How Football Explains America (pg.15-61)

How Football Explains America (pg.15-61)

Summary: "America does not have Greek Mythology..So America made up its own" (Paolantonio).  The sport of America is Football, it is not played anywhere else in the country and Football helps define America.  The most well known and usually the most loved position of football is the quarterback, its like a journey when the quarterback drives the team down the field and through the season.  "How and why the quarterback position was created and evolved helps explain how football explains America" (Paolantonio 17).  Your emotions control what you do in the game of football and that is what's so attractive about the game.  "Football is a game of the heart " (Schottenheimer 52).  How could you not love it.  

Quote: "The game of football brings them emotions out " (Snoop Dogg 54).

Reaction: When I read this it made me want to play football. I have always loved the sport because of the fact that it brings your emotions out.  It is a feeling words cannot explain, and that is why its so great.  Im going to play football this year if I can get my grades together =].

How Football Explains America pg(1-15)

Summary: The book starts off talking about Tedy Bruschi and the stroke he had, and how strong willed he was to come back and still play the game of football again. But then it explains that before football, it was rugby and soccer. The first actual somewhat game of football was in 1874, but it wasn't played the way we know today, the rules were mixed from soccer and rugby.
America didn't really have a history like other countries like Europe. Around 1880 is when the terms scrimmage and possesion were being used. But the rules have changed from today since back then, and football helps create America.

Quote: "The champions of necessary roughness" (Paolantonio 10).

Reaction: This quote made me think that all people who play football are trying to hurt their oppenent. And sometimes that might be true, becuase when we atch football today it is very rough and aggresive. Almost like that is what football is all about, being rough and aggresive.

A Separate Peace pg(1-40)

Summary:

Gene the main character and also the narrator returns to his high school as an adult to look back on

an incident that occurred.   When he is there he goes to two locations, a marble staircase and  a tree where something happened.  Gene doesn't really explain or give any detail to what happened there.  But Gene does remember when his friends Finny, Leper, Chet and Bobby were at the tree and Finny dares Gene to jump of the tree into the pond.  First Finny does it to prove himself, then Gene did it next but his other three friends decided not to.  Walking back to the campus Finny and Gene began arguing and start to wrestle.  

It seems like Gene is jealous of Finny because of his body shape and looks, and basically envies him he got upset when he realized that Finny made him do something really dumb and he wasn't going to listen to Finny anymore.

Quote:

"I was glad of that too.  Naturally.  He was my roommate and my best friend" (Knowles 32).

Reaction:

This quote actually bothered me a little bit, because to me it seemed like he really wasn't glad that Finny was great at everything he did.  Seemed like he was jealous of his best friend which is not right.  Throughout the whole chapter Gene just talks about great Finny does everything, which is a little weird.  I believe that Gene would rather see Finny fail in sports and other things that he does.

Beneath the Surface(179-228)

Summary

Phelps was now on his way to the 2004 Olympic Trials.  He had trained so hard, and there were a lot of people that expected a lot from him, or hoped he would fail.  For a rookie with this big stuff, he did great.  After the Trials he went to a press conference, he was the first person ever to qualify for a U.S Olympic team in any sport in six individual events, although he was beaten twice and only did his best time in one race.

Now Michael and his coach had set the bars very high for the Olympics in Athens.  They went straight to the pool and began working all the small things, like starts and turns.  When he arrived in Athens, Phelps and his family were attacked by interviewers and producers.  But he had to stay focused on swimming, his first race was a relay which he finished in 3rd, and he wasn't happy with that at all.  His next race was the 200 free and he was racing two of his idols, and he came in third with his best time, he was pleased.  His next 6 races were all his, leaving Athens with 2 bronze medals and 6 gold medals!!  He had become only the second athlete in history to win eight total medals.

Quote

"Anything is possible, I said, I don't think you should ever talk about things you can't do"(Phelps 180).

Reaction

My reaction to when I read this was, Phelps always knew he capable of doing what he did.  Although he had a lot of bumps in the road, he didn't let that stop him, he kept going.  This just makes me want to try harder in everything I do, what ever I put my mind to I know I can do it.

Beneath the Surface(139-179)

Summary:

Phelps next focus was the World Championships in Barcelona. Michael proposed to his mom that if he broke a world record at the meet she would get him a dog. In Barcelona he ends up breaking five world records, and at the end of his last race he looked up at his sister and she had a poster up saying "5 dogs" ?
When they came back from Barcelona of course there would be interviewers. That was a pain in the neck for Michael and his coach, so bad so the point where his coach would yell at everyone and tell them to "GET OUT OF HERE, NO MORE INTERVIEWING"! With seven world records in 41 days contracts with Speedo were being offered, and Phelps and his people wouldn't reject. But something that was happening to Phelps when he would travel is he would always lose is training equipment. Michael was increasing his profile, so he used that especially for the kids. He was the national spokesman for the Boys and Girls Club. He goes around and talks to younger kids and even teenagers with hard lives, and he tells them what he has been through and how swimming has helped him.
Phelps would later be backed to training, and figuring out his tight schedule with Trials and Olympics. Interviews, conferences and all that extra stuff was tough for Michael, because he really wanted to train. The person who helped him the most was his coach, he helped him get through this and molded him into the swimmer and man that he is today.

Quote:

"Bob thought I was loafing through an afternoon practice and told me. "If your only going to do this much, you might as well get out." I got out of the pool and said, "Okay I will then." Bob said, "Merry Christmas," and I was out of there."

Reaction:

When I read this all I could think of the times this has happened between my coach and I. If he feels I am slacking off, he will tell me leave so we both don't waste our time. But I know when he does that he is testing me, there has been times where I just left because I was just so tired and my body couldn't take it anymore. But when it is all over I do regret, I feel bad and I will come with the best attitude the next practice.

Beneath the Surface (45-97)

Summary:

In the next couple of chapters Phelps explains his up and downs with his swim coach.  Although they had their bumps in the road Michael knew he was going to be with Bob for a long time.  As Michael went to more difficult swim meets and competing at young age, and still being ranked as one of the fastest swimmers in the country, he thought maybe he is going to go somewhere with this.  Bob, Phelps coach knew he was going to make the Olympic team in 2000, and he was only 15 !  They were training nonstop.  All that training paid off when Michael broke the world record for the 200 butterfly at the age of 15.  He felt " On top of the world."  Although it was a great accomplish, when he got back home it was right back to training.

Quote:

"Squinting through my goggles to make sure I saw the numbers right. Then I went spazo" (Phelps 88).

Reaction:

This has happened to me so many times, getting first place and seeing a time on the wall and thinking you saw wrong, but when you really look you have done your best time ever.  Although my experiences aren't as great as Phelps, the feeling is still great.  Reading this book, I realized I react the same way that Michael does to many things.  He is my idol for swimming, and I love reading this book