American football Essay

Actuality There are so many scenarios in life that are made out to be completely different than they actually are because of media. Movies and shows make everything seem like something is one way and then in actuality it’s nothing like it. Throughout movies from scene to scene things are dramatized, over exaggerated, and made out to be better or worse than the situation or things really are. As a child I always watched movies and was deceived by them without even realizing it. I always enjoyed football movies most because I could relate to most of the things and could compare things in the movie to my actual life. They have always drawn my attention and I usually was misled by the way they made the sport in general seem. I wanted to play football at a young age but was always mistaken on the way the game actually was. It was made out to be way harder and worse than actuality. Friday Night Lights and Remember the Titans are two movies I always referred to. Throughout the years of playing football from elementary school to being a college athlete now these movies are the ones that stood out to me. In Friday Night Lights and Remember the Titans the teams have many similarities: The atmosphere isn’t just an  ordinary family, its boys that love each other and play like no one is different. They act like they have grown up together on the field and off and have a bond that can’t be separated even when it’s a tough game or things are falling apart. The teams have a passion for the game and get emotionally invested in it. Practices always came off to be miserable and extremely tough in movies. The drills they run through and exaggerate make football seem really intense. The coaches are very into every second of the practices with little down time and a lot of things to be covered. The  practices are long and drawn out so there is no room to screw up or mess around. The coaches show the passion for the game by the way they get into the practice and are tough on each player. Although they are tough, they build very personal relationships and bonds with each of their players. The coaches in movies seem to be a father figure and a great example to all the players. The relationships show in the games and when they are playing as they lead each other to have selfmotivation and push not only one another but themselves as well. My real life experiences with football have  been very opposite to the way movies portray these instances to be. I had always thought practices and the sport would be painstaking because of the movies and in reality it was completely wrong. I went into high schools nervous and worried that the first practice would be intimidating and eerie as I would wait for the bell at the end of each day and dread the fact that now it was time for football. What I mean by that is I would sit in my desk and repeatedly think of getting killed by the bigger kids. I would continue to look at the clock and every minute felt like 30, I was just scared and  nervous. I soon began to realize and understand that it was just the way the movies make things seem. Practice was not actually full of the coaches yelling and making us do drills that were unbearable. It was all made out to be something it was not. In reality the team isn’t bonded and nearly as close as the movies make them out to be. Some people get along and some don’t, football is not the only reason for everyone to get along. Maybe it was where I went to school but I just couldn’t compare much to the movies. Drills in the movie would last hours and throughout my life of playing football my drills would be short. The drills wouldn’t take your breath away and you wouldn’t be at a loss of energy. In the movies you have coaches in your ear yelling at you, grabbing your facemask to get your attention, and every time they got close to your face their spit would go all over you. Throughout my life coaches were not physical, they wouldn’t grab you, pull you, or throw you around. Practice would consist of cone drills, where you had to set up cones in different areas and run full speed. Another drill we did was seven versus seven, which consist of 7 offensive  guys and 7 defensive guys with no line men. There would be four receivers sometimes five depending on the formations, a quarterback, and a running back also with two occasionally. The coach would call a play and you would have to try and move the ball down field only by passing the ball. Another drill we would do as a team consisted of all eleven players on both sides of the ball in a game-like situation. Everything in the movie seemed to consist of screaming, drills that would look like it could almost kill you, and coaches just all over you every time you made a mistake. It seemed like you just couldn’t catch a break. They really are great, inspirational movies. I even sometimes wished my school was the way movies were. Most people can relate if they play football and have seen either two movies. If you are a high school freshman or student athlete they can really make you nervous and scared to go and play. Maybe it was my school, but most people I have talked to can relate and have the same opinion. That is why I always thought playing football was going to be miserable and harsh but I have now come to the realization in my own life that it is nothing like I had ever expected.