Author: Evan Harris

Today in class we briefly discussed how talking about sports is a way to connect with people that you may not have anything else to do with.  We also discussed how at the same time following sports could be viewed as a waste of time.  I have always been a big sports fan and have heard my friends tell me that I am wasting my time.  Recently I have been trying to find an argument as to why following sports is not a waste of time and I have come up with a few possible explanations that I have tried to explain to my friends that do not follow sports.

For one, I think that sports being a thing that can connect people that don’t have much else to talk about is powerful.  The topic of sports is something that people have strong opinions about and unlike politics, heated debates don’t usually end angrily.  Having knowledge about sports is valuable because it is something that comes up a lot in daily conversation.  Also, to connect sports to our class, following sports is a great way for immigrants to become more acclimated with American society. For example, if an immigrant who followed sports came to the U.S and found American soccer fans it would probably be easy to talk with them even though there may be a slight language barrier.   However, this is not the only reason I think that following sports could be valuable.

My main reason that I think following sports is not a waste of time is way more philosophical.  I believe that in life the most important thing that one can do is achieve their goals.  However, I believe that sometimes it is very hard for one to realize whether or not they have achieved their goals because sometimes people don’t exactly know what their goals are.  In the world of sports, it is very easy to see whether or not a player or team has achieved their goals.  I believe watching and feeling involved in these achievements makes a person realize what life is all about.  Further, I think that the realization of what life is all about makes following sports a worthwhile investment of one’s time.

I have never ordered at a Halal cart, I don’t even know what Halal carts serve, but I guess I’m about to find out.  Because of my Kosher dietary restrictions, I have only ever smelled Halal carts, and been jealous at how conveniently placed they are around the city. I never realized how many different things went into the Halal cart business.  I always just assumed that the one or two guys in the cart did everything.  On my strolls by Halal carts I have noticed that primarily immigrants are working inside, but it is never really something I thought about.

To be honest, before this semester, immigration was never really something I thought about.  After talking about Korean owned groceries today, I realized that I have never really considered what ethnic groups did what jobs or anything of the like.  I did not know what the class People of New York City was going to be about when I first walked in, but I find that I’m learning new things and encountering new things that I never knew and have never encountered before.  This class has been a great opportunity for me to be able to step outside of my comfort zone and learn about different types of cultures.

While I unfortunately will never be able to eat at a Halal cart, I think it’s important to learn about the immigration aspect of Halal carts and the dietary restrictions of Islam.  I have always gotten a little annoyed when someone had no idea what Kosher is and I had to explain it to them, but now I realize that I know nothing about Halal and I probably should never have gotten annoyed.  I think this class is really helping me get over some ethnocentrism that I might have felt being raised in a mostly Orthodox Jewish community.  While it is great to be part of a community, I appreciate the opportunity to learn more about the outside world, and become more acclimated with other cultures.