The two athletes I would pay to see are Tim Tebow and Abby Wambach. I would love to see Tim Tebow play in person mainly because of the great intensity in which he plays the game. It’s very evident how much passion Tebow puts into each game, and in preparation for each game. It’s moments like Tebow’s junior season at Florida following the loss to Mississippi when he gave his famous post game speech (http://youtu.be/4sGv2Zw-WQw). He put all the blame on himself, put the team on his back, and led them to another National Championship. Tebow’s leadership is a huge reason why I would pay to see him play. As an NFL quarterback he may not be the best but he certainly works hard to get there. I am currently reading his book Through My Eyes, a quote from that book perfectly sums up why it is I would pay to see him play, “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard” (Tebow, Whitaker, 2011, p. 38). Before the 2011 World Cup I hadn’t even heard of Abby Wambach, and to be honest the thought of women’s soccer hadn’t crossed my mind since the 1999 run with Mia Hamm. It was during the 2011 World Cup that I began to follow USA soccer and took notice of Wambach. I really enjoyed watching their run to the Championship game, where they fell short to Japan in an overtime thriller. During that run Abby Wambach came up big in the “clutch” moments of the games. It seemed when the stage and what they were playing for got bigger, so did Wambach’s game (http://youtu.be/_-FmVaPu8Z8). She too plays with a lot of passion and is a very charismatic athlete.
I enjoy watching and playing pretty much any sport, and am always up for something new. In High School I competed in Cross Country, Basketball, and Track. I was better at the two running sports lettering in both sports three years each. I was a captain of the Cross squad my senior year, and captain my last two years of Track. I carried on those leadership roles into coaching, I currently coach Cross Country, Basketball, and Track at St. Aloysius hear in Bowling Green. I really enjoy coaching and now realize it is something I would like to continue doing beyond my days in college. This year I am coaching 7th and 8th grade girls basketball. It was a transition from coaching both guys and girls to just girls. Something interesting I have found is just how different the dynamics of a team and practice is from boys basketball. In my free time I enjoy running, so far I have ran two full Marathons and plan to compete in others. I find endurance sports challenging and thrilling, and plan to compete in events such as a Tough Mudder and a Duathlon as well.
As far as the class goes I would like to further explore the differences in team dynamics from Men’s and Women’s teams.
Hi Tony,
ReplyDeleteI loved the two clips that you included in this entry. I can remember the moment when Abby Wambach hit that header in the game against Brazil. I was starting to think the U.S. team was not going to make it to the finals and when she hit that shot, it was so exciting! I became a big fan of hers then too. I did not remember the Tim Tebow speech but I can understand why that would be a memorable moment and you would want to see him play in person. He has certainly led some amazing comebacks this season. You mentioned having done some full marathons, which is great, but I wondered what a "Tough Mudder" was.
I look forward to reading your next entries. Good start!
Dr. Spencer
I love Tebow's speech; to me it defines his character and really who he is within a one minute speech: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlIQFf7A5wY)
DeleteAs far as the Tough Mudder it's a 12 mile course including 25 plus obstacles throughout, depending on the particular course. I really enjoy the challenging aspects of it and cannot wait to compete in it. I really look forward to endurance driven athletic events such as the Tough Mudder. Half the battle is in the training and not burning yourself out before the race.
I know Tony quite a bit because we went to high school together. I really appreciate his picks for his two favorite athletes that he would go see. I too would like to see both Tim Tebow and Abby Wambach. I admire Tim Tebow so much for the amount of belief he has in himself and his will to win. After watching what he has had to go through to get where he’s at I think it has really inspired me to work harder to achieve what I want out of life. He does not listen to his critics and even when they say that he has not an NFL quarterback or that he can’t do something he proves everyone wrong. And for Abby Wambach I thought she was really the best player for the U.S team this past summer. Some of the headers she made were some of the best plays I’ve seen while watching soccer. Granted, I do not watch a whole lot of soccer but I was really impressed with Abby’s play as well as the entire U.S team.
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