just sounded ridiculous. We did have a few people who made it though. One played professional baseball for a few years, another was an Olympic swimmer. Other than that, even the thought of college escapes the minds of the students leaving my high school. The area in which I lived seemed lower to middle class, however statistically is actually the highest grossing income per capita area in the nation. Growing up I played soccer and baseball, because that s what all kids from my town played. They were relatively cheap to play at the youth level, normally existing of a $40 fee and a pair of shin guards or a baseball mitt. However as I began to grow older, I started taking baseball a lot more seriously. I played on travel teams, and had to have the best equipment, often putting a financial strain on my sub-middle class household because face it, these things aren t cheap. Soon baseball gloves turned into $300 investments, along with baseball bats, cleats, batting gloves and my own helmet. It got to where I was carrying around a bag with upwards of $600 in equipment in it, all for youth and high school sports.

I started playing youth football in 8th grade, and it was then that I realized I might actually be able to go to a nice college and not have to worry about hose much money it cost. Football wasn t as much of a financial burden as it was the time and energy needed to fulfill the responsibility of being on the team. Practice was 4 nights a week, and games were right around the time most parents were getting off of work. I fell in love with the game, and decided I would work as hard as I could to get a scholarship towards college. Much like the athletes discussed in Eitzen s article, I began slacking off in high school, figuring somehow that the football star from a small unheard of town could somehow get to college without putting much effort into academics. It worked for the most part, as began making all star teams and sending out videos I did get noticed, and even had the opportunity to play for a stellar high school team my senior season, however my once decent grades pummeled to barely maintaining a 2.0 gpa, because at my school, the teachers didn t watch football. Eitzen states in his article upward mobility through sport?�, that another barrier is that they are recruited for athletic prowess rather than academic ability. Recent data show that football players in big-time programs are, on average, more than 200 points behind their nonathletic classmates on SAT test scores. Poorly prepared students are the most likely to take easy courses, cheat one exams, hire surrogate test takers, and otherwise do the minimum.� That brings me to my next topic: how on gods green earth are these academically challenged athletes getting to colleges way beyond their academic standing, and maintaining grades that keep them eligible throughout there careers? The answer I come up with is that these colleges don t care if these athletes graduate, as long as they bring fans to the stands, and money to program. High academic standing schools have plenty of kids that will keep their graduating percentages at a high level, leaving the athletes as scapegoats to a rising dilemma of controversy in student-athletics.

Growing up a member of a lower-middle class household, I never had the chance to attend professional games, and settled for watching them on television. Now, I have the opportunity to attend oriole s games for $5 on Friday nights, and I take every chance to go that I can. Being a sports lover, I don t attend games for the beer, or the bus ride with friends. I go for the experience. There is nothing like a chilly night at a baseball stadium with a bag of addicting peanuts and the jumbotron. It is something I believe people take for granted when they shell out money for plasma TV s and luxury suites. I would still consider myself middle class, and I probably always will be, but even as the organizations jack up the prices on sporting events, I am still going to continue paying the money to go, because the experience is something that you can t put a class label on. Whether you re poor, rich, or a college kid catching a $5 Friday night game, the game stays the same, and it will always be worth it to me.

Jay Redding-knes 353

I began my sports career when I was 2 years old. My mom was a coach on my older sister s t-ball team, and she snuck me into the batting order each game so I could hit and run around the bases. It was then that I discovered my love for sports. I grew up in a small rural town, surrounded by farms and trees, so making it out as a professional athlete just sounded ridiculous. We did have a few people who made it though. One played professional baseball for a few years, another was an Olympic swimmer. Other than that, even the thought of college escapes the minds of the students leaving my high school. The area in which I lived seemed lower to middle class, however statistically is actually the highest grossing income per capita area in the nation. Growing up I played soccer and baseball, because that s what all kids from my town played. They were relatively cheap to play at the youth level, normally existing of a $40 fee and a pair of shin guards or a baseball mitt. However as I began to grow older, I started taking baseball a lot more seriously. I played on travel teams, and had to have the best equipment, often putting a financial strain on my sub-middle class household because face it, these things aren t cheap. Soon baseball gloves turned into $300 investments, along with baseball bats, cleats, batting gloves and my own helmet. It got to where I was carrying around a bag with upwards of $600 in equipment in it, all for youth and high school sports.

