Sport Psychology :: essays research papers

A Summary of: The Psychosocial Characteristics of Olympic Track and Field Athletes Fortunately, it was quite a simple task to find a research topic related to the material that we have covered so far in sport psychology. After some quick searching, we ran across a rather interesting article written in the International Journal of Sport Psychology that could obviously be useful. Conveniently, it was in the most recent issue of this particular journal available in the Evansdale Library. Entitled, Psychosocial Characteristics of Olympic Track and Field Athletes, this article happened to be one that we could easily relate too. Because both of us are runners, we share a definite commonality with the subjects of the study. This is true, even though neither of us will actually make it to the Olympics to perform at the subjects' standards. At least, though, it is possible to relate highly to these interesting people. Basically, the purpose of this particular study was to identify the specific personality characteristics of 15 Olympic caliber track and field athletes. Certainly, several people, especially sport psychologists, would like to know if there are specific attitudes and personalities that belong to the topnotch athletes of the world. Pretty simple request, right? Or at least it sounds that way. To perform this experiment, each of the athletes was asked six standardized questions. For instance, one of the questions focused directly on the subject of â€Å"How do you prepare for a competition.† The athletes’ responses to these questions were recorded word for word and analyzed for content. Interestingly enough, typical themes could be found throughout their responses. For example, some of the athletes would mention that a higher power was some how related to everything that they have done. The people performing this study would relate this to the category of spiritual/ religious factors. Also, a couple of the runners claimed that their lives were completely based on the theme of mental skills and attitudes such as hard work and perseverance. It was very easy to notice that these themes appeared time after time, for each question answered by the same person. The researchers concluded that these emerging themes play an important role in the psychological development of each athlete. While it isn’t a direct correlation, the work these researchers have done could be somewhat related to developments in psychological skills training.

Terrorism and Freedom - All We Need is Love :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

All We Need is Love      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the course of one's existence, one is constantly striving to achieve the pinnacle of their abilities, a certain excellence within themselves, and a balance between themselves and their society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unfortunately, as we near the end of the millenium, society is failing to provide us with the appropriate means in order to realize that goal. So as we prepare for the next century, we must recognize that there are many problems that we must alleviate before this world can become a better place.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It may well be that the nation cannot survive--as a decent place to live, as a world-class power or even as a democracy--with such high rates of children growing into adulthood unprepared to parent, unprepared to be productively employed and unprepared to share in the mainstream aspirations.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Various programs are springing up to help children. However, like the welfare program, for the most part these programs are aimed at alleviating symptoms rather than correcting the cause of the problems. More prisons, more policemen, gun control, the FBI, and V-chips to block violent programs on TV will never stop crime and violence. When we devote time, money and effort toward problems and symptoms -- without correcting the cause -- the problems and symptoms grow and spread like creeping crab grass.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But as an individual, what can one do? The answer is simple. All one has to do is love. Love is the solution to all of the social problems in our society. Adequate love will eliminate evil, crime, violence, mental suffering, the suffering of innocent children, dysfunctional families, the break-up of families, restlessness, discontent, unhappiness--all that is ugly, deplorable, and destructive.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But before one can love others, one must learn to love himself. One cannot love himself until he frees himself from fear and false beliefs. One is not free until he discovers that is truth that sets us free from those fears and false beliefs.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And it is that truth that has the power to render our families loving, happy, harmonious, functional and stable. Truth has the power to obliterate all social problems ... crime, violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, etc. Terrorism and Freedom - All We Need is Love :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers All We Need is Love      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the course of one's existence, one is constantly striving to achieve the pinnacle of their abilities, a certain excellence within themselves, and a balance between themselves and their society.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Unfortunately, as we near the end of the millenium, society is failing to provide us with the appropriate means in order to realize that goal. So as we prepare for the next century, we must recognize that there are many problems that we must alleviate before this world can become a better place.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It may well be that the nation cannot survive--as a decent place to live, as a world-class power or even as a democracy--with such high rates of children growing into adulthood unprepared to parent, unprepared to be productively employed and unprepared to share in the mainstream aspirations.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Various programs are springing up to help children. However, like the welfare program, for the most part these programs are aimed at alleviating symptoms rather than correcting the cause of the problems. More prisons, more policemen, gun control, the FBI, and V-chips to block violent programs on TV will never stop crime and violence. When we devote time, money and effort toward problems and symptoms -- without correcting the cause -- the problems and symptoms grow and spread like creeping crab grass.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But as an individual, what can one do? The answer is simple. All one has to do is love. Love is the solution to all of the social problems in our society. Adequate love will eliminate evil, crime, violence, mental suffering, the suffering of innocent children, dysfunctional families, the break-up of families, restlessness, discontent, unhappiness--all that is ugly, deplorable, and destructive.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   But before one can love others, one must learn to love himself. One cannot love himself until he frees himself from fear and false beliefs. One is not free until he discovers that is truth that sets us free from those fears and false beliefs.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   And it is that truth that has the power to render our families loving, happy, harmonious, functional and stable. Truth has the power to obliterate all social problems ... crime, violence, spousal abuse, child abuse, drug abuse, etc.

