Voice Post
I recently read a post by M. Wood, entitled Reason Number 128,481 Why I Hate the NCAA. This blog was written for his COM 330 class. Most of his posts are about collegiate athletes and the NCAA.
Many of his posts are practically rants, very similar to mine. He doesn’t take his posts too seriously. What I mean by that is, even though he is writing for his class, his posts are not what I would consider formal, they are in his own words and are not written to try and get an “A” if you will.
Let me show you what I mean:
Exhibit A: he writes, “In theory, college athletics should be the most amazing display of athletic showmanship in the United States. The over 1,000 member institutions in the NCAA all playing by the same rules, all with an equal chance of winning thanks to the amateurism rules, all supporting the student-athlete, emphasis on the student. But wait… that is not the case.”
Let’s look at that last sentence: “But wait… that is not the case” I took this tone of voice to be one of sarcasm, he is being witty and playing onto the fact that the NCAA is not what it says it is.
He later goes on to say, “Yet, everyone is sold this dream that these mid-major teams somehow stand a chance versus the Number One Seed Kentucky or Duke, under the illusion that amateurism somehow manages to make college sports equal.” When he says this I am thinking, “Oh wow, he really is calling everyone out for basically being naïve and stupid.” He uses this sarcastic tone throughout his whole piece, and argues that the NCAA has basically brainwashed people into thinking that their amateurism rules have made it so that collegiate sports are all equal when it comes to play. Yet we all know that this is not true, but there is this underlying, universal hope that these underdog teams will prevail and show that collegiate sports can be equal.
Other examples of his tone/voice throughout this blog are when he actually inserts himself into the piece, by saying that he hates the NCAA because they “operate their business on free labor and then micro-manage this labor with absurdly specific rules and regulations. This is especially blood-boiling.” Now a reader can easily tell that he is angry when writing this post. His use of the word hate, conveys strong emotion, and really puts into perspective the type of message he is trying to convey, and he even calls the rules and regulations the NCAA has put into place absurd. Lastly, he basically calls out the NCAA on using athletes as a free labor/slave labor force, to help their business grow and prosper. If all of this doesn’t prove that his tone of voice is one of anger, disapproval, and even sarcasm idk what is.
To conclude, he leaves his audience with a closing statement which says, “Reason 128,481 why I hate the NCAA is because they have created and hid behind the illusion that they are the good guys, and these bad student-athletes and organizations are trying to exploit them when they do stand up to them.” He is making it clear, if you didn’t catch on throughout the rest of his post, that he does not like what the NCAA does and that he is on the side of student-athletes. He doesn’t think they are fair and that the athletes get exploited and treated basically like shit, with little to no say in the matter.
Throughout his entire post M. Wood makes it clear that he is angry with the NCAA he uses a bit of sarcasm and some humor to make note of the fact that the NCAA is so corrupt yet everyone is too naïve to do anything about it. He pokes fun at how there is still a general delusion that the NCAA is good and that they make it fair for all in college sports. His tone is very clear, and I agree with all of what he has come to say. Being a student athlete myself, it is nice to see someone else blogging on this topic with the same outrage and sarcasm that I have brought to this subject.
In another post of his’ titled Politics and Sports Do Mix M. Wood’s takes on another voice. In this post he is a bit more serious, not so much angry like he was the 1st post I had mentioned. In this post he discusses how players in the NFL and the NBA are beginning to make political statements on their prospective courts/fields.
Throughout this post it seems to me like he is happy that these players are taking these stands. This can be seen through his choices of what he decides to leave out of the post. What I mean by this is, he is not bringing up any of the negative backlash that these NFL and NBA players received from fans.
He even went to a game where he interviewed a fan, and this fan was holding a “Hands Up. Don’t Shoot” sign and had told him “‘It felt great. Seeing a group of men with that much power using it for good of the cause was absolutely amazing. It really solidified, on a national stage, that this is a real issue for millions of people in this country and I think it resonated with a lot of people.’”
His conscious choice of not engaging in a fan who seemed bothered by the NFL players’ political actions makes it clear where he lies in this debate of whether or not politics and sports mix.
Now adding on to that, M. Wood’s decision to 1. Interview this specific fan holding up this sign and 2. Use her in his post further shows that he is trying to put forth this notion that “Politics and Sports DO Mix.”
Later on in the post, you see his voice a bit more clearly. In his closing paragraph he states, “These star athletes are using their star power to put a national voice to the echoes of the people. And those protestors in the street are appreciating the support.” If Wood’s were against the NFL and NBA players bringing national attention to these subjects, 1. I don’t think he would use the word “star” to describe them, and 2. He wouldn’t paint this picture of these athletes being sort of heroes.
They are heroes by:
- Standing up to the NBA and NFL and doing what is “right” and
B. By helping the protesters who sometimes can’t reach the national attention that these professional athletes get practically on a daily basis.
In all I believe in this specific post, his voice is one that is more righteous and serious compared to his Reason Number 128,481 Why I Hate the NCAA post.
M. Wood’s throughout his blog posts make his voice clear. Some posts more clear than others, but regardless he puts himself in there, and thus in my opinion makes his posts more impactful, because as a reader I can tell he is passionate about each of the topics he is blogging on.
I hope you take a minute to read his posts, specifically these two Reason Number 128,481 Why I Hate the NCAA, and Politics and Sports DO Mix
See you next week :)