I started playing youth football in 8th grade, and it was then that I realized I might actually be able to go to a nice college and not have to worry about hose much money it cost. Football wasn t as much of a financial burden as it was the time and energy needed to fulfill the responsibility of being on the team. Practice was 4 nights a week, and games were right around the time most parents were getting off of work. I fell in love with the game, and decided I would work as hard as I could to get a scholarship towards college. Much like the athletes discussed in Eitzen s article, I began slacking off in high school, figuring somehow that the football star from a small unheard of town could somehow get to college without putting much effort into academics. It worked for the most part, as began making all star teams and sending out videos I did get noticed, and even had the opportunity to play for a stellar high school team my senior season, however my once decent grades pummeled to barely maintaining a 2.0 gpa, because at my school, the teachers didn t watch football. Eitzen states in his article upward mobility through sport?�, that

That brings me to my next topic: how on gods green earth are these academically challenged athletes getting to colleges way beyond their academic standing, and maintaining grades that keep them eligible throughout there careers? The answer I come up with is that these colleges don t care if these athletes graduate, as long as they bring fans to the stands, and money to program. High academic standing schools have plenty of kids that will keep their graduating percentages at a high level, leaving the athletes as scapegoats to a rising dilemma of controversy in student-athletics.

Growing up a member of a lower-middle class household, I never had the chance to attend professional games, and settled for watching them on television. Now, I have the opportunity to attend oriole s games for $5 on Friday nights, and I take every chance to go that I can. Being a sports lover, I don t attend games for the beer, or the bus ride with friends. I go for the experience. There is nothing like a chilly night at a baseball stadium with a bag of addicting peanuts and the jumbotron. It is something I believe people take for granted when they shell out money for plasma TV s and luxury suites. I would still consider myself middle class, and I probably always will be, but even as the organizations jack up the prices on sporting events, I am still going to continue paying the money to go, because the experience is something that you can t put a class label on. Whether you re poor, rich, or a college kid catching a $5 Friday night game, the game stays the same, and it will always be worth it to me.

I agree with espnscfrk that for some, athletics is a person s way out of the ghetto� in some cases. In the Eitzen article, he argued that statistically the chances of receiving a full athletic scholarship to college are not in one s favor. Well, even if the scholarship isn t a full scholarship, everything helps. I liked that espnscfrk mentioned his friends wanted to play football on the college level so that they could earn a college degree, and not to ultimately play professional football. Eitzen only emphasized the negative points when he discussed that college athletes take easy courses to keep them eligible for play, which means they are not working towards graduation. That is not the case for all; I would like to think it s not the case for many. I would have loved to play sports on the college level but I felt that practice on top of games plus a full work load would have just been too much. I admire all scholar athletes who do successfully balance such a full schedule.

Jay Redding-knes 353

I began my sports career when I was 2 years old. My mom was a coach on my older sister s t-ball team, and she snuck me into the batting order each game so I could hit and run around the bases. It was then that I discovered my love for sports. I grew up in a small rural town, surrounded by farms and trees, so making it out as a professional athlete just sounded ridiculous. We did have a few people who made it though. One played professional baseball for a few years, another was an Olympic swimmer. Other than that, even the thought of college escapes the minds of the students leaving my high school. The area in which I lived seemed lower to middle class, however statistically is actually the highest grossing income per capita area in the nation. Growing up I played soccer and baseball, because that s what all kids from my town played. They were relatively cheap to play at the youth level, normally existing of a $40 fee and a pair of shin guards or a baseball mitt. However as I began to grow older, I started taking baseball a lot more seriously. I played on travel teams, and had to have the best equipment, often putting a financial strain on my sub-middle class household because face it, these things aren t cheap. Soon baseball gloves turned into $300 investments, along with baseball bats, cleats, batting gloves and my own helmet. It got to where I was carrying around a bag with upwards of $600 in equipment in it, all for youth and high school sports.