Dangerous Secrets in Tobias Wolff?s Hunters in the Snow Essay -- Tobia

Dangerous Secrets in Tobias Wolff's Hunters in the Snow In Tobias Wolff's 'Hunters in the Snow', the three main characters each have secrets which they are concealing despite their friendships. These obscuring truths later cause trouble for each of the characters and will lead to their destruction. How will their decisions and lies impact their relationships? The first character introduced in the story is Tub. Tub is portrayed as being rather large. The reader?s first image of Tub is when Kenny says, ?He looks just like a giant beach ball with a hat on??(117). Tub?s inner conflict is his weight, which he lies about throughout the story. Tub is obviously self conscious about his weight and is in denial about his gluttony. He hides cookies and sandwiches in his clothes, but in the presence of his friends, he acts as if he is on a diet and eats a boiled egg and celery. His friends mock him about his diet and can see that he is not loosing but gaining weight. Later in the story, Tub finally reveals to Frank the truth about his gluttony. Tub admits, ?I?ve even got stuff (snacks) in the paper towel machine at work?Oreos, Mars Bars, Twinkies?(126). I believe that Tub reveals his secret to Frank because he wants help and he knows that Frank will be understanding. It is after this incident, that Frank takes Tub to a restaurant so he could eat until he was completely full. The second character in the story is Frank. One gets the impression that Frank is very masculine. He repeatedly tells Tub and Kenny things that would make them more of a man. When Tub complains that he is cold, Frank tells him to ?Stop bitching?Get centered?(118). Later, Frank tells Kenny that he is too talkative, as if men should not talk too much. This co... ...he held inside because of the constant mockery from Kenny and Frank, combined with his denial about gluttony, made it easy for him to shoot Kenny. Tub finally stood up for himself and protected himself. When Frank found out that Kenny was merely joking, his reaction was unsurprising and unsympathetic as if he knew an incident like that was soon to come and this was foreshadowed by Frank earlier in the story when he told Kenny ?You?re asking for it?(118). Although, the reader does not know exactly how Frank?s and Tub?s lies will impact their lives, one does see how Kenny?s lies will probably cost him his life because the hunters had taken the wrong turn and were not on their way to hospital. Work Cited Wolff, Tobias. "Hunters in the Snow." Perrine's Literature: Structure, Sound,_and Sense. Ed. Thomas R. Arp and Greg Johnson. New York: Heinle and Heinle, 2005.

