Knuckleheads, I apologize this was not posted yesterday. You see, what had happened was, I got a new kitten and I had all these kitten chores and then it was like midnight...yada yada yada...
Okay, for tonight, check out this video about baseball in Japan
Thoughts? Is this a good thing for the sport? Baseball is an American pastime, an American sport. What struggles might players on both sides experience? How might this help cultural exchange and understanding between nations?
How does this look in other sports? Is it fair that FC Barcelona can get players from all over the world to compete in the Spanish league?
Also, don't forget to complete your book assignments: page 650 #3 a,b,c and page 655 #3 a,b,c. Tomorrow in class we will discuss Japan and then do some artwork depicting the history of Japan.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
14 comments:
I really think that this is pretty cool how many good players are brought from other places in the world including Asia. Most of the time it is also a good thing for the sport, because the sport can gain new fans and more popularity, such was the case when Yao Ming arrived in the US to play on the Houston Rockets. Yao Ming was the hottest new player in the NBA, and Americans began watching many of his games, wanting to see if he lived up to all the hype. Bringing together the best players from different places can also create good partnerships and future relationships between two countries. For example, since the US and China both take great pride in Yao Ming, they can understand each other better and through their compassion, become better friends with each other. As for the players themselves, it is good because they get to experience a new place and get to become more famous internationally, but there are also some struggles for those who do not speak English. The players can learn though, and then they can communicate and understand much more effectively. For American players who do speak English, it might be a weird new change happening on their team, and they might not be used to how the new player plays. But it can open up new doors to them and help them better understand another culture, and they can help out the new player in adjusting to America. Still, I think the message that the teams are trying to convey by bringing in players from other countries is that baseball does not distinguish based on ethnicity or nationality and that anyone who is really good can someday make it to the MLB, the main American baseball league. Like the Red Sox coach said, "We don't care where they're from. They have a Red Sox uniform on, that's what we care about. The only real other sports I see this happening in are soccer and basketball, and what the team does in both of those sports is they take in another player from another country and make him the most known (and marketed) player on the team. For example, the MLS team Los Angeles Galaxy paid to transfer David Beckham to their team two years ago. When it was confirmed he was going to play for them, Beckham jerseys were included in every sports store in the US. The same with Freddy Adu, who signed with the MLS team DC United at just 15. Also Zinedine Zidane, who went to Juventus a long time ago is now a worldwide sports icon (not only for his headbutt lol). I think its fair that any team can get players all over the world because there are no bad things that can result from it, unless the player isn't really good at their sport.
By the way, congrats on the new kitten :)
Oh yeah and I forgot to say....... FIRST COMMENT!!!!!!!!!
Yadayada no excuses mr philen!
I think overall this may be a good thing, but it could have many negative sides to it. The good thing is that the sport gains more diversity, and it forms ties between different people, ethnicities, and nations. However, to name a few negative effects that this could have, the traditional idea of "American baseball" or the "American League" could be lost; stereotypes could be made of foreign players(e.g. if there are a lot of great Japanese baseball players, then people might begin to make the stereotype that all Japanese people play baseball); the whole foreign player recruiting could simply become a commercial thing to win, and some values could be lost in the process. The main struggle players seem to face regarding foreign players is that of language and communication. But this may lead to more understanding of different people and open their minds to new ideas, people, and cultures.
Regarding Barcelona and the like, I don't necessarily rejoice about the fact that football teams try to hire good players from all over the world to play in a Spanish league, or European cup, or whatever. I suppose it's good in that people are more accepting of other people and have a sense of unity/equality/etc, but I'm not entirely convinced that this is actually the reason at all that teams buy foreign players: They just want to win. So in this case, I think participants of a "Spanish league" should be Spanish, and "European leagues" be European, and so on, to make the league actually mean something, because otherwise it might as well be a world cup.
I think that is is a good thing that Japanese players are going to play in the United States. The fact that the game is getting players from all over is good because it increases the viewership of the sport. Some struggles that both players with have to deal with is the language barrier, and the culture barrier. Also in the video, it said that the playing styles of the two countries was different.
