Feminist Is a 21st Century Word

Emma Laudenbach

Lora Strey

Composition 101-12

December 10, 2014

Feminist Is A 21st Century Word

When the topic of professional women’s sports comes up, many people may think of basketball, but the last thing that may come to mind may be hockey.  Its no secret that women haven’t had a prominent role in the history of hockey, but it’s the twenty first century, and women’s role in the sport has changed quite a bit over the years.  In the article “Feminist Is a 21st Century Word,” Robin Morgan explains how much the world has changed with the topic of feminism and how it has always played an important role in our society. “I had no clue that feminists had been a major (or leading) presence in every social-justice movement in the U.S. time line: the revolutionary war, the campaigns to abolish slavery, debtors’ prisons and sweatshops; mobilizations for suffrage, prison reform, equal credit; fights to establish social security, unions, universal childhood education, halfway houses, free libraries; plus the environmentalism, antiwar and peace movements” demonstrates how many important events in history in which  women partook in and had a critical role in (“Robin”).  Now, with the importance of sports in our society today, we can see women becoming a bigger part of that as well.  

We can see how women in hockey are becoming a larger piece of the puzzle with the fact that the United States Women’s olympic hockey team made it to the championship game in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi (“Winter”).  Unfortunately, the game resulted in a loss for the United States, but 76% of the televisions in the United States tuned in to the coverage of the games on CBS (“76”).  While all of that 76% wasn’t all for the women’s championship hockey game, the coverage was well available for people to watch it.  I think this shows that women have progressed in the world in not just the fact that they are being broadcasted on television, but that they are able to take part in the Olympics.  Hopefully one day, there will not just be a National Hockey League, but a National Women’s Hockey League as well.   

Works Cited

"Robin Morgan on Why 'Feminist' Is a 21st Century Word." Time. Time, 17 Nov. 2014.

Web. 11 Dec. 2014.

<http://time.com/3588846/time-apologizes-feminist-word-poll-robin-morgan/>.

"Winter Olympics 2014: USA Loses to Canada for Women's Hockey Gold."CBSNews.

CBS Interactive, 20 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/winter-olympics-2014-usa-loses-to-canada-for-womens-hockey-gold/>.

"76% of U.S. TV Homes Tuned in to Sochi Games Coverage on Networks of

NBCUniversal." TVbytheNumbers. Web. 11 Dec. 2014. <http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2014/02/25/76-of-u-s-tv-homes-tuned-in-to-sochi-games-coverage-on-networks-of-nbcuniversal/240155/>.

Braindead Megaphone By Emma Laudenbach

Emma Laudenbach

Lora Strey

Composition 101-12

Blog Post #2

Braindead Megaphone

In today’s society, people believe anything and everything that news broadcasters send their way.  We are in such a rush we don’t take the time to question if something is fact or fiction and sometimes we don’t even realize that it is happening.  Of course sometimes there are those reporters that have so much charisma and charm that we can’t to believe them.  This can be relevant in hockey too.  We feel like we become a part of the players lives and are there on the ice with them when in reality we are just sitting in our living rooms or in a sports bar watching the big game on the big screen television.  I know from personal experience of watching Minnesota Wild games that broadcaster Anthony LaPanta takes his role very seriously.  He was hired by the Minnesota Wild franchise in 2012 to the the voice of the games (“Anthony”).   

It’s not just the broadcasters who we listen to either.  Its the reporters who write the articles online that I would say is where a majority of the information comes from.  Its so easy for us to just pull up Facebook and the first story we see be some kind of link to an article on Buzzfeed or TMZ or a website of that kind.  The website thehockeynews.com has many stories on many teams throughout the National Hockey League. There is even a “rumors” tab at the top that has multiple stories that aren’t necessarily based on fact (“Hockey”).  

The article “Braindead Megaphone” by George Saunders explains to us the need for questioning the news.  We are so caught up in the hustle and bustle of everyday lives that when we sit down to read the newspaper or watch the new on television, we don’t even want put anymore work in to ask the question “Is this accurate and reliable information?”   Saunders urges us to not just accept what the news gives us and to look into current events on our own time.  We have to take our lives into our own hands and not just let the loudest voice we hear, like LaPanta, and really pay attention to the game.

