Monday, March 17, 2014

Article of the Week- Per. 7 Due 3/21

"Fans and Foes they Love to Hate" Is there any reason for fans to care about rivalries anymore?http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2014/03/16/fans-and-the-foes-they-love-to-hate

 Read the opinions.  Consider the author's tone, structure of the article, validity of evidence, persuasive techniques, and your personal reaction.  Is one opinion more persuasive than the other? Why?  
2. Please add an intelligent comment (minimum 5 sentences) in response to the linked articles from The New York Times.  Be sure to use two quotes in your response.
3. Optional: Comment on a classmates post in a second post (minimum 3 sentences)
*Use only your first name, last initial and class period.

16 comments:

  1. Stephanie Durso Period: 7
    To many, rivals between sports teams had been long gone. Though they needed to realize that the rivalry made the game that more exciting. Rivals are just a state of mind. They were created to give the fans something to look forward to. It gives it more excitement to watch the Yankees vs. the Red Sox. Personally the Yankees are better than the Red Soxs. “This is a complicated world with serious problems -- unemployment, gross economic inequality, violence raging across Syria and Ukraine -- and so it can feel silly and frivolous to get so wrapped up in sports rivalries. “Of course there are many more pressing issues than sports, but too many these games are what they look forward to. Some being fans since they were young, finding their love of the team and sport from a relative. Rivalries are a tradition connecting many generations to the love of sports. There is no significance for the Yankees vs. the red sox rivalry, but it definitely makes the game more interesting. “Fall in love with a player or a team, and the romance is almost guaranteed to end in heartbreak. “Though many players move around you get that one player every once and awhile that sticks around and knows what they want (Derek Jeter). Someone who worked hard and knew from a young age there was only one team for him the Yankees. Rivals are nothing more than a state of mind. Concerning the game only and has nothing to do with anything personal.

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  2. Cassie Vaccaro. Period; 7
    In my opinion, rivalry's are just a for fun, and where people are forced to win against their rivalry in any sport, because if they don't, it would make our town look bad. For example, Branford V. East Haven is our rival. To me, rivals are just a state of mind. They were once created to keep fans involved, and give fans something to look forward to while watching the game. It also provides more excitement to the viewers, and allows us to root more for our town. It says in the article titled, "Bad Blood Is Good", and it says, "Rivalries help tell the story of sports, and in so doing give fans a sense of urgency and drama. Let’s hope that moneymaking interests in competitive sports acknowledge this fact and exploit it, instead of ignoring it." To me, this proves my point about rivalries proving story of sports, and lets say, Branford doesn't win a football game against East Haven...That would cause a major mood change in BHS the next day...wouldn't it? I think so. I think it goes both ways, if EHHS lost to BHS then the same thing would happen in their school the next day. They would be bummed out that they lost against their rivalry. Lastly, too many rivals between sports teams had been long gone a while ago.

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    Replies
    1. George H P.7
      Cassie I completely agree with you in sports its just a game. We all gotta have a good time after all. Sports have just been a less dangerous way of debating then most subjects have been.

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  3. In my opinion i dont think that fans should still care about rivalries. The reason I think this is because people will always root for their favorite team and trash talk a team they don't like no matter what. In the article, All Americans Are Free Agents, the author says,"Sports rivalries, it now appears,are just as portable, available at the flick of a remote or the tap of a keyboard." Which is totally true because rival trash talk happens anywhere and I feel like fans shouldn't care about what other people say about their teams because if they like their team then that's all that matters. Also, in the article, They Fill a Tribal Need, the author says,"A consequence of being part of a fan base is that partisans of a rival team form an out group." This is also true, because if you are part of a certain fan base then you will always have an other team base that won't like you. I feel as if you should just like the team that you want and not care about what anyone else thinks. Rivalry doesn't really matter and you shouldnt care about it.
    Karisma Patel
    Period 7

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  4. George H P.7
    Sports play many roles in our lives. The debates of whether which teams better helps us as people fufill our primal need to pick one team over another just like friends and mates who we will treat better over the others. "We are wired to be part of a group and to treat our group members (our ingroup) as privileged over everyone else." Rivalries also bring people together in times of trouble just like opposing sides of politics we all come together in the end. "Rivalries can even galvanize the country and bring people together during tough times." I even see sports as an important way of making money. Sports are a major part of this country and others for all of these reasons. I always saw sports as a healthy way to debate a subject rather then getting into a fight.

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  5. in my opinion i don't like the rivalries between sports, it makes no sense to me. I mean its ok to have a little competition between each other, but i've seen people take it way to far. for example people will try to fight one another and they don't even know each other, just to support their team. It's good to support your team, but you need to support them in a positive way that's not violent. tha's my opinion on rivalries between sports.

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  6. I believe that rivalries are a main component of why sports games and events are so fun. Rivalries not only are fun to us, but I believe they actually push the athletes to try harder. Whether it’s major league rivalries (Yankees vs. Redsox) or high school (Branford vs. East Haven), rivalries are usually harmless and fun. While playing against your rivalry team, both teams are pushing themselves to their capable physical limit to win. In the article, “They Fill a Tribal Need”, Markman shows a scientific outlook on rivalries that proves rivalries has psychological benefits. Not only is it more entertainment for people, it produces high levels of energy and gives us the comfort of being in groups. It is our true human nature to affiliate ourselves with other people. Markman states, “There are few opportunities in life that allow for extreme emotional experiences. Embracing rivalries pays off in those unmatched moments of pure feeling.” I agree with this because being part of a rivalry is an experience to everyone. In another article, “Changing Uniforms Can Fuel the Rivalry” the author said, “Rivalries transcend player mobility, too, because they’ve always been about more than the players. The Yankees-Red Sox rivalry is also a battle between cities, cultures, traditions and styles.” It’s competition in it’s pure form. Competition is what keeps these sports going and winning, without it what would the sports be or do? I think rivalries are a benefit to sports if they remain somewhat civil.