Overall i think that is a good thing to let international players play in the countrie's domestic leagues. For example, the NBA, it is the most international out of the 4 major American sports (NBA, NFL, MLB, & NHL) and international players have had a great influence on the league. Many of the international players, are icons in their own countries, like Yao Ming, he is probably the most popular athlete in China. Also international players have had an influence on how the game is played. A good example of this is the "shooting big man." It used to be that your big man was situated in the post and just shot bank shots or dunk. But today, guys like Dirk Nowitzki or Yao Ming can spread your defense out 23 feet and knock down shots from there, and thats influenced players like Duncan & Garnett. Also NBA players are popular overseas for example in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Kobe and LeBron got some of the loudest cheers fromt he crowd. And when Chris Paul and Dwight Howard were eating at a fast food place, they were swarmed by people wanting their autrograph.
Other LEagues as well, such as the English Premier League welcome international talent and that is a good thing because it is the most watched sports league in the world. Players like Cristiano Ronaldo or Fernando Torres, who aren't English themselves, draw fans from all around the world. Getting players from all around the world also have helped make the English LEague the strongest in not only Europe, but the WOrld.
I think this is good for baseball as it is good for any other sport that imports talent. Although the amount of foreign players must be monitored to keep stability in the amount of foreigners and local talent. The players may experience struggles in communication but i really see no other struggle between the two players or playing styles.The Japanese players seem to bring a new twist to major league baseball and a new energy that is much needed, so that is good. The Japanese people and country will better understand another culture or the western culture, adding to international relations, but this is not the aim of the MLB, the aim is just import new talent and the best of the best no matter where they are from. The thing about Barcelona getting any player the want from anywhere in the world, well that's good in my view, if you are a top top team than, u have certain privileges for example the best of the best will want to play for your club, you will have a larger pool of fish to fish from.For me it doesnt matter if my roster is mixed culturally, because it shows we would have diversity and when my team is the best like Barcelona is than, I will keep getting players from across the planet to keep that status. The English game is reaching a status were they are gonna have a crisis soon where the league will be overrun by foreigners but how they can solve that is if other countries like Spain or Italy or Germany, start to diversify there league as much as England, it is already a process that has started, now it is just to contain it.Too much of anything is not healthy.
It's a good thing for Japan. It brings a lot of positive points such as scholarship and more. Baseball used to be popular only in the States and it's good if other country experiment it and therefor the game will be more known and get more fans. We all need distractions.The forgein players issue is most likely to be commercial advantages and the issue players struggle with is to communicated with them.
Bon, about the foot, I don't think it is a problem to recuit people from all over the world because the players often have the possibility to play with their original/country team.
I think theres nothing against players from other countries. Sport is something for societ, fun communitie, and for everybody. To have an international team can be a great advatage.Different nationalities aways bring different cultures and it makes a tea more interessting. Furthermore sport is sport. I mean it doesn't matter where you come from, what religion or what culture. Bringing togethor different players from the whole word is a great oppertunity to create a strong team, because you have a bigger range of talented players. But It should not be to much international, because I mean where the sense in for example WM, when every team has players from all the world. t kind of takes the origion of the WM or the Europea cup. If For example the Spanish team has only two spanish players, where is the point of calling it the spanish team.
For my opinion are mixed teams a good thing and bring a bigger chance of victim, however it should be oviously that the team plays for its country and for reaching thisn effect on the spectators the team shouldnt be to mixed.
Baseball is a Sport and Sports weren't Created based on Someone's Race Ethice's or where they came from it's about Skill perseviance dedication & love for the Game.
Sure American Invented baseball but that doesn't mean it own's or gets to choose who plays so i Find it Really Nice and decent that they go about this in such a Respectable way. I think it's pretty awesome getting people from other countries to come play it's a win -win situtation they come learn about our culcuture we learn about there's and in the end we both have an Awesome time playing a Sport we all love.
Christopher Columbus Bernicat*
I found this video to be very interesting. Is the fact that so many different countries are beginning to take an interest on the sport a good thing. I think so. As they said this would be a good way for countries to connect on a cultural experience. Maybe someday it may even reach the scope soccer has in terms of participants from countries.
However I can also see where some conflict can arise. As stated baseball is an ‘american sport/pastime’. It in a way defines america’s cultural heritage. But as can been seen more and more players n teams are from other countries. I by no measn am opposed to this. But the way the manager of the Dodgers was speaking he seemed to be saying that ,’nationality doesn’t matter. It is just how well the person plays.’ There has been a higher increase in the number of Japanese players. The only thing is this could lead to maybe a decrease in fan support. Sometimes fans support their teams because that is the state that they come from. It might seem ironical that the team they support actually has half of its members being Japanese.
What I would like to see happen maybe is the creation of more league teams other tha the ones already there.
