Destroyed
1. The article by Peter F. Martin, titled Destroyed, is about the wide use of steroids in the current sports world today. Martin discusses the fans and media's perspective. He also mentions his own experience with sports as a kid. Martin also suggests how the victim(s) may be the athletes themselves.
2. Drugs that enhance athletes during competition threaten the authenticity of sports. Our knowledge of past sports greats and history, that were defined by natural talent and strength is becoming less pure. Unfortunately the athletes may be suffering more than the fans. The cost of these illicit drugs are taking a toll on the bodies of these competitors. The viewers of these sports stars see dishonesty, although we may want to consider the athletes risks to themselves.
3. Paragraph 6 struck me; where Martin asks "But why is it against the rules in the first place?" Martin is questioning what cheating is. At this point I was reminded of my own college days of competition in Women's Track and Field. There was a small group of athletes that may have been receiving more than just "vitamin B" injections. I knew in my heart, that I would never go that route. Winning was important to me, but not at that price. I had to accept that I may never win against these athletes. I focused on doing my best and took pride in out running or out throwing my fellow competitors who I knew were also taking the "natural" approach. In fact, I still feel today, that there should be a Natural, drug free, Olympics and a "Cheaters" Games. Is that realistic? I'm not sure. I haven't stayed up on the drug testing scene. I do admit that I have lost a great deal of respect for those who get caught and wonder how they feel about themselves.
I responded to comments on my blog, made by Megan:
My response to Megan.
I made comments on these blogs:
Leonard Hitz
Spencer May
Hello Catherine,
ReplyDeleteYour post is the second on that I have read that has included the author and title of the work in the summary. I do not remember reading any thing in our assignment about having to include those. So I either failed to do so or you are just a vary thorough writer. The only thing that I found to be missing from your post was the citation of the work that you quoted. And I would like to invite you to read and comment on my post.
www.MyENG101BlogAt.blogpost.com
Leonard Hitz
When you said you would never turn to performance enhancing drugs, I couldn't help but wonder exactly how these athletes make the decision to begin using in the first place. I can't imagine anybody expects themselves to end up an addict, so at what point do they give in to the pressure?
ReplyDeleteYour responses all seemed well thought out, and to the point. Nice job Cathy!
Hi Megan,
DeleteThank you for your comments.
I believe the athletes that turned to performance enhancing drugs during my day were motivated by the thought of being bigger, stronger, and faster. That equated to a "win", record setting, and endorsements. Did they all make the decision knowingly? Probably not. There have been many corrupt coaches in the sports world. But ultimately, I believe, one could not ignore the changes that their bodies were going through, if they were given these drugs unknowingly.
I haven't equated "addiction" with performance enhancing drugs, but rather the "win at all costs" as the driving force. Pretty sad.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteHello Catherine,
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best blogs I have read! You did a great job on thinking through each question and answering every point. I really like your idea of there being two different leagues, one for the cheaters and the other for the natural players. If this was the case the games would be more balanced and interesting to watch!
Hello Catherine,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you can relate to this article through personal experience. Not many people can say that they're familiar with the real world of sports.
Hey Cathy. Good job with question #2. I liked the way you showed the viewer a different way to look at the PED issue. I think I would have liked a little it more from you as far as your summary was concerned. Otherwise, great post.
ReplyDeleteHI Cathy!
ReplyDeleteAside from a few MLA issues, which I will address in a minute, this was an excellent post. I especially appreciate your reflection on the quote you chose. I think cheating, whether it be from drugs or "deflated footballs" is cheating, no matter what. I like your idea of the two differen Olympics....it would be ideal in a utopian, wouldn't it? :)
With MLA, be sure that when you paraphrase, since the information still comes from the source, you use a parenthetical citation, or an in-text citation. This comes at the end of the paraphrase and is the author's last name and page number in parentheses (Martin 582). Also, don't forget the works cited to the text!
Cathy,
ReplyDeleteI really like the paragraph that you quoted, and how you added a personal experience as well. If only other athletes had the same strength and mind set as you. Unfortunately today, it is more about the money and fame rather than the game itself. Kudos to you! Great post.
Great job on using personal experience to relate to the assignment! I really liked your paraphrase and summary too, you did a good job at covering all the main points.
ReplyDelete