Works Cited

"Anthony LaPanta." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 29 Nov. 2014. Web. 5 Dec.

2014. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_LaPanta>

"The Hockey News: Insight on the NHL and the World of Hockey." The Hockey News:

Insight on the NHL and the World of Hockey. Web. 5 Dec. 2014.

<http://www.thehockeynews.com/>.

Saunders, George. The Braindead Megaphone: Essays. New York: Riverhead, 2007.

Print.

Feminist is a 21st Century Word - Hockey

            Hockey is not the first word that comes to mind a lot of the times when a person is thinking of women’s sports. Vise versa, women’s hockey in general does not pop up in most minds when thinking about the topic of hockey as a whole. However that is trying to be changed.

Women fall in the dominance of men when it comes to hockey today. During the previous Winter Olympic Games the men’s hockey semifinal game between the United States and Canada brought in over twenty million viewers. Four years before that, the championship game between the U.S. and Canada brought in almost twenty five million viewers making it one of the most watched hockey games of all time. Now in comparison to women’s hockey, those are astronomical numbers. The previous Olympic games featured Canada and the U.S. in the championship game as well. However, the championship match up only racked up a little more than ten million viewers. About half the viewers that the men’s received. Although hockey isn’t the dominant sport in the U.S., one would think that a rivalry game of that caliber would get a few more viewers than that.

In response to that, the women from team U.S.A. have been making very big efforts to get more girls to have an interest in hockey. They are making efforts to inform them that they are not just a bunch of tomboys out to hit one another. That they are playing because they love the game. That is why they are having the U.S.A. Hockey's Girls Try Hockey for Free Day every October 12th sponsored by World Girls' Ice Hockey Week in hopes to get more girls to have interests in playing hockey.

Even though women’s hockey isn’t the most predominant sport in today’s culture. But efforts are being made to try getting more and more girls playing the game. It may not be the biggest jump in numbers but slowly women are moving up in the hockey world.

Citations:

Tucker, Erika. "Is Women's Hockey an Endangered Olympic Event?" Global News. N.p., 21 Feb. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.

NHL.com. "Olympic Final Most-watched Hockey Game in 30 Years." NHL.com. N.p., 1 Mar. 2010. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.

NHL.com. "United States Olympian Hilary Knight Practices with Anaheim Ducks." NHL.com. N.p., 3 Oct. 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.

What Does Friend Mean Now by John Wedrickas

What Does Friend Mean Now?

By: John Wedrickas

Comp 101

Lora Strey

The article What Does Friend Mean Now?  by Joseph Kahn shows how the word 

friend has changed over the generations that have lead to present times. In this 

blogpost I will be explaining how friendships in hockey have changed since the 

hockey began in Canada in 1877. Ever since the beginning hockey has been a 

friend and foe sport; you have to protect your friends, also known as your 

teammates, from the foes, also known as your opponents. Over the years I 

believe that friendships in the sport of hockey have remained close to the same 

as they started out in 1877. This is a very cool discovery because even with the 

rise of technology in the last century and the ways that Americans have began 

to live differently over the last century, hockey is still one of the sports that has 

not changed much. The sport of hockey shows you need to make friends with 

your teammates and coaches because if your team lacks communication and the 

coach doesn't teach your group how to become one on the ice, your team will 

not win as many games. The key to team success is communication on the ice. 

If a hockey team doesn't communicate with each other well they will not 

perform well. Everyone can agree it is easier to communicate with your friends 

that it is to communicate with strangers which is why when your whole team 

can bond with one another, the result will be more games won. 

Works cited:
http://www.fih.ch/en/fih/history

http://www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/tp/2004e0304tp.htm

Braindead Megaphone Blogpost by John Wedrickas

BRAINDEAD MEGAPHONE

John Wedrickas

Comp 101

Lora Strey

In the article Braindead Megaphone written by George Saunders, the reader is invited to imagine a person at a party with a megaphone. The person with the megaphone may not have too much to say, but when he speaks he is heard indefinitely by the rest of the guests. This relates to the sport of hockey due to the fact that the media is who we would think of as the guest at the party with the megaphone. They may not always have important things to say to the viewers but when they do it seems that everyone puts their ears in and listens to exactly what the media has to say. Any kind of publicity that the media tries to make popular usually ends in rumors and stories being tweaked in order to gain more followers. I think that the only way that you can hear the truth in media is if there is information provided for the viewers instead of the media reporting something that they heard is true just to grab the attention of the viewers. When the media companies tell small bits of false information, then the viewers start to tweak the story a little more until the whole story is a big fib. One example had not happened too long ago with a social media site called Tinder. A player in the NHL was suspended for 15 games because the media gave out false information on what looked to be the hockey player trash talking the league on this social media site when his account had been hacked and he did not have anything to do with it. This goes to show how the media can twist peoples wrists to make them believe their stories. 

