TOPIC: LEISURE TIME: ORGANIZED SPORTS, RECREATION, AND TELEVISION

MEMBERS OF GROUP 7Members Presentation part Score Hoàng Thị Thanh Nhàn + Introduction + Features of sports in America 2.1.1 Nguyễn Thị Nhung + How American values affect organized spor

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY

ENGLISH FALCUTY

- -DISCUSSION

RECREATION, AND TELEVISION

Subject : American culture

Supervisor : Phan Tu Lan

Group : 07

Class code : 2108ENTI0511

Ha Noi, 05/2021

MEMBERS OF GROUP 7

Members Presentation part Score

Hoàng Thị Thanh Nhàn + Introduction

+ Features of sports in America (2.1.1)

Nguyễn Thị Nhung + How American values affect

organized sports (2.1.2) + Compare with Vietnam (2.1.3)

Nguyễn Thị Nhiên + View on competition in the

past (2.2.1) + Compare with Vietnam (2.2.3)

Phan Thị Hồng Ngọc + Criticism and rebuttal

(2.2.2)

Nguyễn Thị Lan Oanh + The popularity (2.3.1)

+ Time for self-improvement (2.3.2)

Hoàng Minh Nguyệt + Compare with Vietnam

(2.3.3) + Leader Trương Thị Hồng Nhung + Health and Fitness (2.4)

Nguyễn Minh Phương + Television (2.5)

Đỗ Hồng Nhung + Conclusion

Table of Contents

I Introduction

- Leisure has often been defined as a quality of experience or as free time Free time

is time spent away from business, work, job hunting, domestic chores,and education, as well as activities that satisfy one's needs such as eating, sleepingand recreational activities, physical training

- According to history, period from 1894 to 1915 was one in which workers in theUnited States began to have more leisure time than their predecessors One reasonfor this was that industrial employers began to decrease working hours and institute

a Saturday half-day holiday, which gave workers more free time for leisureactivities

- The American spend their free time in different ways People generally use it torelax, but many people also do voluntary work, especially for charities Peoplespend a lot of their free time in the home, where the most popular leisure activity iswatching television, reading …

- The most special, the popularity of sports as leisure activities grew as people

began to see the importance of exercise to health Traditional spectator sports

indude tootball, cricket, horse racing, motor racing and motor cycle racing Populartorms of exercise are swimming, tennis, ice-skating or roller skating, cycling,dimbing, and hill or country walking

II Main Content

2.1 Sport and American values

- We know that sport, at its best, can build character and promote the virtues of

honesty, respect, selfless teamwork, dedication, and commitment to a greater cause.Sport lessons (good and bad) transcend the playing field, spilling over into theclassroom, the business world, and the community, and at the same time take shapethe personality of the global humanity and especially the culture of the Americancitizen

- Sports in the United States is an important part of culture in the UnitedStates American football is the most popular spectator sport to watch in the UnitedStates, followed by baseball, basketball, ice hockey and soccer, which make up the

"5 major sports" Nowhere are the ways and words of democracy better illustratedthan in sports

- Most social scientists believe that the sports that are organized by a societygenerally tefleer the basic values of that society and attempt to strengthen them inthe minds and emotions of its people

 Organized sports have a more serious social purpose than spontancous, unorganized play by individuals.

- Reason why organized sports are more popular than individual sports:

+ Equality of opportunity

+ Ideal of comprtition

+ Hard work

2.1.1 Features of sports in America

- In the United States, parents perceive that it is necessary for children to participate

in sports Exercise and sport will help children learn many things when they areaccompanied by teammates of the same age In addition, participating in sports alsohelps children to have a happy state and develop skills of perseverance and moralityfrom a young age

- Therefore, children in America are always given conditions to participate in sports

in addition to learning in class The characteristic of these sports is that they can

help children increase physical strength and resistance Besides, they also learn a lot

of skills when participating in this subject and do not have competition pressure

 Have a more serious social purpose than unorganzed play by individuals.

