Research Topic

Reading/Researching Times: found, read, and annotated 5 articles- 80 min
found and read 3 more articles- 30 min
Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander   1/23-10 min 1/24-20 min. 1/26- 15 min  pp. 16-30

Informal: So my topic is on the growth of soccer in the U.S. since 1993. Ever since the creation of the MLS, soccer has skyrocketed in the U.S. In other continents soccer is their sport, but here you have football, basketball, and baseball. Most of the best athletes go to those sports instead of soccer, so the U.S. isn't as good as other countries. My research is answering how the U.S. has gotten more competitive with other countries in the world. So far I've learned that the U.S. is making progress towards becoming a top soccer nation.

Formal: The topic I am currently researching is the the rapid growth, development, and popularity of soccer in the United States. My research focuses specifically on the growth since 1993, the year the MLS, or Major League Soccer, was created. By comparing statistics like merchandise sales, marketing deals, attendance ratings, and television ratings, I am able to compare the United States with other countries all over the Earth. Another angle I take in my research are the players themselves. Athletes across the country are focusing on other sports like football, basketball, and baseball. In other countries, the best athletes are focusing on soccer. My research aims to answer wether or not the United States has  gotten more competitive in soccer since 1993.

Free Post

     President Obama got reinducted and it nearly went unnoticed. Most people must've thought the inauguration was tacit. To celebrate the inauguration, there was some music. Luckily it wasn't raucous music. Too bad there weren't any prodigys or proteges there. That may have given some youth to the lineup of singers who sung.

     President Obama also gave a speech at his induction. With a stern demeanor, he gave definitive answers about domestic issues and affronted nations in the Middle East. He was adroit throughout his speech. This obviously isn't an avocation to him.

Research Update

Times: Research-found, read, and annotated 3 articles- 60 min. Found and read 2 more articles- 20 min
Proof of Heaven by Eben Alexander 1/14- 10 min 1/15- 20 min 1/17- 25 min 1/19-15 min. pp. intro plus 1-15


     So far my research has gone well. I am finding sources to answer my research question. My biggest problem so far is that it is hard for me to identify if a source is a primary source or a secondary source. Most of my sources so far are TV ratings, so I'm thinking because they're fact, they are primary. I am not 100% sure though. Hopefully when I solve this, I will be able to find more of the other type of source.

     Another problem I am having in my research is that my topic may be too broad. I have a topic in which I can look for many things not only about soccer, in the U.S., but also across the rest of the world. Right now, 4 of my sources are about the U.S. and the other is about Japan. I need to find sources on Europe, and that's been somewhat difficult for me even though soccer is most popular in Europe. I like having this broad of a topic, but it may be too broad.

Free Post

     For the first time, I have made up some new year resolutions. In the past, I would just ignore it and move on with my life. This year, I've taken some time to think about and set some goals for myself this year. One of them is to become a repeat fantasy football champion. This is one of my goals that are less serious than the others, but it's one that I can't overlook. Ever since I won the league championship, I've been thinking about next year. I'm confident in my abilities in winning another championship (Hear that  Team Folse?).

     Another resolution, and a more serious one, is to improve on my grades. My grades weren't bad at all, in fact, they were good. I feel I can improve upon them and get a higher semester GPA than I did last semester. If I am able to finish with a 3.9 GPA for freshman year, then I will be one happy camper. This is a goal I know I can achieve.

Reading Response

Zine Yearbooks 1/7-1/9 and 1/10 Zine Yearbooks 10 min/day
Various Sports Illustrated Magazines 150 min 1/10-1/13

     I didn't have a book this week that I was currently reading, but I've found one that I plan on reading (you'll have to read next weeks post to find out). For this week, I had to find things to read. I was going through my old sports illustrated issues and pulled out ones that I had never read. One that I hadn't read was about Tyrann Mathieu, a.k.a. "The Honey Badger", and his past life. In just one story, I learned many things about him and why he got into bad habits. I found out that he had family issues and had to move to live with different family members throughout his childhood. To deal with his family issues, he  started to smoke marijuana. In this story, he says he is clean. 6 months later, he was caught in possession of marijuana. I don't know what to think of him.
     Over the course of the week, I read some zine yearbooks in class. It was a book full of zines about a wide variety of things. The first day I read one I was warned that some were inappropriate. Whoever it was, they were right. Some of those zines were not appropriate and even made me feel somewhat uncomfortable. I'm not going into details, but if you ever read one, be prepared.