Benefits and Influence of Music

Nowadays, music is very popular for teen and all ages. Some people like to listen Classic music and other like R&B or hip hop. It depend on their interesting. Even many people like music, but it still has advantages and disadvantages also. First of all, I would like to talk about the advantages of music. There are many advantages, but I'll tell you more details about that. First point, the music can make us feel relieve. Sometimes, when you get in the moody. You can take out your mp3 and listen to it, you will be feel relieve. The music such as hip hop or R&B can help you to get in the good mood again. Second point, music can make us feel more comfortable. When you listen the romantic music, you such a kind of dreaming or you feel that you can fly and get the romantic feeling. So your feeling more comfortable and being happy all the time. Third point, music can reduce your stresses all the time. When you stress, you listening music or do other activity in order to reduce your stresses step by step. You can listening hip hop music, it's help you smile. This is the last point of listening music, music can bring us in to one society by the meaning of the song. For example, you are listening to the Americana's song ( Dead and Gone), you can learn about the society in America. What happened in that or somethings beside this. Also you can improve your listening skill by listen the English song too. However music has many advantages, but it's also has disadvantages too. Listening music waste a lot money. When the singer show up or release new album, you always spend your money to buy it every time they release. If they release 100 different new album, Would you buy all this album? That's why I can say music waste a lot of money. On the other hands, music waste our time too. When you are addicted in to music. You always sit and listening to it without doing anything. You just sit and listen. You don't go out and do your work. Besides that, If you listen too much time and put your headset every time. You will have problem with your ear. You will spend much money or time to treat it. Totally, every things always have advantages and disadvantages. But if you get the information about this already. You should reduce your listening habit step by step. Benefits and influence of music Music gives different meaning to everyone. Music is a combination of art form from different elements of melody, harmony, rhythm and genre. Music acts as an influence, past time, hobby and passion. From classical to jazz, pop, rock, R&B, hip hop or even devotional songs, music affect different people in many different way. That is why we can see nowadays some people who are enthusiastic about music even attribute themselves and their talents into music professions. Music touches our soul and allows us to express different moods and emotions. Therefore, music has many roles that affect everyone’s life. Listening to certain songs usually triggers to certain emotions linked to that song. As for me, I would listen to various sorts of songs to cheer my mood up. And seriously, life without music would be very dull. Have you ever heard of the saying, â€Å"hooked on the feeling? ’’. Well, it really happens. For example, during festive seasons like Christmas, many people will put on Christmas songs because this will help them to stay on the state of euphoria all month long and bring back their childhood memories of Christmas. Therefore, music also plays a very crucial ole in overall development of an individual. It can take the mind and body to do spontaneous things either good or bad, depends on the type of music a person is listening to and it message contains. For instance, when someone is listening to sad songs related to their love or life, the listener will be highly in touch with that song connected with their emotions. Likewise, when another person is listening to a heavy metal songs, they might inhibited violated act or aggressive behavior as rock songs bring about rebellion and agitation influence. However, for some people, listening to this type of songs is their way of expressing anger and relieve from pain. Well, it’s actually depends on that person himself on how they interact and influence by the music.