- In sports, people of different races and economic background get an equal chance

to excel for this reason, notes sociologist Harry Edwards, Americans viewsorganized sport as "A laboratory in which young men, regardless of social class, canlearn the advantages and rewards of a competitive system" Although Edwardsspecial mentions young men, young women also complete in organized sportswithout regard to their race or economic background Women's sports are growing

in popularity in the US The 1996 Olympic, American women won gold medals forseveral team sports - softball, basketball, soccer and gymnastics

- The most popular sports are: soccer, basketball (African American), baseball

(Latino, Hispanic), American football These sports are taught from an early age andpeople from different racial and ethnic backgrounds can compete on the same level.they have the same chance to participate in contests and they can learn to "win" inlife

 Be seen as an inspiring example of equality of opportunity in action.

 Compare with Vietnam

- Sports is a human health exercise Understanding its importance, Vietnam isincreasingly focusing on developing sports that are both entertaining and healthy.That has become one of the values of Vietnamese culture The number of peopleparticipates in regular sports practice reaches 363,000 people, accounting for 33%

of the population The 1996 Olympic, Hoang Xuan Vinh won a gold and a silvermedal pin shooting

- Many families let their children learn early sports such as soccer, badminton,swimming not only to train their bodies but also to teach them life skills, such aspatience, concentration, solidarity with teammates, the will to win

-> In modern social life, sport is an important element to stay healthy and serveother benefits Sports is an important factor to help people fight off all kinds ofdiseases, create flexibility, make the body more healthy In addition to the health

area, team sports also train players to have solidarity (team spirit) and cooperativeskills.

2.1.2 How America values affect organized sports ?

We often think of values as lofty ideals that have little connection to our daily lives.Yet, the values that you hold, in this case, about sports in particular and life ingeneral, play a vital role in all aspects of children’s athletic and personaldevelopment You can think of values as: “a person’s principles and standards ofbehavior; one’s judgment of what is important…” As such, the values thatAmerican have and those that they embrace about their sports participationinfluence their priorities and goals, and act as road signs in determining thedirection their athletic and personal lives take In other words, the values that theyadopt as young athletes will dictate almost every aspect of their lives

Values will influence how American think about their sports involvement Forexample, if they are conveyed the importance of effort and fun over winning, theywill focus on those values as they approach competitions In contrast, if they believethat they hold values such as winning and being the best above all else, they willthink about upcoming competitions in a very different way

a The idea of competition is at the very heart of organized sports in the United States Many Americans believe that learning how to win in sports helps develop the habitsnecessary to compete successfully in later life This training, in turn, strengthensAmerican society as a whole "It is commonly held", says one sports writer, "that thecompetitive ethic taught in sports must be learned and ingrained in youth for thefuture success of American business and military efforts." Besides, they believe thatsports help builds discipline It is fact that ,competitive sport requires dedicatedtraining and practice When they experience these improvements, their self-esteemgrows and they broaden their limitations of what they can achieve.Goal setting isalso an important part of competitive sports At the start of a season, a coach willoften guide students in setting team and individual goals to work towards Goodgoal setting techniques are highly transferable skills that can be applied across all

areas of schooling and life And we can see that parents in America who are willing

to shoulder the expense of their children’s sports and drive their kids to practices at

5 am and 7 pm, and to competitions hours away Parents who see the value in sportsfor their children, not in the results, but in the life lessons their kids learn on thefield, court, course, rink, hill, trail, etc Parents who volunteer their time to manageteams, organize competitions, raise money, and build community

b The competitive ethic in organized sports contains some elements of hard work.Slogans are sometimes used to drive home the competitive virtues for the youngparticipants: "Hustle-you can't survive without it" "It's easy to be ordinary, but it

takes guts to excel." It also encourages physical activity It is obviously possible to

participate in physical activity in a non-competitive environment and many people

do so on a regular basis However, in a competitive environment, students will oftenpush themselves harder in training and in matches This extra effort results inimproved fitness levels as well as extending an individual’s boundaries about theirperception of what they are physically capable of

c Organized sports participation’s effect on skill development is not limited to theacquisition of physical skills

