Prevailing Theory

           We are currently in what I like to refer to as the sports hibernation. Football has ended, basketball is in the middle of its under-appreciated season, hockey is minding its own business off to the side and baseball spring training has just started. Sports fans are starving for entertainment or put more simply content. Many fans turn to obscure sports at this time, they suffer from withdrawal after the peak of the super bowl and find themselves watching reruns of the world series of poker, joining fantasy squash leagues, and polishing their bowling balls. Fear not sports enthusiast for over the horizon the bright sun in rising in the aforementioned form of baseball spring training.

                Sure spring training is not as exciting as the regular baseball season, what could top the heart pounding suspense of a slowly played extra inning game in late July? Definitely not a slowly played extra inning game in late march, that’s for sure. A spring training game may not have as much ridding as a regular season game, yet it still gives fans an opportunity to unpack the Red Sox merchandise and bone up on new stats, rumors and Yankee insults. Spring training for any sport offers an interesting perspective on sports in America and baseball is a perfect example, this country is mesmerized by anyone who can run jump or hit harder than others.

           As a country and a world we praise athletes as if they are gods on earth, we buy their products, watch there games and even purchase tickets to spring training which has no actual bearing on the season. The skill of a player has a direct tie to how many fans he has which directly relates to how many endorsement deals they have and the amount of money end up in the players pocket. With a system like this there should be no question as to why athletes resort to the use of steroids and other performance enhancing drugs. With the prospect of mass fandom and a huge bank account who wouldn’t break the arbitrary rules of a game? Spring training is just adds to the pressure faced by these athletes, now we as fans even care about their practices where do we draw the line and realize these athletes are human to and can only be expected to perform as so?

                  Don’t get me wrong I am not complaining about having something to watch and talk about. I simply find it interesting that as a fan base especially for baseball we wave countless carrots in front of players and than scold them when they cheat to get them. As sports fans we must decide do we want to see more exciting games filled with big hits and high scoring or a subdued version of the same sport?

and to stay up to date on all baseball scandals —-> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Major_League_Baseball_scandals

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              Earlier this week a man placed in FBI custody after he reportedly muttered a suspicious comment while in a Los Angeles international terminal. The terminal was evacuated for the two hours and the man was arrested. It is still unknown what the man said which required such a response and his innocence or guilt is still to be decided. This is not the first time in this hyper-secure post 9/11 world in which drastic measures have been taken to keep flights safe. There are countless other stories of plans being grounded and passengers arrested for suspicious behavior and questionable comments. Reading about this most recent incident I began to wonder, how far should we go to protect our airways? Is there any leniency to be had when dealing with such an important matter or should every questionable statement be taken as a full blown threat?   

            The most prevalent feeling is that anyone who so much as says crash, bomb, or fire well onboard, near, or in conjunction with planes warrants a full blown response well being arrested and berated as a terrorist. This is can be seen as a relatively sane response as people clearly fear for the safety of themselves and their families. However with the most recent string of air traffic related arrests it seems as if the regulations are becoming stricter and punishments more harsh. Where as a society do we draw the line and give people the benefit of the doubt that just because you are Middle Eastern and carrying a briefcase you are not plotting the demise of our nation. I believe that safety in the skies should be a top priority for our country as provides a quick and efficient form of transportation, but if people are afraid of being arrested for forgetting they have a bottle of water with them the amount of people taking advantage of this transportation will decline.

            In this specific case it is still unknown what the man said, and whether or not it deserved the response it got. As more facts emerge it will be interesting to see the nation’s response to not only this arrests but the related others which will undoubtedly occur over the next few months. A touchy subject for the nation to discuss but one which I feel is important and will warrant discussion among many policy makers.

unitll than we could all learn a lesson from Ben Stiller —> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6O0EPLb50D0

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            What occured at Tabor this week is exactly Tabor needs more of. When a week consists of Asian dinner, good sports, great music, senior auction, and a dance you are left full, sore, entertained, broke, and without a voice. This week was an anomaly in the Tabor weekend experience and something the student population yearns for on a more consistent basis. It is obviously tough to entertain five hundred teenagers well staying within a reasonable moral construct and budget however this week proved it is not impossible. Sure, some activities this week pushed the boundaries, well other in their tame manner managed to excite a crowd. Their was an energy this week one that has not been seen on the Tabor campus for quite sometime and we can only hope will show up again sometime soon.

            First a quick recap. Asian dinner was, as always, a renowned success. Many people showed up, the food was good and the atmosphere stress free. Tabor sports rolled along strongly, with both squash teams going to nationals, wrestling winning two big matches, undefeated girls basketball staying humble, and boys’ hockey fundraising for a great cause. A under advertised but highly attended concert was put on by a visiting band, The Fireworks, on Friday. Senior auction was cut short but still managed to net the senior class over two thousand dollars, and provide countless laughs and controversies. The valentines dance was like most, a nice way to burn excess energy and give you another thing to talk about. A high-energy week that woke us up, tired us out, and let us slip back into the monotony of school.

            What made this week worthwhile? One reason was the sheer volume of activities. Rarely do we receive more than one unique activity for the week and in the past seven days we’ve had multiple. Another factor was the closed weekend. Having people on campus clearly has an affect on the weekend, as a group Tabor kids are able to create entertaining activities. And that is who really made this week enjoyable, the students. A group that can be commonly described as unmotivated and disorganized decided to get their act together and do something with their time. This week as a students we made a difference in our own lives. We cooked, played, advertised, organized, and celebrated. We should look at this week as lesson, if we want more a more entertaining time at Tabor we need to make it so. We should not rely on the faculty; instead we should arrange events on our own. If you enjoyed this week and do not want Tabor to return to the expected weekend everyone complains about get up and start something. Make a new Tabor tradition, start a weekly event organize something you’ve wanted to try for a while.

            As the weather warms up, the Tabor population thaws and comes outside for spring, an exorbitant amount of opportunities to amuse arrive. There should never be a weekend where kids are complaining about not having something to do since those kids could create something to do. We have the ability, facilities, and resources to entertain ourselves and we should start taking advantage of the situation we have been handed.

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            For my first true post I though it fitting that since I am writing this for a senior English elective that I write about something we are all going through in on form or another, college applications. It is that time of year again; high school seniors across the country are desperately awaiting their fates in the form of college letters. Seniors will go to great lengths to better their chances of getting accepted to a prestigious school. Anything you can do to make yourself stick out can not hurt and you should take every opportunity to rise above the other applicants.                                                                

           Healthy, legal measures to do so include but are not limited to; studying hard, a sign of your dedication. Gaining captainship of multiple sports teams is a good sign that you are respected by both peers and adults. Also heading various clubs and organizations on campus, shows you are multi-facetted.

           Equally as effective and viable methods but less likely to be suggested by your college counselor any time soon consist of; realizing you are failing your classes you resort to hacking the school computers and altering your grades, this shows you are resourceful in times of crises and have the computer skills necessary for the twenty-first century workplace. Finding yourself lacking common motor skills and hand eye coordination you blackmail the varsity squash coach to give you the number one spot on the team, doing so demonstrates your ability to negotiate and close deals. In a brash decision brought on by not having joined a single club or school sanctioned group in the past three years you buy the leftover shirts from every clubs fundraisers at a reduced cost, which you then wear to college interviews, this exhibits thriftiness and the fact that you Africa TA. These are all character traits colleges are looking for in prospective students and to stand out in the crowd sometimes extreme measures have to be taken.

<———— This could be you one day

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Hello World, This is a test post on January 31 2008 at 7:44 am

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