1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Do kids play certain sports because we cover them more?

Discussion in 'Journalism topics only' started by Smallpotatoes, Feb 1, 2009.

  1. JakeandElwood

    JakeandElwood Well-Known Member

    Right, but do they stick with it through high school? I doubt it.
     
  2. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    According to the parents, yes. Also, according to the parents who annoy me so regularly, colleges base scholarships on whether or not the newspaper prints a box score.
     
  3. DirtyDeeds

    DirtyDeeds Guest

    That's just silly. I played soccer for more than 10 years, and never because someone else wanted me to. I played because it is fun to play, and I enjoy watching now but can see how it's too boring for many. And parents can run errands while you're at baseball or football practice, too.
    And there's certainly no way some kid is going to pick a sport because he might get his name in the paper. Kids don't think like that. They want to play the games they enjoy. Some might be looking to strike it rich, but it seems like you're talking about sports other than the ones we cover regularly, so that doesn't apply here.
     
  4. rpmmutant

    rpmmutant Member

    A few years ago, a girls high school cross country team barely had enough runners show up to field a full team. The school hires an awesome coach, turns the team around, wins three national championships, and suddenly every girl in the area wants to run at this particular high school.
    Newspapers don't make a sport attractive. Successful programs make a sport attractive. It's cyclical too. Back in the 1990s, another school in the area winning cross country national championships and everyone wanted to run for that school. Good coaches, good athletes result in successful programs. Good newspaper stories and expanded coverage are the results of good programs.
     
  5. crimsonace

    crimsonace Well-Known Member

    Kids are more likely to choose sports because:
    1. They are good at a particular sport
    2. They have fun playing a particular sport
    3. They can win in a particular sport (especially if they're split between 2, and their HS team has a winning program in one and a losing program in the other and both coaches "encourage" them to specialize)
    4. I've noticed this with girls more than guys, but they choose a sport because it's easier to play/have success (e.g., it doesn't require as much mental energy to play soccer as basketball).

    The amount of media coverage has nothing to do with it.
     
  6. slappy4428

    slappy4428 Active Member

    Soccer... wrestling... any sports where the parents are nuttier than the rest. All have nut jobs, some more than others.
     
  7. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Actually, any sport where the parents are affluent and thus used to getting what they want all the time ... but maybe I'm just generalizing ...
     
  8. pressboxer

    pressboxer Active Member

    The high school football team I cover regularly fills a 15,000-seat stadium. Basketball, volleyball, baseball and softball will generally draw a few hundred to home games. Sports like tennis, golf, gymnastics and swimming are attended almost solely by blood relatives of the participants, with the occasional boyfriend/girlfriend of an athlete showing up (a football player once told me the only reason he was at a tennis match was to watch his girlfriend bounce around in a short skirt and tight top).

    I have no doubt that they all work hard, but we cover what has the most interest in the community. We judge that interest in part by attendance at events. I don't care if it's not fair. I just go where the boss tells me to go.
     
  9. Smallpotatoes

    Smallpotatoes Well-Known Member

    When the football team is 0-10 and the cross-country team is undefeated, it pisses people off when the football team gets covered more.
     
  10. Cadet

    Cadet Guest

    1. You're right.
    2. You're right.
    3. You're right.
    4. Fuck off. What do you mean it doesn't require the same 'mental energy' to play soccer over basketball?

    I'll also add
    5. Because their friends play a certain sport, and they want to be with their friends at practices, games and camps.
     
  11. pallister

    pallister Guest

    I think it takes plenty of mental energy to play soccer. Otherwise, how you would you stay awake all game? :D
     
  12. pressboxer

    pressboxer Active Member

    It may piss off the cross-country parents, but a meet with 20 or 30 schools competing still won't draw as many spectators as a football game.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page