Struggles that player may experience could range from communication barriers to lack of comprehension of each other’s backgrounds. Japan and the us although similar do have their differences. These differences could hinder relationships between the players. This could in a way threaten group dynamics since they will then be acting as a ‘part team’ and ‘japanese individual’.
I think this is brilliant. This idea of importing talent will universalize baseball, which is mainly a western (american) sport;Importing a player also means importing their loyal fans. The main struggle between team mates would be an issue with language and maybe some culture differences. However these obstacles shouldn't cause a big problem to players devoted to their team.
By bringing in players from other countries would cause cultural exchange amongs the team, and maybe baseball fans would grow interest in their new favorite player's country. Sports bring competition so all the teams try to get the best talent from wherever they can find it, the best talent usualy goest to the best paying offers aswell which usualy makes the strongest richest teams rank high. I think it is fair that FC Barcelona gets players from other countries for many reasons. first being that other teams do it to and second is because it gives changes to people who dont have them (if this wasn't allowed many players with less fortunate training facilities wouldn't have ever developed to their full potential). then again there is the problem where foreign players take all the space in leagues diminishing the numbers of national players. First i kinda thought that this was unfair, then after a while i realise that this priviledge should go to those that deserve it, not to those who earn it by simple nationality
I think it is good that Japan plays baseball even though it is originally an American sport. Even though the sport was invented in the States, it doesn't mean that it was meant only for Americans. The fact that baseball is globalizing gives people a chance to interact with others who share their passion and/or interests. there are probably some negative sides to it, but the only one i can think of is the issue of communication. But of course that can easily be solved. Like Mr. Philen said for soccer it is the same thing. The players who play in the Spanish league are not all Spanish. Many of them come from Latin America, Africa,and other places around the world. So me what matters is what is good for the them, the players, and the fans. A sport should not be only for one country, it should be for everyone who is interested in the sport.
DJ:
i guess it all depends. I see how Baseball is a typical American sport, and they can't just claim it for their country (which is not what they're doing, tg). If countries did only select native/local players than they could possibly start critized for discrimination. The main thing, however, that i believe is rather insulting, is the insane wages. Yeh they work hard, yeh people need entertainment (and r willing to pay insane amounts of money for good seats or whatevr.) but it's not fair that people who save lives, people who run countries, people who work for charity organizations, people that have to take 2 job to support their family, and people who die because they cannot afford medical healthcare, are in such desperate need of money... several thousand per year is still extremely high but several million...
anyways, i think it somewhat strengthens the relationship between Japan and America, it's part of the American culture that has been adopted into the japanese culture, it should be an honor for America, in my oppinion. The problem with global championships and whatever is that... they're not... most players from the french team, have only been granted french citizenship to be able to cheat the rules.. meh, im not rlly into sports anyway....
wow i think that the whole question is quiet irrelevant because nowadays all sports are played in a lot of different countries and it has nothing abnormal about it. I would still say it\s a good thing because it improves the sport by increasing the amount of players who can make new records. The only struggle that this could bring would be that the Japanese players become almost godly in the sport and get all the big pay checks and then Americans are left with nothing. However this would help a lot in the exchange of culture between the countries because it would help all players learn more about the countries where their fellow team mates are coming from and how things are done in those countries. This would help the relationship between team mates and thus make the teams stronger. I beleive the whole question is stupid because since it\s happening in all sports there's really nothing to worry about. If you look at FC barcelona who is getting their players from all over the world the same thing is happening in all other countries. Look at France's soccer team there are only 1 or 2 white players left all the others are black from other countries. I think no country should have a sport just for their country because it would limit the sport and the things the people could bring to the sport or the sport could bring to the people.
I think that sports should be international. However, i find it strange that players from other countries get to participate in national tournaments and sports. It just defeats the purpose of national tournaments to me. It isn't an american league any more, its more like an international league taking place in the US. Not that i know much about baseball (or like it at all), but thats how i see it. The same thing counts for other sports. the Spanish league should be spanish, not international, because that would make it an international league.
On an individual and political scale, i think it is a good cultural exchange. Sports can bring together people, spread talent, and help people develop their careers. Exchange of players can also ease tension between countries and improve relations, and could help de-alienize enemies. Competition can turn things ugly on a personal level though. Native players may feel threatened by an incoming wave of outsiders that are 'stealing' their spots and oppurtunities. Misunderstandings due to cultural differences could also be a problem for players.
Post a Comment