Final Blog

     Prior to taking this course, I had always looked at sport in terms of the actual game rather than examining what really goes on "behind the scenes." From my own personal experience, sport was an outlet. It gave me confidence and taught me a lot about what I am capable of doing. But after taking the course, it has really opened my eyes to the "dark side" of sports and the issues that arise from participating in it, whether it be as a spectator or an athlete.
     I would not say that the course has changed my views of sport, but I now have more knowledge about sports. What I found really helpful was that this course took a major issue involved with sport and argued both sides, which helped uncover everything that was good or bad with that specific issue. For example, during our discussion on Steroid use in sports, the class was told to pick whether or not they believed that PEDs or steroids should be used. Prior to taking this class, I had a pretty strong stance against steroid use because I always believed it gave that athlete an advantage over those who weren't taking them. But after examining the arguments from both sides and realizing that PED usage is a much broader topic than I had thought, I would now say that under a controlled atmosphere, PED usage should be accepted amongst sports.
     In terms of my writing and critical thinking skills, this class really forced me to think outside of the box and examine the topics from an unbiased standpoint. Since this class discusses in great detail the dark side of sports, there are times when the dark side can go against what your viewpoint is on certain topics and can be hard to comprehend. So trying to understand both sides of the argument is something that I have learned is extremely important in order to effectively convince your audience.
     Overall I really enjoyed the course. Though it was pretty time-consuming at times, in terms of the amount of work, I thoroughly enjoyed the topics and discussions amongst my classmates. Since sport has always been such a big part of my life, it was exciting to share the things that I have experienced through sport and how my experience compared with others. I would definitely recommend this class to another student.