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  7. In my opinion, I like rivalries between schools when it comes down to sports. The games are very fun to watch. For example, the Branford vs. East Haven basketball game was fun to watch because it was very intense. You have the Branford side cheering on our town then the East Haven side cheering for their town. I think that rivalries push every athlete when it comes down to the games. In my opinion, I think that rivalries make sports interesting. In some cases, rivalries aren't that good. But when it comes down to college basketball, rivalries are a thing with these "brackets" that college basketball fans are creating. In the discussion it says, "Sports rivalries, it now appears, are just as portable, available at the flick of a remote or the tap of a keyboard. It doesn’t matter whether you live in Boca Raton or Timbuktu when you can trash talk online or watch the game on demand." I think that is very true because you can say whatever online about a team if you don't like them as much as another team. Although games are just a game, but rivalries make sports fun.

    Taylor Miller
    Period 7

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  8. Conor Duffy
    Period: 7
    I believe there is still is a reason for fans to care about rivalries now a days. Schools are always in competition with each other and rivalries are basically self-made. Rivalries are either made from past history, advertising or the student body. Rivalries between schools and students are either for entertainment or completion. Everyone wants there school or team to become number one. Rivalries are more or less just for fun. But more importantly, rivalries bring the school and student body together as a body. For example, "Rivalries can even galvanize the country and bring people together during tough times." So if you win, the school can celebrate and become ‘one’. If you lose, you have something to look forward to. When the upcoming game comes up, Whether who wins or loses, the rivalry continues

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  9. Cameron O'Neill
    While I'll agree that sport rivalries make spectating most sports much more interesting, I wouldn't go so far as to say that an end to rivalries would do something like destroy the enjoyment of watching a game. Just because a sports match-up doesn't include two long term enemies doesn't mean that a fan isn't going to pick a side and have a good time rooting for one team over the other. In Will Blythe's article, "sport rivalries... are just portable." Just because there aren't extended bouts between long-time athletes of one team or another doesn't mean the fans will feel any different watching smaller rivalries battle it out.
    Furthermore, it is very possible that the movement of key players from team to team can fuel the fire of a rivalry. Take, for example, the trading of a player like Babe Ruth between the Yankees and Red Sox - undoubtedly one of the most powerful sports rivalries of all time. That only makes fans of each team want to win more. Frederic Frommer writes that "pinstripes will fuel the rivalry, not diminish it." At the heart of things, we all know that players on any team are just temporary (they really have been for longer than people make it seem.). Is it really a bad thing to be loyal to a team rather than a player?

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  10. Jonathan Bodner
    P7

    I feel that rivalries in sports is a good thing. "The Army vs. Navy football game in 1963, for example, was postponed a week and played on Pearl Harbor Day because of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The game, which featured instant replay for the first time, must have provided a therapeutic escape for many Americans." Many of the rivalries are not effecting any of the players on the team that people are rooting for. The teams see it as people care about the sport and they want to bring everyone together. "You can love a sport all you want but unless there's something real and tangible at stake, it's difficult to really care about it." If people didn't care about the sport then it would start to stop existing because no one would pay to go see a game if there wasn't tension between both teams. It gives fans something to root for.

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  11. Tyler Mahoney

    Period 7

    My belief is that rivalries in sports are can be both a good and bad thing. In most everyday activities and events, there is tradition. A rivalry is traditional in sports. Every team has another team they are most competitive against due to reasons of location or previous close scores. Both the fans and players enjoy the game more due to the rivalry; this increases ticket sales which increase concession sales creating more of a profit.They can have bad outcomes however. The competitiveness between the teams and their fans can cause violence and ruin the experience for everyone. but overall I like rivalries in sports.

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  12. I think rivalries is what makes a sport (team) better, also i has became a tradition for so many people, rival ism is what makes the sport interesting because when you go see a game of any team like basketball from Branford vs East haven everyone wants to go watch the game and see how hard the players play just to win ''first place' or states or anything that can prove that they're better. The game between our school and new haven was a pretty intense game because there was a lot of rival ism from both teams because both teams wanted to be the winner but the bad news is that there can be only one winner and is there was no rivalism between teams being honest they would be the boreds thing ever and no one would do it because your not gonna get anything for playing it. I actually like rivalries sports.
    Marjuri Rodriguez
    P7

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  13. Pat Cunningham
    Period 7
    In my opinion I think that the rivalries between two teams is what makes sports interesting. I can tell you from experience with hockey, when we play East Haven you know that it is going to be battle because both schools want to be better than the other. Without having any rivals when playing a sport it would be the same thing every game, but the rivalries make that game that much more important to everyone including the students of the school, also it makes your team try harder to win and put more effort in when you play those teams which is exactly what you want. So I believe that sports rivalries are the most important part of the game.

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