Judgement fair or not

November 7-2013 Judgments, Fair or Not Most of the time; we are Judged by our looks, color of skin and nationality. It does not matter how hard you try to be a better person, to be a professional, to have a decent job, to be acknowledged for what you are and not how you look, people still first see what is in the outside.In the short story â€Å"Flight Patterns† by Sherman Alexie gives a very good example of how society stereotypes a person. Alexie used stereotypes to show readers that instead of Judging of appearances we should get to know a person first. In the short story by Alexie, we see how stereotyping takes place in the life of William the main character, a salesman that has to travel a lot and leave his family behind while he travels.In the short story we see that William has a strong statement where he describe himself and give a good example where he wanted his fellows travelers to know exactly who and what he was: â€Å"l am a Native American and therefore have te n thousand more reasons to terrorize the U. S. than any of those Taliban Jerks-offs, but I have chosen to become a civic American citizen, so all you hite folks should be celebrating my kindness and moral decency and awesome ability to forgive! â€Å"(para 57).This quote where William shows us the two paths a person can chose and where it could be to be against everybody because you feel that people puts you apart because of your looks and not your knowledge, or you can chose a path were your believes are more strong and are difficult to brake because you know where you come from and nobody can change that fact, also you know that by forgive the ignorance of the people that treat you like a thing and not like a human een that has something important to teach and show.By doing this William kind of express the a small victory because he was able to understand how to deal with people that treated as if he was an Indian, a Pakistani, a Latino, a Mussulmen and because of that he has to go thru more strict inspections in the airport by the immigration people. He became used to the ignorance of people over the years, but he still gets irked because they are people still thinking they can have the rights to do whatever they want or desire.On the other hand we have a character Fedaku a taxi river that William meet in one of his flights, Fedaku it is an interesting character because he shows William that sometimes there are decision in life that you have to take for the safety of the people you love in this case the family he had to leave in his native country. He describes the type of life he had back in his country with his family and also the circumstances that made him come to the United States and ended up driving a taxi.Fedaku gives a good explanation of his life to William was surprised because deep in his mind he did not expect that somebody that is driving a cap had o sacrifice so many thinks because of others people. Fedaku explained â€Å"l was a smart chil d. A genius. A prodigy. It was Selassie who sent me to Oxford. And there I studied physics and learned the math and art of flight. I came back home and flew Jets for Selassie's army' (para147). ery shocking but at the same interesting because you would never think that a cab driver have all this knowledge, there is when you ask yourselt now a person that nas all that knowledge instead ot driving a cab is not flying a plane or is a professor in University giving physics classes. Later on he xplain the reasons of why he ended living in Unites States â€Å"For three years, I killed my own people, and then on the third of June 1974, I could not do it anymore, I kissed my wife and sons goodbye that morning, and I kissed my mother and father, and I lie to them and told them I would be back that evening.They had no idea where I was going. But I went to the base, got into a plane, and flew 57). This make me think how we misjudge a person from Just their looks and how important it is to get to know them because mostly of the time it will teach you something that could e bad or good everything depends on how you take it. In this case William was able to understand him because he felt related to him because as Fedaku said before â€Å"people think I'm black, they don't see me as a terrorist, only as a crackhead addict on welfare.So I am a victim of only one misguided idea about who I am† (para 113). And by knowing his story he really understands that everyone has to go thru many things that other could not even imagine being able to achieve their goals. And it proves that everybody Judge you because of you looks and skin color, but they do not stop hinking for a moment to get to know as a person that has feelings, rights and is able to have a moderate conversation. A person is more than the eye can see.Therefore William understood Fedaku feelings. Also we see the characters are very different but at the same time equal. Why are they equal, you may ask? They are e qual in a way they have been discriminated and treated them as if they are like criminals in many places, they are able to understand each other in their own language that has been learn in the world by the experiences they been thru, and the understanding of both he characters was very clear from the author.Also the author make the shorts story a bit more intriguing because there was something in Fedaku that did not convinced William too much. Sometimes is better to do not know too much about a person because it could retaliate in a positive and also negative way, because sometimes is better to not know everything about a person because we are humans and therefore there is ego a Jealousy in it.Sometimes we are not able to understand or to take someone's story or experience because we can think or give different interpretations, or example we van think that everything is a lie and start to have an internal argument to Just to look for the bad thinks about the person's experienced, o r we could take kind of offensive because we are not able to understand that not everybody has the same story that we have different stories in different environment and different consequences.

