June 8 – June 14, 2014
Welcome to week one hundred fifteen of the Sports Doing Good newsletter. This week’s first 10 stories include:
- World Cup: The beautiful game – street football in Rio (photo exhibit)
- Kickstarter Campaign: After Spring – Documentary film about Syrian children at a Taekwondo School in Jordan’s Zaatari Refugee Camp.
- Rick Reilly: Heading for home; Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s ‘just’ sports
- Team Type 1 Foundation Announces Recipients of First-Ever “Global Ambassador” Scholarship Program for Collegiate Athletes with Type 1 Diabetes
- The Spurs Speak Out, in Different Languages
- BOKS And Reebok To Host Third Annual Active Kids Day To Celebrate The Positive Impact Of Physical Activity On A Child’s Mind, Body And Community
- Imagine ‘joga bonito’ for boys and girls
- Special Bond Follows USMNT Teammates to Brazil
- UNICEF launches website on sport and child development
- As World Cup Nears, American ‘Football’ Fans Adapt Foreign Traditions
Introduction
This week we have gone “all in” when it comes to the beautiful game, aka soccer/futbol. Whether it is watching a local game in person – New York Cosmos vs. New York Red Bulls – or joining millions around the world via the beauty of television to see a clash of the competing national teams in the 2014 World Cup, we have fully embraced the power of the game that excites, inspires, and unites so many.
Not surprisingly, this week’s collection of stories has a strong World Cup feel to it. From a beautiful photo exhibit of the game in Rio, to the story of the small but growing number of women in Brazil who play the game, to special bonds amongst various members of the U.S. national team, to this country’s adoption of some of the game’s special “international” traditions, they all speak to the unique nature of the sport, a nature that galvanizes individuals, communities, and countries all around the world.
In addition to these fantastic World Cup-related stories, we are happy to be able to share other pieces dealing with: After Spring, a work-in-progress documentary that is capturing the incredible story of kids learning taekwondo in perhaps the most difficult circumstances, i.e. a refugee camp; reflections on sports from one of the this country’s best sports writers, Rick Reilly; stellar student-athletes who are excelling despite being Type 1 diabetic; and the multitalented and multilingual San Antonio Spurs; amongst others.
Please continue to send along your stories. You are both our audience and our best source of stories. Our Twitter handle is @sportsdoinggood, and you can find us at www.facebook.com/sportsdoinggood.
Finally, if you think others would like to receive the newsletter, please feel free to forward it on or have them contact us directly at sab@sportsddoinggood.com. (If you do not want to receive the newsletter anymore you can use the Unsubscribe button at the end of the email)
So enjoy. And have a good week.
World Cup: The beautiful game – street football in Rio (photo exhibit)
British photographer Tony Burns has spent the last few months shooting football in Rio. “I’ve become fascinated with the city” he says. “Street football is still very much a part of daily life, and unsurprisingly, the game in general is an obsession for many and a big part of the culture. As the saying goes: ‘if England is the birthplace of football then Brazil is truly its heartland’. “I started out shooting games with dramatic backdrops around the cities favelas and beaches. But as the World Cup came closer, I’ve found myself drawn more towards other parts of the story, such as the protests and favela pacification. There always seems to be drama in Rio and I’ll be heading back during the World Cup to see how life unfolds in the city during this eventful time.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/photography/10890433/World-Cup-The-beautiful-game-street-football-in-Rio.html
Portrait of a Brazilian boy in a favela in Rio de Janeiro. Picture: Tony Burns
Kickstarter Campaign: After Spring – Documentary film about Syrian children at a Taekwondo School in Jordan’s Zaatari Refugee Camp.
With your support, we can travel back to Jordan this fall and explore deeper into the stories of Charles Lee, his students, and their families at the Zaatari taekwondo school. By sharing these stories, we hope to highlight the human faces who are affected by the Syrian conflict, not just the political side that so often becomes the main focus of attention. Our goal is to paint an accurate, multi-dimensional portrait of the effects of the Syrian crisis and tell a story of hope and resilience.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/afterspring/after-spring
Rick Reilly: Heading for home; Don’t ever let anyone tell you it’s ‘just’ sports
Until then, I’d never thought about what it was to be a good man. Had no clue. Never considered it. But when I looked around, I saw that sports was full of men and women like that — disciplined, molded and dedicated to their teammates as much as they were to themselves. I see now how I was raised by sports, how it became my second family, and how I learned at its feet every day.
http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/11049946/rick-reilly-last-column
The end of a career in sports writing for Rick Reilly has led to a time of reflection.