I started playing youth football in 8th grade, and it was then that I realized I might actually be able to go to a nice college and not have to worry about hose much money it cost. Football wasn t as much of a financial burden as it was the time and energy needed to fulfill the responsibility of being on the team. Practice was 4 nights a week, and games were right around the time most parents were getting off of work. I fell in love with the game, and decided I would work as hard as I could to get a scholarship towards college. Much like the athletes discussed in Eitzen s article, I began slacking off in high school, figuring somehow that the football star from a small unheard of town could somehow get to college without putting much effort into academics. It worked for the most part, as began making all star teams and sending out videos I did get noticed, and even had the opportunity to play for a stellar high school team my senior season, however my once decent grades pummeled to barely maintaining a 2.0 gpa, because at my school, the teachers didn t watch football. Eitzen states in his article upward mobility through sport?�, that

That brings me to my next topic: how on gods green earth are these academically challenged athletes getting to colleges way beyond their academic standing, and maintaining grades that keep them eligible throughout there careers? The answer I come up with is that these colleges don t care if these athletes graduate, as long as they bring fans to the stands, and money to program. High academic standing schools have plenty of kids that will keep their graduating percentages at a high level, leaving the athletes as scapegoats to a rising dilemma of controversy in student-athletics.

Growing up a member of a lower-middle class household, I never had the chance to attend professional games, and settled for watching them on television. Now, I have the opportunity to attend oriole s games for $5 on Friday nights, and I take every chance to go that I can. Being a sports lover, I don t attend games for the beer, or the bus ride with friends. I go for the experience. There is nothing like a chilly night at a baseball stadium with a bag of addicting peanuts and the jumbotron. It is something I believe people take for granted when they shell out money for plasma TV s and luxury suites. I would still consider myself middle class, and I probably always will be, but even as the organizations jack up the prices on sporting events, I am still going to continue paying the money to go, because the experience is something that you can t put a class label on. Whether you re poor, rich, or a college kid catching a $5 Friday night game, the game stays the same, and it will always be worth it to me.

Growing up I participated in a variety of sports and activities. The sports and activities I participated in included football, baseball, wrestling and lacrosse. The one sport that cost the most money to play over the years was football. I played football for a private league in my town. The cost to participate in this football league was three thousand dollars per year. My parents put me into this league because they could afford to at the time. I wanted to play in this league because I thought it provided better competition then the other public league in my town. All of the money went to high end equipment for each player and covered all of the travel expenses. The public league was created when a group of parents requested that the town make a less expensive league to play in so that everyone can participate. The public league in town used old equipment and had to provide their own transportation to away games. I was friends with a large amount of players from both the public and private leagues. When we all advanced to high school, kids form both leagues had to play together. This proved to a lot of kids that there were several great players in the public league that could have played for the private league but unfortunately could not afford it. While there was a difference in the quality of equipment and competition, I do not think that there was a difference in the overall experience of playing football.

Going to various sporting events was a highlight of growing up. I grew up in the middle of New Jersey. The nearest professional sports team was The New York Giants. My father brought my brother and me to two games at the great Giants Stadium. Both times there were tickets given to us by friends who couldn t use them that day. In fact the few professional sports games that I did attend, I was able to attend because we were given tickets to them by friends. The sporting events I went to most often growing up were minor league baseball games. The minor league stadium was very close to my house and very affordable for my entire family to go to. While going to sporting events I never really considered how I viewed them through my assigned social class. Looking back, I can see now that I definitely fitted into my social class while attending those games. I would consider my family to be upper middle class at the time. I can see how the tickets that my father bought were his way of trying to show that. He always bought the season ticket package for the minor league team with seats right behind home plate. I always thought of them as regular seats; but growing up I realized that the seats we had were slightly more expensive than the others. To me, it didn t really matter where I sat at a ball game. I was just there for the experience and to spend time with friends and family.