Prophet Mohammad Essay

If I could travel back in time to meet a famous person from history, I would want to meet with Prophet Mohammad. He is well known across the world as the person who brought the Islamic religion to the Arab countries. His teachings can be found in the Holy Quran (Madelung, 87). It is said in Islam that Mohammed is the last of all the prophets God will send to all the people on the earth. Mohammed is very famous because he brought a religion to the world by the orders of God and in only a short time, it became well known everywhere. Even today, there are over 1 billion people in the world who are Muslims. Only a great person like Mohammed could have created a religion in his lifetime that would have captured the attention of all people. Islam started when God sent down angel Gabriel to Mohammed at the mountain Hara. He was first told, â€Å"Okra† which means â€Å"read†. The amazing part about this is Mohammed could never read nor write before meeting the angel. From this time at 40 years old until he was 63 years of age, he received many rules and wisdom from God. His instructions were to advise the people of God’s rules and how they should live, for they were living in â€Å"haram† or sin (Watt, 48). Mohammed was born and raised in Mecca. Read more:  How to write an essay about someone you admire His father died before he was born and he lost his mother too at the age of six and thereafter lived with his paternal grandfather Abd al-Muttalib as an orphan (Andrea, 78). Growing up as an orphan in Mecca was never easy even though he was well fed by his guardians. At a tender age of twelve, Mohammed had started engaging in trading journeys with his uncle. He therefore started to develop interest in commercial trade probably because that was the only option he had because he grew up as an orphan. Mohammed took up the career as a merchant in his later youth and was highly regarded as trustworthy and later nicknamed â€Å"al-Amin†. Mohammed’s youthful days are really admirable and inspiring at the same time (Madelung, 59). He not only had an upright character but was also a very hard working young man who tried and beat the odds despite his humble background. It was for his reputation that a forty year old widow called Khadijah who asked for his hand in marriage which he accepted and lived happily thereafter (Turner, 89). After the death of Khadijah, Mohammed married other women numbering about thirteen and he was survived by nine of them. One of them was called Aisha, who according to the Sunni Muslims was Mohammed’s favorite companion. She is known for her instrumental work in bringing together the many scattered Mohammed’s sayings that later formed the Sunni’s hadith literature. As a husband, Mohammed had a great reputation at a time when women were lowly regarded in the society. It is said that he participated in house chores like washing, cooking and even sewing clothes. Although women were never treated fairly during the prophet’s time, Mohammed was extremely exceptional with his women. He not only listened to his wives’ advice but also engaged them in dialogue and arguments. This is worth emulating in today’s Muslim societies where women continue to suffer in the hands of their men (Andrea, 75). Mohammed’s future prophetic life was said to have been prophesized by another Christian monk he met his way to his many caravans from Mecca to Syria (Watt, 56). At the onset of his prophetic life, Mohammed was fond of visiting a cave in Mount Hira every year where he would meditate for weeks. According to Islamic teachings, it was during one of the ritual meditations at Mount Hira when angel Gabriel descended and instructed him to say the following words: â€Å"Proclaim! or read! ) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created- Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful, – He Who taught (the use of) the pen, – Taught man that which he knew not† (Qur’an 96: 1-5). Mohammed was very much disturbed by these revelations and knew the task required of him. He went home and shared with his wife Khadija and Khadijah’s Christian cousin who consoled and reassured him that nothing bad would happen (Ramadan, 45). He was afraid of the news and did not know how he could get others to listen to what he was to say. His wife was the first to tell him she believed him and that Mohammed must do what was told. The amazing thing about Mohammed is his faith and willingness to do what God commanded. He never gave up in his prayers even after a pause of almost three years after the initial revelation. He prayed continuously until God finally commanded him to start preaching the word to his people. He was living in Mekkah of Saudi Arabia when he began his teachings to the people. According to Islamic teachings, Mohammed’s wife was the first person who believed that he was a prophet. His younger cousin called Ali Abi Talib and best friend Abu Bakr as well as his adopted son Zaid were to follow in believing in his prophesies (Turner, 102). Many of people from Mecca did not like or accept this way of life and tried to kill Mohammed. He would be mocked or chased away by the Meccans who could not believe or understand his new way of life. The opposition to Prophet Mohammed in Mecca began when he started preaching against worshiping of the idols that was a common feature in Mecca city. He also became a threat to the wealthy religious leaders who depended on the Kaaba, a major defining traditional feature of the Meccan religion which Mohammed’s teachings would render obsolete. Due to these, most of his new