Super Bowl-Uniting a People

The Super Bowl is the perfect storm of American culture—a winner-take-all football game, a frenzy of media coverage, and an excuse to eat junk food for hours on end. Whether you are an avid football fan who has actually watched the absurd number of hours of pre-game analysis, a casual fan of the game, or simply interested in the chips, dip, and commercials, the Super Bowl holds a certain fascination for a large majority of the people in this country. Baseball may, in fact, be America’s pastime, but football defines American culture in a unique way. For many sports fans, the Super Bowl is one of the greatest days of the year. It has become a holiday of sorts. For example, Super Bowl Sunday is the only week of the year in which Mass in my dorm is moved from 10 pm to earlier in the day. Since freshman year, I have been annually amazed that the dorm moves Mass once a year—for a sporting event. Not that I think this is necessarily a bad move. It is practical—many people who would otherwise skip Mass in order to watch the Super Bowl can now do both. But I think it’s pretty funny to see what importance our culture places on the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl has evolved into much more than just a football game—it is a multi-million dollar industry in and of itself. According to an article on espn.com, this year’s Super Bowl has a projected value of $420 million. As if that figure is not phenomenal in its own right, compare it to the fact that the entire 2008 Summer Olympic Games were valued at $230 million. The one day, 5 hour long Super Bowl is valued at almost twice as much as the entirety of the Olympic Games. The value of the advertisement time alone is ridiculous due to the fact that more people watch the Super Bowl every year than watch any other television event.
The hype leading up to and surrounding the Super Bowl has reached incredible levels. I am not necessarily complaining. I am a self-proclaimed ESPN addict, so I spend unfortunate amount of hours watching Sportscenter. However, not even I can believe how much every possible angle of the game is analyzed and dissected, and how many different experts are brought in to make their predictions. At some point, I feel like enough is really enough. How many different times can Dwight Freeney’s ankle injury really be discussed? But all the hype does its job—every year a huge percentage of the population watches the Super Bowl. The media coverage may seem excessive at times, but by the time Super Bowl Sunday finally rolls around, everyone can’t wait for the game to start.
The Super Bowl is unique in American sports—it is the only one of the 4 mainstream, professional sports where a single game decides a championship. The outcome is decided right here, right now. All in all, the Super Bowl achieves something that politics, religion, or even other sports can’t do—it brings the American people together in a united desire to watch grown men practically kill each other. We may not all agree on which team to root for, but for a period of about 5 hours once a year, a lot of issues in the world fall away, and we can just watch the game.
Sara Romano, ND 2011
Social Foundations of Coaching Course

Priceless Peyton

As the Super Bowl approaches most Americans (including myself) are looking forward to not just the game, but the hilarious, entertaining commercials. So this made me think, who is the best athlete endorser now? Personally, I would have to say Peyton Manning without a doubt.
Since the beginning of his career Manning has been a very marketable athlete and has always been highly regarded by the public. He has a (relatively) untainted record with the public, never disappointing anyone with run-ins with authorities and keeping a private life. Manning also is constantly giving his time and money to charity: working with the sick, underprivileged and elderly. He understands how illness can harm others as he has witnessed with his older brother Cooper who developed spinal stenosis near the end of high school.
Manning’s family connections have been very enticing to company’s when searching for athlete endorsers. As a rookie and in his early years, Manning was immediately a sought-after endorser because of his family connections to the NFL with his dad’s previous stint in the NFL. More recently, he and his brother, Eli, have earned numerous endorsement deals through their NFL brother-quarterback combo.
In 2006, after taking a survey, Sports Business Journal named Peyton Manning as the most marketable player in the NFL earning over 50 percent of the first place votes. In 2006 when this survey took place, Manning was an incredible quarterback in the NFL, but had nothing to show for it; he had yet to win a Super Bowl. However, during the 2006 season, Manning carried his team to the Super Bowl and won his first Super Bowl ring…looking for one more this weekend.
Finally, Manning is willing to do anything for a good laugh and entertainment. He is willing to make fun of himself and through his goofy and gentle nature he is able to poke fun at other athletes, including his brother Eli. Sony, through the current deal, paired Manning with many unlikely candidates (Sony artist Justin Timberlake, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews, “America’s Next Top Model” judge Nigel Barker) to create an entertaining environment. Sony, like many other companies, has found success in the past with Manning promoting their products and has continually returned to him.
Rumors are that this Sunday Manning will not just be seen on CBS during the game, but he will be making a cameo…or two…during the commercial breaks with another unlikely partner, Jersey Shore’s Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino. This should be another priceless commercial for Peyton.

