Sports

THE ACT OF BROTHERHOOD

In celebration and the ending of February, it has come upon me to read a story that relates to the historical significance of Black History Month. This is set in 1958, just after the University of the Buffalo Bulls football team concluded their season 8-1 season. During this time, January was an especially important month for college football, active for sponsoring 33 bowl games and a national championship along the way. Even though the 1950s weren’t major for promoting scales for sporting events, only eight games for the bowls to be forged. To be selected for these opportunities was a one-of-a-kind acknowledgment for the chosen athletes. And because of the successful year the Bulls led, the team was personally invited to play in a bowl themselves. It was held in Orlando, Florida, this is the reason for the name, Tangerine Bowl. To say the least, the team was above satisfied. However the only circumstance to continue was to leave behind two players that happened to be African American, Willie Evans and Mike Wilson. Ironically, the stadium that the team was selected to play at was also directed by the Orlando High School Athletic Association. This institution set its grounds on excluding non-segregated football teams to be able to take foot on its premises. These here were young men, and even younger teenagers who had spent large amounts of time putting in long, hard practice for days at a time. They extended their maximum effort within themselves to achieve this end only for their purpose to be shut down and their work considered useless. And if this letdown could even worsen, this was the school’s first invitation to a high honor bowl game, though they could not attend as a team. Granted the fact that the team was surrounded by a loss and rejection, there was no moment of hesitation for them when it was decided that they chose to not appear at the big occasion. Later on after the decision, Evans states that his fellow teammates “drew a line in the sand that I have never forgotten.” The sacrifice that his team made was felt on both sides of the interracial group, and it forged a strong bond with both the two African Americans and the remaining Caucasian football players that they played alongside.  The 1950s was a decade in which racism was quite high, and because of this school’s major sacrifice for merely two players of a whole football team was both unusual and encouraging to some. A Caucasian teammate of Evans’ said to a reporter “It was important for us not to go. These were our friends.  There was no way we were going to leave them behind.”  This bowl for the young athletes might later on hold them for regrets or maybe anger about the circumstances they were held within, but this racial act of discrimination against the University of the Buffalo Bills will be remembered. The loyalty that was kept within the team is a factor of brotherhood and proves that no matter your race, you are still important, and you matter just as equally as anyone else who participates as well. The loss of the Bulls is saddening just as much as it is a true devotion. Now, those same men who were denied playing a sport in the arena now rest peacefully. Willie Evans, currently 71, and Mike Wilson who has passed walked away to remember their teammates to be shown with pride.   Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Column Community Community News Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Media Military & Veterans Music Peace People Politics Sports Technology MY UNCLE, MY WAR HERO February 6, 2024/1 Comment I’ve always wondered why war heroes are so greatly important in our modern society today. As I have grown up,… Read More THE SCHOOLS CONTRAST NIGHT AND DAY December 20, 2023/2 Comments As of this year of 2023, for 2 years of grade levels, I have attended quite an unhealthy student environment… Read More

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SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN AT THE OLYMPICS 2021

SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN AT THE OLYMPICS 2021 (Puerto Rico first partcipated at the Olympics Games in 1948) This time at the Olympics, Ms. Jasmin Camacho-Quinn brough home the Gold in hunrdles with a record-breaking timing of 12.37.2 Monica Puig: She brought in the Gold in tennis in 2020. She is the first Puerto Rican in history to win a gold medal at the Olympics representing Puerto Rico. Sheehan Miriam: GOLD, record breaking swimming scores: “something I would have never had the chance to experience if I had chosen to represent the United States. I want swimming to be a stronger sport in Puerto Rico.” Isalys Quinones: Reaches her dream of winning at the Olympics in basketball. Quiñones said she is honored not only to have the opportunity to play in the Olympics but also to represent Puerto Rico. Victoria Toro Arena:  Stanford med student, became Puerto Rico’s first female rower in the Tokyo Olympics. 6: Maria Torres: Maria Fernanda Torres is the first player from Puerto Rico to earn a full LPGA Tour.  “Since I was little, I have watched the Olympics. They inspire me to compete and represent my country.” 7 & 8. Melisssa Mojica: Olympics, 2021  Judo OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE;  OLYMPIC MEDALS: 2012, 2016, and 2020. 8. Maria Perez: Judo: Two-time Olympian Melissa Mojica and Rio 2016 Olympian María Pérez (women’s middleweight, 70 kg) were selected among the top 18 judoka of their respective weight classes. Victoria Stambaugh: Puerto Rico entered one athlete into the taekwondo competition at the Games. Victoria Stambaugh secured a spot in the women’s flyweight category (49 kg) with a top two finish. Victoria Stambaugh is a Puerto Rican taekwondo practitioner. She is a two-time medalist at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Yarimar Mercado: Champion in shooting; Puerto Rico granted an invitation to send Rio 2016 Olympian Yarimar Mercado in the women’s rifle shooting at the Olympics. Áurea Esther Cruz Dalmau: Indoor and beach volleyball player. The Puerto Rico Women’s National Volleyball team is one of the more consistent teams, taking one silver and two bronzes on the NORCECA Women’s Volleyball Championship; one silver and two bronzes at the Pan-American Cup, and five silvers and one bronze at the Central American and Caribbean Games. Read More From This Writer All Post Culture Food Government Health Interviews Lower West Side Business & Economic Development Medical Peace People Sports SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN AT THE OLYMPICS 2021 September 17, 2021/No Comments POST TITLE (CAPITAL) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus Read More SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO August 17, 2021/No Comments SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO It has long been known that women have taken a historic back seat in all fields.  Read More BRIEF HISTORY OF SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO July 17, 2021/No Comments BRIEF HISTORY OF SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO The Taínos who inhabited Puerto Rico before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in Read More Load More End of Content.

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SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO

It has long been known that women have taken a historic back seat in all fields.  The  lack of exposure has led society to think that female participation in sports do not exist. We are not invisible. I want society to know Puerto Rican women have excelled in all fields and it is time  we all know about it.  Puerto Rico is expected to compete at the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.  Originally scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 9, 2021, the Games have been postponed to July 23 to August 8, 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  It will be the territory’s nineteenth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics. The women’s basketball team has now become the fifth team in Puerto Rico’s history to participate in the Olympic games. The basketball team qualified for the first time at the Olympics as one of three highest-ranked eligible squads. As noted below, double the number of Puerto Rican women than men in the cumulative total participating in the forthcoming Olympics, 2021. Competitors: It has been far too long stereotypical thought that women could not compete, much less become champions in their talented fields. Any field you could mention, women not only excel but do it despite the odds against them. There is a lack of sponsors, exposure, appropriate training and the list continues but none of it stops these women from making herstory. The above reflects only the more recent members of Puerto Rican women competing; they double the numbers of their counterparts! Read More From This Writer All Post Art Books & Poems Business Community Education Entertainment español Food & Culture Health Interviews Military & Veterans Peace People Politics Sports SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN AT THE OLYMPICS 2021 September 17, 2021/No Comments SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO: PUERTO RICAN WOMEN AT THE OLYMPICS 2021 (Puerto Rico first partcipated at the Olympics Games in Read More SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO August 17, 2021/No Comments SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO It has long been known that women have taken a historic back seat in all fields.  Read More BRIEF HISTORY OF SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO July 17, 2021/No Comments BRIEF HISTORY OF SPORTS IN PUERTO RICO The Taínos who inhabited Puerto Rico before the arrival of Christopher Columbus in Read More Load More End of Content.

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