converts were killed by the wealthy merchants and other opposing groups who never wanted their traditional religions interfered with. But Mohammed had to endure insults and ridicules only and could not be harmed or killed because he came from the Banu Hashim clan (Madelung, 56). He left and traveled to different places including Yemen before he went back to Saudi Arabia to live in the city called Medina. The people of Medina were accepting of him and listened to his advice. There were some people there who professed to Jewish or other religions, but they did not fight with Mohammed. He had a good reputation in Medina where he helped to solve a long standing inter-ethnic conflict. A delegation comprising of representatives from all the clans involved in the fight between Jewish and Arabs in the Yathrib was sent to get Mohammed to arbitrate in the conflict. This did not only help him to escape the hostile city of Mecca but also enable him spread his teaching to various communities and clans in the greater Middle East (Ramadan, 83). Mohammed’s teachings really formed the foundation of the Islamic religion. One of the Muslim’s sources of spiritual inspiration is the Sunnah. The sunnah according the Islamic religion are deeds and sayings of the prophet Mohammed as preserved in the hadith and includes a variety of activities as well as beliefs such religious rituals, burial rituals, personal hygiene and the love between man and God. It is supposed to guide every Muslim and so far has been a great influence to the Muslim culture allover the world. For example, Mohammed taught Muslims a greeting to offer one another – â€Å"may peace be upon you† is wide used by Muslims from all corners of the world (Rahman, 69). The Sunnah has played an important role in the establishment and development of the religion’s sciences. Much of the prophet’s deeds and sayings have particularly contributed to the establishment of the Islamic law in the early years of the Islamic religion (Madelung, 78). The Sufis who sought to understand the inner meaning of the holy book, Qur’an and the true nature of the prophet, considered Mohammed not only as a mere prophet but as a perfect saint. Their spiritual descent is traced back to Prophet Mohammed (Rahman, 45). Mohammed was not liked by many of the outside tribes living throughout the Middle East and they wanted to hurt him, they taught their children to throw stones at him during his travels (Andrea, 65). A great quality of Mohammed that I look to is his patience. He taught to others that a very important behavior in life is to have patience with all issues. People would come to Mohammed with many complaints or questions to try and trick him (Madelung, 56). Others would do many things to him so he would go away. In all of these events, he would wait quietly and think before he answered or acted. I admire his ability to restrain himself and not fight small issues. In this world today, I think that everyone could benefit from this lesson of patience. Too many people die and are left hurting from wars between people who have little patience. During the spread of Islam, Mohammed gave people a choice to convert to Islam or if they did not want to, they would need to pay money that is like a tax. The Muslims and other people who would pay could live in harmony, but the tribes who refused to pay and resisted the teaching of Islam would end up in a war. These people had killed family members of Mohammed and wanted to fight him. So Mohammed and a small army would go out to fight, for example the Battle of Badr City (Andrea, 67). The small Muslim army won the battles because God had given them the strength to fight an enemy who hated God and worshipped idols. When the battles were over, Mohammed never took prisoners and killed them on purpose. He showed mercy and compassion. Like the Prophet Jesus had taught the way to live is with mercy, compassion and love. It is the only way to live a correct life. If you look to any of the prophets, they are famous and different from all of the other people because they took chances and were disliked. They had to remain strong in their faith of God and be patient. It was no different for Mohammed. There are many times in my life that I become angry because people are mean or I lose patience with them but I try to look to the example Mohammed made for the Muslims to follow. I sit and read the Quran and hope to find a peace. Conclusion When the word was revealed to Mohammed, the world was in a bad situation. People were worshipping idols and hurting the less fortunate and women. It was like these people were acting like animals. Mohammed was very scared of how he would be accepted by the people and if they would reject the word of God. I admire the strength of Mohammed when he was faced with danger. I sometimes wish to have that strength, so I must remain strong in my faith to God and look to Him for guidance. This was an important teaching of the prophet Mohammed. When I came to America, I was afraid because I was new and did not know many people. Also, the news shows things that can make people afraid of Muslims and I know some people will not like me because of it. I try hard to live by the example Mohammed set for the Muslim people so I may have a good life. It has been good for me in America. By having patience, I have learned many things about this country and also made good friends. I hope that people can look past the bad news media makes for people and discover the good things about Mohammed because there are many lessons a person can learn from his life.

