Junk Food for the Soul

Today's blog post was written by Rachel Sexton. Rachel is a senior Accounting major at the University of Notre Dame and a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion founding director Clark Power and Kristin Sheehan. Rachel is also a member of the Women's Lacrosse Team at Notre Dame.

Bart Giamatti, former commissioner of Major League Baseball referred to sport as “Junk Food for the Soul.” What does that really mean though? Picture a football game, a Notre Dame football game, a stadium of strangers bonded together for a moment in time to watch their team strive for victory.

photo from Rachel Sexton 

Look at the fans, the cheering, the coaching, and competition. It’s overwhelmingly amazing. The smallest play results in an unbelievable uproar from the crowd. This moment in time connects the crowd and brings them back to a time in their life where they competed for something bigger than themselves.

It truly is special being able to play for something bigger than yourself, and working hard on a team. The pregame nerves; one-goal games and tight races… when the competition is so close you feel as though life itself is on the line. Even losing is special, because losing gives you the grit to get back out there; losing motivates you, stops you from becoming complacent and keeps you humble. But let's be honest, who doesn’t like winning? Winning is when the endless hours of work you’ve put in become a reality. The celebrations, giving hugs, sweating, crying… and that feeling of euphoria: the winning goal, the final point, the touch at the wall, the gut-wrenching ‘lean’ over the finish line. That ‘in the moment’ feeling of euphoria seems to only exists in sports.

photo from Rachel Sexton 

It’s not only the big things, but also the smaller details that have helped to shape our views and memories in sport. The fist pump & jump celebrations – the assist no one saw coming – hustle plays – high-fives – when your teammate scores his/her first –crushing the run test or at least surviving. We miss the parent hugs after the competition… because they’re always proud of you, even if you fell on your face (metaphorically or physically). The moments we spent warming up, cooling down and working with teammates: the people you fight with and fight for. When you see the little boy or girl who looks up to you like you’re a hero… hoping to be you one day; because you got to live out your dream, competing in the sport that you love.

Football Playoffs

Today's blog was written by Steve Vasturia.  Steve is a junior business major and was a student in the Social Foundations of Coaching course taught by Play Like a Champion Founder and Director Professor Clark Power and Program Director Kristin Sheehan last semester.  In addition to his studies, Steve is also a guard on the Notre Dame Men's Basketball Team. 

This past year was the first season that college football used a playoff format in order to crown a National Champion. This has been a hotly debated topic over the past few years, and I think it was great to see this playoff system rather than the old BCS points and rankings system. The four team playoff this year was not only much more exciting than in years past, but it gave a plethora of teams the opportunity to compete for a championship. As we start the second year of the new system, I think this will improve the game.

In years past, there always seemed to be a team or two that may have been undefeated, but was not able to compete for a title because the computers/sports writers did not believe they deserved to play for a championship. This created immense controversy and really left a bad taste in teams' mouths. I think the college football playoff is great for the game and I hope they will continue to expand the playoff to eight, or maybe sixteen teams as the years go on. I would compare this to what college basketball does for their tournament, which I've been privileged enough to play in. Everybody loves March Madness. It is exciting, and there is so much pressure on these teams to succeed. The best team to find a way to navigate through a field of sixty-four teams gets to raise a trophy in the beginning of April. This is the kind of excitement and energy that the college football playoff brought this past fall.

Ohio State took home the national championship in this inaugural year and it was the first time that an SEC team did not win a title in a long time.  An SEC team didn't even make it to the final game. I think the playoff system also shows how much parity that there is in collegiate athletics which is not only great for the sport, but for the fans as well. The playoff system has some flaws, and people will still think their teams deserved to make the playoff, but in my opinion it is great for the sport and will continue to improve over their years.