Caity Shepherd
Notre Dame ‘10
Social Foundations of Coaching

A Gymnast's Story

As embarrassing as this may be to admit, I am a 19-year-old college student who watches ABC Family every Monday night at 9pm to see “Make it or Break it.” That being said, I know that many of my gymnast friends who are adequately beyond the typical ABC Family viewer age love to watch it as well. And for me, this past week was no exception. In fact, it tied in perfectly with our past social foundations of coaching class: sports as play.
For those of you who aren’t avid watchers, here is a brief summary: 4 high school-aged female elite gymnasts from one gym went to nationals at the end of last season with hopes of making the national team prior to the 2012 Olympics. Although all 4 are strong athletes, it was clear that Payson was the most devoted to the sport, Kaley was the daddy’s girl/princess who was loved and envied, Lauren liked to stir up drama, and Emily was the new girl from a less privileged background. As Payson was staged to win nationals, during her turn on bars she fell on her head and broke her back. After being told she would never compete again, this season’s story continues on from there.
At this given gym, it is traditional for the team to participate in an open house competition to attract new gymnasts. However, following Payson’s career-ending fall, her mother made a comment to the coach saying, “sometimes they get so medal-driven they forget why they started gymnastics in the first place.”
With many sports, athletes get so motivated by winning that they lose sight of why they loved sports initially. With the “need to win” mentality, athletes begin to think of sports as work: they need to practice longer and harder to do better at the next competition, only to repeat the cycle in subsequent weeks. In my opinion, there is no sport that highlights this to the degree gymnastics does: where else do “careers” last a matter of years, being entirely wrapped up by the age of 20, if not earlier? Where else do you have to explain to a girl that she was simply born in the wrong year for Olympic ambitions—too young at 15, but pushing “retirement age” at 19? Many gymnasts feel compelled to practice all the hours of their childhood and adolescence in pursuit of their dreams, simply because one does not see gymnasts beyond those ages.
I feel it is entirely up to a coach to figure out how to deal with this problem. While some do not succeed and cause burnout to occur, others are able to deal with it in constructive manners. For example, in “Make it or Break it,” though the girls are still training heavily for their international competitions, the coach decided to make their open house into a performance instead. With the help of an “applause-o-meter” they would still be able to compete, but for the love of the crowd as opposed to a score. All the girls composed routines, expressing themselves in whichever form struck them most. Little did the girls know that their coach had a trick up his sleeve: the meter, in fact, was not working.
Though I was never to that level in gymnastics, I remember some nights I would come home and beat myself up over a bad practice. How was I ever going to advance levels? Win state competitions? I had to be reminded: was that really what I was working for? If that was the only thing, why was I still there? Where did the fun go? My coach was definitely instrumental in causing many girls in my gym to have a healthy relationship with the sport: being competitive when necessary, but balancing that with fun. I believe it is due to his work that I continue to love the sport today. Why else would I spend my Tuesday & Thursday evenings during college going to the gym? As I am a member of a club team, I am able to witness that my teammates were shaped in similar ways by their coaches: none of us are near the level of varsity, division 1 athletes. Yet, we choose to attend practice nonetheless because the sport is still fun for us.
Although many athletes feel the weight of the pressure to succeed, many need to be reminded of why they started sports in the first case. It wasn’t for the glory or success. It was for the fun of it.