works cited 

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=588534

http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0710/2007006410.html 

Kids Speak Their Mind About Race Laura Latterell

Kids Speak Their Mind About Race

            The inspirational video “Kids Speak Their Mind About Race” can be found on YouTube. It is great video that shows us children perspective and thoughts on racism. We learn what children have to say about racism and how it effects their lives at school at home and in the society. It seems from the video that racism is a taught thing that children learn from their parents. Many of the children do not agree with racism but say they have to follow what their parents say about racism and they are not allowed to play with the minority children, or the minority children are not allowed to play with the white kids. It is a very eye opening video, and a great way to hear what kids have to say. It was heart breaking to hear about some of these children’s experiences with racism.

            The question I have is how is racism showed in children’s sports, such as hockey? Because if children experience so much racism in schools and at homes there must be racism seen in sports that they play. Especially hockey because it is a very white dominant sport. Has there been any recorded events of race issues in children’s hockey?

            When we look into these questions it does show that there are a lot of race issues in sport, including hockey. But there are not that many serious issues in children’s sport. On bleacherreport.com we learn that there are a lot of inner city minorities that have dreams about playing in the NHL or playing on college hockey teams when they get older. One young girl “Katherine was also positive about her future plans involving hockey. When asked if she plans to play college hockey and to somehow make it into the NHL, she responded with an adamant, ‘Yes’” (Hockey in The Hood). A lot of minorities in the inner city have the hopes to play hockey, but as we know it is not common for a minority to play professional hockey. As of September of this year only 30 African Americans play in the NHL and over 45660 whites currently play (The End to Racism). So as you can imagine it does not give much hope to these young minority athletes.

  

Works Cited

"Hockey in The Hood": But Is The Hood in Hockey?" Bleacher Report. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

"The End to Racism and Discrimination on the Playing Field | Commonplace." The End to Racism and Discrimination on the Playing Field | Commonplace. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2014.

Mind Over Mass Media - Hockey

The NHL is one of America’s least popular sports mass media wise. ESPN does broadcast scores of NHL teams, however not to the extent that it does for the NBA, NFL, or MLB. When it comes to the NHL on ESPN, if you do not have a big name player who is well known or you are not a team in the top five of the league, chances are you will be left off that nights episode. They have been transitioning into a more NHL friendly program by having NHL segments featuring a great former player and coach, Barry Melrose. While this is headed in a good direction, it is still an under broadcast sport.

            In the NHL, seven teams sell out and fill their seats all year long. That is five more than any NBA team can do (Koivu). Also, in the NHL, there are only two teams that are under 80% when it comes to filling their seats and those two teams come in at 77.7% and 79.5% (Koivu). In the NBA there are seven teams that fall below that 80% mark and all seven of them fall below 75.8%. Two even fall below the 70% mark! Yet they are still receiving more media attention than the NHL.

Until recent years, ESPN and local news stations were the only place hockey fans could go, but they still would not get as much coverage as they want. Not until different channels were developed that challenged and are still challenging hockey fans to switch their sports viewing to. The most famous pertaining to the NHL is the NHL Network. They cover strictly NHL news witch is now a hockey fans heaven. This, in turn, has influenced ESPN to start the coverage like I mentioned above.

Twitter is another thing. NHL players accumulate for millions and millions of followers. Not to mention the millions of people that follow the team pages and all of their unofficial twitter handles. These people would all love to see more of the NHL on the TV. Improvement is there, but is still in the working.

Work Cited

CapGeek.com. "NHL Twitter Rankings." Cap Geek. N.p., 2014. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.

Koivu, Kayla. "Mass Media." Prezi.com. Prezi, 15 Apr. 2013. Web. 12 Nov. 2014.