In response to jflesh1 I think that bowling could be considered a lower class sport because of how it is perceived on television. I also agree with his thoughts about golf and that not everyone that plays is necessarily upper class or wealthy, but in fact many college students play golf and they are not considered wealthy by any means.

When looking at my social class, it is easy to see how it has shaped my sporting experiences. I grew up in a small suburb, with white middle class families making up the majority of the population. In many ways, this small town influenced the sports I played and the experiences I had with them.

As a child, I played many different sports. The sports I played were only those readily available in my community. Soccer, basketball, and softball were three sports that were run by recreation leagues in my town, with the practices and games being held on the same campus as my elementary school. Before the start of each season, teachers would hand out fliers to bring home to our parents notifying them of when registration is for the upcoming sport. It was almost as if someone had mapped out our future in sport and handed it to us on a sheet of paper. For my parents, these sports were the most convenient to get my brothers and me involved in. Registration, practices, team pictures, and game times were already organized. All my parents had to do was drive us the distance of a short mile to attend. Naturally, these were the sports that my parents asked us if we wanted to be involved in. The only exception to this rule was cheerleading. At the young age of seven, I decided that soccer was not the sport for me, and I wanted to be a cheerleader for the Pop Warner league.

When I first began playing sports however, I do not recall it being my decision to be involved. My father is an athlete, a huge sports fan, and believes heavily in the psychological benefits that come from being involved in an organized sport. The question was not do you want to play sports?� but rather, which sport would you like to play?� The sports that I had the option of playing were those that were convenient and cheap. Uniforms and the majority of the equipment for the sports I played came from the recreation leagues I played in. Whether you fit in the lower or higher end of the middle class, you could afford to play. Cheerleading required a lot more time and money. Whereas the other recreation leagues I played in were located right in town, cheerleading competitions and the football games we cheered for took place all over the state of New Jersey. In this league, there was a lot more to pay for, but cheerleading was something I loved and my parent made it fit into their middle class budget.

As I grew older, I stuck with sports for enjoyment. The sports I played just for the social aspect phased out and by high school, I was playing field hockey and running track. I always put all my effort into the sport I was playing at the time, but I did not rely on it as a means to attain a higher class status. According to D. Stanley Eitzen in his article Upward Mobility Through Sport?,� many children and adolescents from a low income background believe they can achieve a high class status through athletics. They believe it is possible to play at a professional level and overcome the life of poverty they were brought into. Because I have lived a comfortable middle class life, this thought never crossed my mind. Eitzen points out that for some young athletes in poverty, a sport scholarship is their only chance at going to college. My parents could afford to send me to college whether I had a scholarship or not. For this reason, scholarship and income as a professional athlete never crossed my mind while playing sports. Being an athlete was fun for me. It was an opportunity to compete in a sport that I enjoyed while keeping in shape and spending time with friends.

Likewise, my middle class status carried over to the sporting events I attended as a child. Rather than spend hundreds of dollars for my family to attend professional games, we frequently attended minor league baseball and hockey games. We also attended local high school and college games. I still had the experience of a semi-professional game, but without the professional cost. The few times that my dad got tickets to a professional game, he only took one of his children. My brothers and I fought over who would get to go watch a live Flyers, Eagles, or Phillies game. Often, my brothers argued that because I am a girl, I should not be able to go because I am not as interested as they are. Too often, my brothers were sucked into the stereotype that men are superior to women in regard to sports. I had to defend female athletes and female sports during many arguments with them, but it has not stopped me from being an athlete or a sports aficionado.