Olivia Schreader
Notre Dame ‘12
Social Foundations of Coaching Course

Reactions To Bad Calls

Let’s face it, bad calls happen. It is simply a part of the game. More often than not, when a bad call is made, arguing does not help the cause. Even with the implementation of instant replay reviews, judgmental calls cannot be reviewed and overturned. However, there are different ways one can react to bad calls and recent examples help illustrate different approaches.
Consider the NBA game January 11th involving the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks. Midway through the 3rd quarter, the Boston Celtics led the Atlanta Hawks by 10 points when Celtics’ forward Glenn “Big Baby” Davis was given a flagrant foul for his hard takedown of Hawks player Marvin Williams. Celtics coach Doc Rivers immediately lost his cool and began arguing with the referees. He was given two technical fouls and an automatic ejection. Quite the reaction from the coach who has been preaching to his team, “He who angers you, owns you.” The Hawks hit four of the five free throws and cut the lead to six. The Celtics were left to finish the game without their head coach, and ended up losing 102-96. In hindsight, that was not exactly the best reaction. I’m sure Coach Rivers wishes he could take that one back and follow his own advice.
Another recent bad no-call illustrates a different response. At the end of the Seton Hall v. Louisville men’s basketball game, a Seton Hall player attempted to in-bound the ball after a made basket. However in doing so, he crossed the baseline. Typically, this would be called a violation and the ball would turn over to the other team. This would have been greatly beneficial to the Louisville team, as they were only down 2 points with 0.7 seconds left. However, the referee blew his whistle, asked for the ball, directed the player back behind the line, and allowed him to in-bound it again. As expected, Louisville coach Rick Pitino was furious. He argued his case, but with no avail. At that point he dropped the case, and ater the game, Coach Pitino shook hands with the Seton Hall coach and walked to the locker room. No major scene. Coach Pitino stuck up for his team, but was not irresponsible or act out of line.
As a coach, when dealing with a bad call, or even a bad referee, remember who is watching you and who needs you. As in the case with Doc Rivers, his ejection led to the collapse of his team and cost them the game. Although the ejection may not be the sole reason, it definitely does not help the team’s cause. Some may argue there are times when a coach needs to be ejected in order to spark his team – think Coach Dale in the classic movie “Hoosiers.” His ejection at a critical point in the game was done on purpose in order to display his trust in his assistant coach and to motivate his players. But more often than not, coaches should defend their players, without compromising their role in leading the team. A prime example is Coach Yoast in “Remember the Titans.” When referees are cheating the Titans, Yoast does not make a scene and overact. He simply speaks to the referee and informs him that he better call a fair game or he will report the referees’ intentions to the press. When dealing with bad calls, let’s hope coaches act like the role models they are, resembling Coach Pitino and Coach Yoast, or even Coach Dale – but only when necessary.

Ben Frost
Notre Dame ‘10
Social Foundations of Coaching Course

The Lost Value of Integrity

In one deft move, Lane Kiffin has reminded us all of a disturbing trend in college football coaches today. Thirteen months ago after a disastrous stint with the Oakland Raiders, Kiffin was given a great opportunity at SEC contender Tennessee. He convinced Tennessee officials to allow him to hire the highest paid staff in college football, including the $1 million-a-year Defensive Coordinator Monte Kiffin. He then proceeded to rack up six secondary NCAA violations, enough to warrant a NCAA investigation. There was plenty of talk of Kiffin removing Tennessee traditions in favor of creating the “USC of the East.” And yet, the school stuck with him and supported him. But just last week, Kiffin spent less than a day clearing out of Knoxville in pursuit of greener pastures at USC. He left so quickly that he didn’t even bother to tell some of his highly prized staff – his brother-in-law and QB coach David Reaves found out from ESPN. He told his players about his move in a five-minute meeting.
Where is the integrity in sticking to a contract? Some might argue that if Kiffin paid his $800,000 buyout, he had fulfilled that contract. I would argue that he might have fulfilled the letter of the contract, but not his obligation or mission as a coach. As a coach, Kiffin is charged with developing 18-22 year olds into players and men. In a year, I doubt the players saw the development of their physical talents. But more importantly, they saw that a man’s word doesn’t matter when money is involved. When Kiffin recruits, he promises them he will mentor them throughout their college experience. I don’t think he can be that mentor thousands of miles away at USC. As a coach, he asks his players to go that extra mile, and yet he won’t do the same for them. Perhaps the most galling story was that of calling Tennessee’s early enrollees and telling them to not attend class the next day so they could join him at USC.
This trend of lack of integrity goes beyond Kiffin. We saw it with Pete Carroll and his staff not returning any calls/text messages from recruits as was flirting with the Seahawks. We saw it with Bobby Petrino skipping town on Louisville for the NFL and then bolting from the Falcons midseason for Arkansas. We saw it with Nick Saban leaving the Dolphins for Alabama. Urban Meyer resigns for 18 hours, only to change his mind without consulting even his family. We even saw it with Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly skipping Cincinnati’s bowl game. How can players trust a coach to be their mentor in today’s world? I can’t see it.
So why does this happen? I believe it boils down to recruiting and to m oney. Brian Kelly certainly fulfilled his obligation to Cincinnati, leading them to two BCS games and establishing the school on the college football map. The problem is that Brian Kelly left Cincinnati on the eve of the Sugar Bowl. He did this so he could begin recruiting for Notre Dame. Recruits are the life-blood of the program. It is common for coaches to leave before the bowl games in order to get a start on maintaining their classes. The NCAA can fix this problem by making the period between the end of the season and the bowl games a dead period, where recruits can’t be contacted. The money is a different issue. Mack Brown just received a contract for $5 million a year. And this is skyrocketing. Compared to the $150,000 that Lou Holtz made in the early 90s, the salaries coaches are paid today are unfathomable. Coaches leave for the sweetest deal they can find, consequences.
Perhaps Penn State QB coach Jay Paterno says it best.:
This profession has lost touch with the reality of the world around us, and some coaches have lost touch with what the mission of our profession should be. We are starting to look as arrogant as the Wall Street bankers raking in seven-figure bonuses. The astronomical explosion in coaching salaries continues at a time of 10 percent unemployment in America and exploding tuition costs burdening working class families ... Coaches walk into a recruit's home and talk about how they will look out for that young man's future. The expectation is that the coach will help to guide him through a very formative time. A year later the same coach is off to another job for more money and left behind are the young men he promised to nurture towards their future.