There is extensive evidence to show that elite athletes tend to be high academicachievers.Both parents and children from low-income families report that improvedacademic performance is associated with involvement in youth sports Specifically,sports participation has been associated with increased mathematicperformance Among adolescents, practicing organized extracurricular physicalactivity is positively correlated with cognitive performance in verbal, numeric, andreasoning domains.In fact, athletes taking part in multiple activities may scorehigher than those involved in only One explanation for this is that elite athletesreport increased use of self-regulatory skills, such as planning, self-monitoring,evaluation, reflection, and effort More specifically, these athletes reflect more onpast performance to learn and, therefore, may benefit more from the time they spend

on learning

d Organized sports as “national religion”

Amateur athletics, associated with schools and colleges, are valued for teachingyoung people traditional American values Professional sports, in addition to theirprofit and entertainment purposes, are seen as providing an example to inspire theyoung to take part in organized sports In the process of serving as an inspiration fortraditional basic American values, organized sports have become part of what wasreferred to in Chapter 3 as "the national religion", a mixture of patriotism and nationalpride on the one hand with religious ideas and symbols on the other

The Broncos quarterback learned of the Internet phenomenon — individuals takingpictures of themselves while kneeing in a prayer pose — from teammate Von Miller,who was the first Bronco to practice the art of Tebowing Tebow said he understandsthat some people might be using Tebowing to mock him, or religion in general He ismore excited, though, about those who are taking it seriously Thus, Denver Broncosquarterback Tim Tebow has become the poster child for Christian athletes, and hisone-knee prayers have become so common that "Tebowing" is now synonymous withpublic prayer His quirky playing style and miraculous wins have led some to claimdivine intervention, bringing the question to the forefront: Does God influencefootball games? "God will give you power to do your best, then it's up to you makedecisions and choices that cause you to win or lose."

2.1.3 Compare with Vietnam

- Organized sports

in both countrieshave played a verycrucial role in thecountry’s culturalfield

- On the other hand,each country hasdifferent

+ Sports areparticularly

associated witheducation in theUnited States, withmost high schoolsand universitieshaving organized

Ideal of

competition

Learning how towin in sports helpsdevelop the habitsnecessary tocompete

successfully inlater life

Vietnamese cancompete againstothers, receive achallenge and strive

to be better, and toset winning as agoal for sports andfor life

Organized sports

important in thecountry’s culturaldevelopment

young peopletraditional

American values

Sports are used as abridge to linkpeople from all agegroups as you cansee childrenparticipating inkarate classes ortwo elderly menplaying a game ofchess or badminton

in the parks

sports Collegesports competitionsplay an importantrole in theAmerican sportingculture In manycases collegeathletics are morepopular thanprofessional sports.+ In VietNam , the

2.2 Competition

2.2.1 View on competition in the past

Competitive sports became popular in the United States from 1850 – 1950 because

of lightingtechnology, mass media, and developing labor and education laws

Although games like early versions of baseball were played casually, neitherspectator sports nor competitive sports were popular in the U.S before mid-1800.Other advents of the industrial revolution, civil rights, and war also played a largerole in the evolution of American sports as we know them today To understand thehistory of competitive spectator sports in America, we must look at Americanhistory

• Throughout the early 1800’s Americans played games like Cricket andRugby They also favored a new American version of a British game calledrounders, or “base”

• Base was very popular in the big cities, especially with the Italian and Jewishimmigrant children on the Streets of New York Adults in New York took upthis unique version of base, writing new rules and forming the first baseballclubs in the 1840’s.