Overall, the social class I was born in to and the community I was raised in had an impact on my sporting experiences. The sports I participated in, as well as the sports I watched, were influenced by the amount of money my family had to devote to them. Although many of my sport choices were picked by what was offered or most convenient, I would not have had it any other way.

espnscfrk makes a sad but valid point about how many members of the lower class can only further their education after high school by playing a sport in college. I think that it is terrible that kids have to be amazing athletes to afford college, but a credit to your friends who found a way to make it to college none the less.

Social class has great deal to do with what sports you like to play and what sports you like to watch. A member of the lower class would be more likely to participate in sports that are economically viable and what that member grows up watching. Sports for the lower class would include sports such as: boxing, wrestling, and in many cases even basketball. All of these sports are very cheap to do and members of the lower class also gravitate to combat sports. Members of the middle class are more likely to participate in sports such as football, baseball and hockey. These sports are a bit more expensive because of the extra equipment required and are also what the middle class grow to appreciate. Members of the upper class in our society participate in sports that seem like more of social clubs on top of being a competitive sport. These sports include: golf and water polo.
Personally, I am a member of the middle class of society and although I did grow up playing football and baseball I gravitated towards sports classified as, low class sports�, boxing and wrestling. The reason I fell in love with individual sports is because of how much you learn about yourself, and how much it helps you to grow. In an individual sport you have no one to blame for your loses and only yourself to congratulate when you win. Although boxing and wrestling are rough sports the reward of achieving a victory outweighs the negatives. The equipment used for these sports are very cheap and things such as gloves and headgear for boxing are provided to you by the gym. Growing up, I was not exposed to too much boxing or wrestling for that matter I just appreciate the individual aspect of the sports.
After reading the Pedro Martinez article I thought that Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the humane society needs to mind his own business. Pedro is in his own country where it is not only legal to have cock fights but also a celebrated event. Cock fighting is a part of Pedro s culture and for anyone in the U.S. to try and strip that of someone is very wrong and perhaps the reason why many people who come to America after a few generation end up assimilating and forgetting their culture. We saw what happened when Mike Vick attempted a similar animal fighting even here in the U.S., he was crucified and his career is most likely over. The Mike Vick sentence I thought was extremely harsh because this is something that he grew up doing and is what he is exposed, and although what he did was cruel and I am in no way condoning it his life is now over because of an event that in many other countries is actually celebrated.

Social class has great deal to do with what sports you like to play and what sports you like to watch. A member of the lower class would be more likely to participate in sports that are economically viable and what that member grows up watching. Sports for the lower class would include sports such as: boxing, wrestling, and in many cases even basketball. All of these sports are very cheap to do and members of the lower class also gravitate to combat sports. Members of the middle class are more likely to participate in sports such as football, baseball and hockey. These sports are a bit more expensive because of the extra equipment required and are also what the middle class grow to appreciate. Members of the upper class in our society participate in sports that seem like more of social clubs on top of being a competitive sport. These sports include: golf and water polo.
Personally, I am a member of the middle class of society and although I did grow up playing football and baseball I gravitated towards sports classified as, low class sports�, boxing and wrestling. The reason I fell in love with individual sports is because of how much you learn about yourself, and how much it helps you to grow. In an individual sport you have no one to blame for your loses and only yourself to congratulate when you win. Although boxing and wrestling are rough sports the reward of achieving a victory outweighs the negatives. The equipment used for these sports are very cheap and things such as gloves and headgear for boxing are provided to you by the gym. Growing up, I was not exposed to too much boxing or wrestling for that matter I just appreciate the individual aspect of the sports.
After reading the Pedro Martinez article I thought that Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the humane society needs to mind his own business. Pedro is in his own country where it is not only legal to have cock fights but also a celebrated event. Cock fighting is a part of Pedro s culture and for anyone in the U.S. to try and strip that of someone is very wrong and perhaps the reason why many people who come to America after a few generation end up assimilating and forgetting their culture. We saw what happened when Mike Vick attempted a similar animal fighting even here in the U.S., he was crucified and his career is most likely over. The Mike Vick sentence I thought was extremely harsh because this is something that he grew up doing and is what he is exposed, and although what he did was cruel and I am in no way condoning it his life is now over because of an event that in many other countries is actually celebrated.