Hopefully, coaches can remember their mission in the future and show integrity.
Barrick Bollman ‘12
Social Foundations of Coaching
University of Notre Dame

Growing up with Mark McGwire

Somehow it doesn’t bother me that McGwire took steroids.

So what if he took performance enhancing drugs? I was in the stadium the night he hit his 61st. It was magical. At the height of McGwire’s homerun prowess, I was a naive elementary school student living in the suburbs of St. Louis. McGwire bobble heads, pencils, shirts, and PEZ dispensers - my friends and I had it all. Oh believe me, I didn’t like baseball. I still don’t. But for some reason, during the fall of 1998, I could imagine myself growing up to be a baseball player, just like McGwire.

Parents today often talk about how celebrities can no longer be good role models for their children. Drugs, alcohol, sexual affairs, and scandal after scandal appear in the news daily. Where are the great athletes that children everywhere can aspire to be? Nonexistent. Realistically? Every great athlete. Honestly, children only understand what happens on the field and who wins the game. Saying that he or she cheated by taking enhancers and drugs; none of that would have made sense in my 3rd grade head. Drugs..is that like the Tylenol I take when I’m sick? Enhancers.. my gummy bear vitamins? Especially in sports, none of this brouhaha matters to children. What they see at a game is life changing. Nothing will take away my feelings when I saw McGwire hit that homer, just like I will always remember watching in awe Marion Jones win 3 golds in Sydney. Those performances are inspiring. A child needs to see those kind of performances, drug enhanced or not.

I doubt anyone is surprised that McGwire actually took steroids. It’s like a fairy tale. It’s almost supposed to happen. Great athlete achieves despite the odds, and then spirals into oblivion. Come on, look at Tiger Woods. As long as the black hole opens after a child sees an amazing performance by the athlete, nothing else matters.

All in all, I’m glad McGwire took steroids. Otherwise, I probably would not have seen that homer, or felt the amazing power of 45,000 fans all cheering for the same person. Knowing he may have took steroids during that game does not in any way change my experience.

After all, in my mind, he’s still the Mark McGwire I grew up with.
Ching-Ting Hwang
ND '12

Notre Dame Undergraduate Social Foundations of Coaching Course

Play Like A Champion Today(TM) Directors Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan have the distinct pleasure of teaching a course to Notre Dame Undergraduates entitled "Social Foundations of Coaching." The course educates Notre Dame students who aspire to become coaches to understand the nature of coaching as an educational ministry. The course's goal is to help these students develop an approach to coaching that is based on sound philosophical, psychological and sociological foundations. Students become conversant with theories about sports and coaching as well as learn how to apply these theories to the practice of coaching. Class members have been invited to share a blog post this semester. We are confident that PLC friends will glean knowledge and insight from the posts of our students. Watch for the student posts - coming each week!