Team Type 1 Foundation Announces Recipients of First-Ever “Global Ambassador” Scholarship Program for Collegiate Athletes with Type 1 Diabetes
The Global Ambassador Program is the Foundation’s first major U.S. initiative and was established to help student athletes and their families offset the cost of diabetes care, which can average an additional $300-$500 per month. It also serves as a vehicle to unite athletes with diabetes and increase their visibility within the diabetes community. The athletes selected will be integrated into the Foundation’s outreach activities and participate in numerous diabetes camps, clinics and educational events throughout the year.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/team-type-1-foundation-announces-100000015.html
The Spurs Speak Out, in Different Languages
Tony Parker, James announced, would be going to the podium down the hall to do English first and then, in an area to the side, his native French. Same deal for Manu Ginobili of Argentina, English and Spanish, and for Tim Duncan of the United States Virgin Islands to get away with as few words as he possibly could in English. In the locker room, center Tiago Splitter of Brazil would be available, English first and then Portuguese. Boris Diaw, who replaced Splitter in the starting lineup, would speak in English in front of the television cameras and French over by a wall. The reserve guard Marco Belinelli, by his dressing stall, English and Italian.
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/sports/basketball/san-antonio-spurs-put-on-a-clinic-in-several-languages.html?action=click&contentCollection=Pro%20Basketball&module=RelatedCoverage®ion=Marginalia&pgtype=article
Like other Spurs, Manu Ginobili (20) and Boris Diaw, right, speak more than one language. Credit Larry W. Smith/European Pressphoto Agency
BOKS And Reebok To Host Third Annual Active Kids Day To Celebrate The Positive Impact Of Physical Activity On A Child’s Mind, Body And Community
Since its inception in 2009, BOKS has made significant strides to help youth embrace healthy habits that will last a lifetime. Active Kids Day is an opportunity for families to celebrate the importance and benefits of being active, receive nutrition knowledge in a fun way, and experience the positive correlation between physical activity and learning.
http://www.wnem.com/story/25760557/boks-and-reebok-to-host-third-annual-active-kids-day-to-celebrate-the-positive-impact-of-physical-activity-on-a-childs-mind-body-and-community
Imagine ‘joga bonito’ for boys and girls
The difference with Barbara is she has a family who encouraged her to play. The problem for Barbara is she has no place to play. And she is not alone. She, like many other girls in Brazil, play on a boys team or wherever they can find inclusion, because a local girls team is not an option. According to 2013 figures from the U.S. State Department, 14 million women and girls play soccer in the United States; only 400,000 play in Brazil. Even with so little opportunity, Brazil has managed to mold a women’s national team that can contend for titles at the top level.
http://espn.go.com/espnw/news-commentary/article/11071206/for-julie-foudy-brazil-beautiful-game-boys-girls-espnw
Barbara’s supportive father, Antonio Battagin, says his daughter “breathes soccer, eats soccer and goes to sleep dreaming of soccer.” DGA Productions
Special Bond Follows USMNT Teammates to Brazil
Three pairs of players will be heading to Brazil with someone they have come up with through the American soccer ranks, and all six will take in their first World Cup with an athlete they have spent a lot of time around. The three groups of players also represent different factions of American soccer. One duo was around when a team was contracted from Major League Soccer, another pair developed together before one moved to another team, and the final two have been together since they entered the league as rookies.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2088598-special-bond-follows-usmnt-teammates-to-brazil?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cnn-sports-bin&hpt=hp_bn15
Victor Decolongon/Getty Images
UNICEF launches website on sport and child development
UNICEF has spent more than 60 years advocating for children’s rights, which means a lot of experience with sport and the right of play for children. Team UNICEF is a new website to feature the many activities, events and processes UNICEF has in place to promote sport and the right of play, together with a spirit of collaboration, teamwork and energy that sport evokes.
http://sportanddev.org/?7026/1/UNICEF-launches-sport-and-child-development-website
(Video, http://youtu.be/Q8hSVvMTNLw)
As World Cup Nears, American ‘Football’ Fans Adapt Foreign Traditions
“I’m not going to pretend that we don’t beg, borrow and steal from all cultures,” said Dan Wiersema, the Outlaws’ head of communications (yes, they have a head of communications). “One of the great things about being a soccer fan in the United States, which fits in with America in general, is its diversity. We try to incorporate as much Hispanic and Latino and Anglo and European styles of support as much as we can, because we can learn from cultures that have a lot more experience being soccer fans.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/sports/worldcup/american-soccer-fans-adopt-foreign-traditions.html?_r=1
The U.S.-Nigeria soccer match in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday had an announced crowd of 52,033, a record for the Southeast. Credit Sarah Beth Glicksteen for The New York Times
Recent Comments