• Mandatory education laws (1852 -1917) ensured that most children went toschool This gave many of them time after school to join school-based teamsthat would compete against each other

• Sports betting popularity ebbed and flowed throughout the history ofcompetitive sports, but the business end of sports attracted team owners whohelped transform sports from an unpaid hobby to a major business starting inthe 1870’s

• The technology of the 1900’s, especially mass media like television and theInternet, helped to increasingly popularize competitive spectator sports overthe years

- Winning is the only thing that matters in sport

For 10 years ago, the Issue of Winning in Sport Qualitative feedback reinforced theidea that U.S society places strong importance on winning in sport, with manyadults agreeing that sport places too much emphasis on winning Many regard U.S.society as one in which winning is rewarded and effort and participation are oftenoverlooked

“Of course we want to win Everyone wants to win However, young children should have an emphasis on mastering their sport and individual improvement Not everyone can win, and that‟s ok.” (female, ages 35-44)

“Too much emphasis is placed on winning over having fun or just doing your best

at your „job.‟ This seems to be more true the higher the level of competition.” (male, ages 25-34)

However, many believe that the focus on winning in professional sports isacceptable and appropriate, contending that the paychecks received by professionalathletes justify this pressure

“If (professional athletes) are getting paid millions of dollars per year, it‟s ok to

have such a big emphasis on winning.” (female, ages 25-34)

While winning should not be the only goal in sports, many coaches admit tobelieving that it is important to strive to win They believe that just allowingchildren to be content with having fun fails to instill in them an appreciation forhealthy competition and pushing one’s limits

“There needs to be some emphasis on winning because it‟s a motivation for excellence, but it can‟t be the whole story.” (male coach, ages 45-54)

“Youth „for fun‟ sport are that, but I also don‟t agree with totally doing away with winning or losing just so kids' feelings aren‟t hurt At higher and higher levels, winning becomes more important, whether that is right or wrong.” (female coach, ages 25-34)

- The coach was happy about the fight because in the games, his team consistentlywon First, the coach focused on outcomes (instead of learning): he was socompetitive as a player, so naturally when he started coaching, that carried over.Results mattered A lot He judged everything by whether they won or lost, not howthey played, or how much they improved When they lost he questioned his players’efforts, attitude, focus When they won, nothing else mattered He was willing tocompromise a lot to win, including relationships with players, respecting officials,and maintaining the integrity of the sport That did not serve his players well Thesecond, the coach focused on being serious (instead of enjoyment): “This iscompetitive sports, it’s not about enjoyment! We are developing winners!” And asusual he looked at his bench and did not see smiling, happy young athletes, butdour, scared kids who no longer wanted to practice or play because they were afraid

of losing, being yelled at for mistakes, and being benched? That is how the coachled his team to become the winner

2.2.2 Criticism and rebuttal

Sports in the US are glorified by many from time to time However, It is a longtradition in sports that winning is not the only matter in sports and it also includesboth disorder and violence when the idea of winning is carried to excess

Particularly, in football, these ideas of this honorable competition are expressedobviously

+ For some famous professional football coaches, they were happy to see the fightbetween the two teams They thought that the fight among players, even during thegames, had helped to bring the men on his team closer together, and also increasethe winning spirit of their players so much better

+ Most of sport was exciting to expect this fighting and considered this violence as apart of the entertainment

+ Besides, most Americans believe that competition in organized sports does more tostrengthen the national character than to corrupt it They would probably say thateliminating competition in sports would lead to laziness and vice rather than hardwork and accomplishment

However, there are some America’s favourite sports people who criticize thisdisorder and violence in sports From time to time, several newspapers ormagazines appear articles criticizing the number of serious results from the extremeroughness of the games They also showed the figure increasing dramatically,resulting in the concerns about the violence in school when students are getting intofootball games a lot And, some principals of schools describe the criticism in sports

as attempting to breakdown the basic foundation upon which society is founded + Another criticism of professional sports is that the players and the team owners gettoo much money, while fans have to pay more and more for tickets to the games.Some have asked whether these players are stars or entertainers And generally, thefans feel like the losers and most people were disgusted by both the players and theowners

2.2.3 Compare with Viet Nam

The similarity:

Both sports competitions in VietNam and America become a good factor for ethicaleducation when the success of each individual is considered as the victory of thewhole team when individual achievements can be achieved through the group Itcan be said that the basis of the social consciousness that has formed in athletes isthat the athlete's perception of his dependence on a certain group is a sense ofobligation to that collective While working in the collective is because the athletescollective must directly touch the unity factor between personal and social interests