I liked what Chris Richards about sports costing so much money and how he appreciated his mother paying for them, I can relate because my parents bought me and brother whatever we needed for any sport. Looking back now I can appreciate what they did for me and see how their social class fit into the sports that I played.

in responce to Chris Richards post. He brings up vaild points and i agree with what he is saying.

After last week's class I began to think about my life and the sports I am able to play such as snowboarding, golfing, tennis and this summer rock climbing. According to our lecture snowboarding and golf are considered "High class" sports I believe it because the equipment used for snowboarding and golf is expensive you have to get snow pants, snow jacket, snow boots, gloves, bindings and a snowboard that comes separate. I only own one golf club which is a driver because the rest of a set is too expensive for me to buy so I rent at the course. When I play tennis I go to wal-mart and buy the $40 rackets but I seen rackets at other stores for hundreds of dollars. When I start rock climbing I can only imagine how much that is going to cost me. When I used to play these sports I just played for fun now I realize for most people is about what social class you are in because not everyone can afford all the equipment that is required for each sport. I do like to spend a little money when it comes to going to sporting events such as the ravens and the orioles I prefer to sit in the lower levels of the stadiums but when I go with some friends they could only sit in the noise bleeds for both teams and after last week's class discussion I realized that it was true, each section of the stadium is basically divided by one's social class. The middle class sit all the way up top, the high classes sit on the lower levels and the really high classes sit in the club suites.

I am not saying I am of high class status because I am definitely not, middle class is what I am, but I do have a good job that pays extremely well, my car is paid off, my parents also help me by paying for my insurance, gas, tuition and some food. Because I am financially stable and also have financial support from my parents I can spend a little more money when I go to sporting events and shop for sports equipment and clothes, I am very lucky according to the article The Picture: Growing Economic Insecurity and Inequality, "The lowest-income fifth includes people with family incomes between $0 and $21,600 in 1998 dollars. The people in this fifth likely have one income supporting their household. They are students, welfare recipients, and low-income retirees living on social security" being a college student I am very fortunate to be financially stable. It gives me a chance to try new things and explore different places. Before last week's class I never sat back to think about all the financial stability one has to have in order to play a sport. Now that I realize what it takes just to play a sport, have equipment and enjoy sports events I will think twice about spending the $20 at the stadium for a burger, fries and a drink. And settle for the cheaper equipment rather then the more expensive one's because all you are doing is paying for the name and use the extra money for something more productive.

