Personally, I think that sports play a major role within our society but play an even larger role in African American culture. Unfortunately, there are some communities around the country that are heavily black populated that live in poverty and sports are viewed as one of the ways out of poverty. There is always that so called "best athlete at my school" individual however, for communities that face financial difficulties sports can be viewed as the golden ticket. Because of this, these athletes are able to develop a drive and sense of urengcy that others never poses. Sports are always looking for a great story and we continue to see this when we hear stories about individuals using sports as a resource to better themselves and their families. Hollywood however always makes sure that their story quote on quote makes it. We see this in movies like Remember the Titans, Glory Road, and The Blind Slide to name a few. In all off these movies, the story ends with a great deal of success. These are amazing movies but they only tell one part of the story for athletes who view sports as a way out of the ghetto. In Hoop Dreams, we see what reality is really like and see what it is like for athletes who never make it out of the ghetto and never realize their dream. Hoop Dreams truly tells the story of what it is like for athletes who live in poverty and allows for us to see how valued sports are within these communities. I personally do not believe that sports are damaging Black Americans and preserves the myth of race. However, I do believe that all athletes no matter what race they are from view sports as a way to better themselves. Just look at the role models within todays society like Tiger Woods, Lebron James, and Floyd Mayweather, all of these athletes are considered to be the best in there sports and we as a society are allowed to view what there success bring them on and off the court, and can only imagine what living that life would truly be like. These are all reasons why sports are truly viewed as a way to better oneself, and allow for athletes of all ages to dream in something bigger than the game itself.