Cricket a Threat to Other Games

Is Cricket’s massive appeal in India at the cost of other sports? ‘Cricket is a religion in  India’- a powerful statement that would bring a smile on all cricket lovers in India. However, rarely expressed is the other side of the coin – an issue of one man’s extreme popularity killing the very identity and existence of all other players in the mix. No Doubt that the game’s popularity has brought glory to millions of fans residing in India and worldwide, has instilled a sense of pride even in non-cricket-following Indian audiences†¦whenever the country has won, it  has brought laurels to the nation, elation to Indian people from all age groups-  be it a tiny toddler who craves for sixes from Sachin and Sehwag’s bat and or the keen cricket follower who deeply understands the nuisances of the game and gets elated whenever the little master,   Sachin crosses yet another milestone. But these cricket-savvy arguments rarely bring to light the other dark picture†¦ While cricket’s popularity has increased in India at a exponential rate, the fortunes of the other games has fallen to new lows. Hockey –our national game , in which India was considered a super-power has degraded so quickly that team India had failed   to even qualify for the  Olympics-the international sporting event in which India won medals in its golden era of hockey. It’s a pity that many international games like Motor-racing, Formula 1 races, golf, tennis, Athletics, gymnastics, swimming etc. on’t even find an Indian representation†¦. But the key question is? Is cricket responsible for this†¦The arguments are endless both in favor and against this argument. The supporters will say that all games have their separate, non-intersection identities, interests, fan-following and popularity scales†¦how come we attribute other sport’s losses on cr icket’s gains†¦ The critics will respond by equally strong arguments-if all the financial aids, funds, sponsors will be consumed by the ‘cricket’ giant ,wont the other games be starved of existence†¦ The conclusion is not easy to draw and one possible solution is to focus on aggressive advertisement of other sports, by roping in   government aids,   big corporate sponsors, the  media  and broadcasting people, the games’ iconic players as ambassadors etc†¦ Maybe someday we can produce our own version of   a Michael Schumacher or a Roger Federer†¦but for now cricket remains the undisputed king of Indian sports!! View point 2: Cricket dates back to 1721 in its trace in India, where it is more than a religion today. Being called a gentlemen game, it attracts millions of people all over the world. The popularity it pulls in the public made it a crazy game dominating any other game in India. Neither any game sustains nor collects popularity or spins the money as the cricket does. Because of this popularity other sports are ignored in our country that is about to extinct due to lack of proper encouragement from public and government. This dominance of cricket makes other games to feel low and the sportsmanship suffered inferiority complex in other areas. Arguments towards cricket We can’t blame one game for the fall of other game as there is nothing in game; everything is in the mind of people who enjoy the game. Cricket being craziest game is definitely a stylish and gentlemen game which at any cost shouldn’t be tagged with a line, â€Å"cricket is a curse for other games† which is more than religion in our country. Indian cricket has a history of holding many records often which are not easy even for the founders of the game. Though it is a lucrative game, it doesn’t mean there ends the professionalism. It is played at its standards and always allured millions of people across the world not only shaping the careers of youth but also earning them prestigious awards and rewards from the game and through endorsement. Popularity that cricket has is due to the influence which has been made by great cricketers like Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and many legendary performers. It is also the most favourite time pass for Indian youth and helps the nation to achieve integrity. Sponsors through advertisement help in boosting the economy and provide good business opportunities. Coaching centres and sports shops are established for cricket which helps them as a form of self employment. Arguments against cricket Cricket is posing threat to other games in India due it its mass popularity and makes the other sportsman suffer for their contributions. Government never supports such activities; and even if it supports will surely undermine the capacity by withdrawing the facilities provided for other sports. Cricket is a game of money, and nothing like professionalism exists in it. Youth pursue this game as profession for fame and money and the popularity it has among the mass. Players never show much attention once they are placed in national team. They will try to make fortune from the sponsors and other facilities provided. Betting is other area from which cricketers get easy money without playing game and has been in news for many matches which now brought the public to which match should be believed whether it is not fixed or fixed. Media hypes the game undermining the potential of other games and politicians do interfere to get their piece of cake in the dirty money making business. No professionalism, no sincerity. Money is the only purpose around which the game revolves.