In middle school, I played field hockey, basketball and softball. In high school, I continued playing field hockey and basketball, but switched to lacrosse for the spring season. I choose to play field hockey because my mother and older sister played, and I never cared for soccer. I choose to play basketball because I love the sport, and there really were no other options for females to play a winter sport, besides indoor track. In middle school, I played softball, even though I loathe softball, because there was no lacrosse team at my school, and my only other option would have been outdoor track. That is why in high school I changed my spring sport to lacrosse at my first opportunity.
As far as the quality of our equipment, in middle school I can vaguely remember the equipment, and it was decent. I was fortunate because my middle school was a very new building, just two years old by the time I was in sixth grade. Everything was new. It was especially nice playing basketball in our brand new gym. I do remember always being surprised at the quality of other schools gyms when we played away games. I don t remember one gym or school building being nicer than ours.
When I moved on to high school, again we had a very nice gym and relatively new basketball uniforms. For field hockey, we had a practice field and played our homes games in the stadium. The practice field wasn t lined half of the time, and on each end of the field in front of the goals it was like a desert. For some reason, grass never grew on those areas of the field. Playing in the stadium sounds like it would be exciting, but it was actually the opposite. The stadium is of course where the football team played their games every Friday night. To this day, I really don t know how we managed to get through a field hockey game on a bumpy field with chunks of earth missing every other step.
The lacrosse program at my high school was only four years old when I was a freshman, so as one can imagine, our equipment could have been a lot better. Our uniforms were huge, thin, collared t-shirts and half of the numbers were missing off the back of them. The bottoms were an awful plaid and pleated skirt that came down past our knees, and no one ever went near the bloomers. Luckily, by my junior year, we finally got new uniforms.
In D. Stanley Eitzen s piece Upward Mobility Through Sport?� he mentioned women have the greatest opportunities to be a professional athlete in individual sports like tennis, golf, ice-skating, skiing, bowling, cycling and track. Well, I took tennis lessons when I was young and never cared for the sport, I hate golf, including mini-golf, and I don t like the cold so that leaves out ice-skating and skiing. I choose to participate in the sports I did because they were fun, it was something to do after school, it kept me in shape, and it was a great way to make new friends. I never have even considered attempting to become a professional athlete. I have been told my whole life that education is the most important thing. I thought it was interesting when Eitzen was explaining the issue with marginal baseball players. On average, they earn $247,000 (in 1996), which is a lot of money, but their careers only last about five years. So what do they do after baseball with no education to fall back on?
I also thought Eitzen made a valid point when he quoted sociologist Jay Coakley. Coakley stated that there were 3,500 African American athletes. Simultaneously, there are 30,015 black doctors, and 30,800 black lawyers whose careers will surely surpass the five year career of professional athletes. I agree with Eitzen s point: being a professional athlete undeniably has its perks with fame and status, but no one should solely rely on athletics as their meal ticket. Statistically, it just makes so much more sense to rely on one s education.

In response to Nicole Loverde's post; I understand where you are coming from, and the point you are trying to make, but I would have to argue that it's not necessarily "lower class" that your mom bought cheaper products instead of being taken in by the sporting atmosphere and paying ridiculous amounts of money for food and drinks. If I were to go to an Orioles game today, I would technically have the money for a $4.50 soda, but the prices are so astronomical that it makes me cringe. I think your mom was being responsible with her money, and made a good choice to save some extra dollars.

Last weeks class really opened my eyes as to how my social surrounding effected the sports I has played while growing up. I lived in a suburban neighborhood which could be very wealthy or very poor. I played baseball and ice hockey growing up and eventually moved onto football and wrestling. Ice hockey wasn't that big in my town, only a few kids who I knew played. It's funny, the only thing I remember about when my dad bought me all my first hockey equiptment was the total bill at the counter of Sports Authority, over $700. I quickly realized that I wouldn't be playing this sport much longer after my equiptment no longer fit. That's really when I focused on baseball. There were a million parks in my town, all with at least two baseball fields. Equipment was fairly basic and reletively cheap, a glove, bat and cleats, I feel as if that is why it was the sport I played longest.

Once I enetered high school, I had three years of football and wrestling under my belt. You needed absolutly no money to participate in wrestling, only maybe about $45 for a basic pair of shoes, headgear and a knee pad if you wanted. You didn't have to pay any fees to play football, the equipment was given to you as long as it was returned at the end of the season. This benefited mainly the kids who lived in the poor area of town. They were getting top notch equipment, for nothing. These kids were determined to be the best they could be whether it be at football or in basketball because as Eitzen states in his article "sports provide the opportunity to get out of poverty and go to college".

Two of my best friends growing up lived in the bad area of town, one some people may call a "ghetto". They didn't have the money to go to big prestigious schools and get a good education. They realized that their only way of getting into a good school so they can live better lives than their childh