Snowboarding: A Sport Requiring Hard Work, Bravery, and Confidence

Schuyler Kropp, Staff Writer

In the early morning light of Austria, I saw different colors shaping out the mountain side view. As the cold air pressed in on my body, it felt as if I had dropped down a dark, black hole. My face turned red and my fingers locked up with stiffness. In this moment, I found joy and happiness in snowboarding. 

Throughout my travels in Austria, my family and friends went up to the Austrian Alps. As we got to the top, I saw one of the scariest runs, a trip down the mountain on my snowboard, was a double black diamond. A double black diamond in snowboarding symbolizes that the trail is hard and recommended for experienced riders.  Looking down on the run, my heart started to race. As I was racing down and carving my board, I felt scared by using a more difficult technique. I kept looking in all directions as I was frightened to crash into people and objects. I felt relieved once I returned to the base of the mountain. It was fun and I felt that I had accomplished something. That fear was now towards the back of my mind.

The snowboarding community in Austria is rather small but the global snowboarding community throughout the world is huge. I have snowboarded in the United States and Austria. I have skied in Switzerland and France. Even though people speak different languages in these places, everyone is able to come together through snow sports, and feels included in the community. 

Throughout my different snowboarding experiences, I have found that the main reason I enjoy it is through the people involved. The support of fellow snowboarders and the surrounding community encourage you while you go on the mountain. People at bars and pubs share news about events in snowboarding or skiing. This continues on social media where bigger events can be organized. For example, the winter sports in the Olympics is where people from all around the world gather around to enjoy the time in the games and can learn new skills and snowboarding tricks. This connects you with your idols, the ones you look up to in snowboarding. 

Learning to snowboard requires hard work, bravery, and confidence. Hard work is crucial to getting better and serves as a motivator for others. For example, a seasoned snowboarder struggling with a new technique can be inspirational for a beginner who’s trying to complete their run. However, this leadership is hard work. For example,  I excel in skiing, which I did for eighteen years. Skiing can be difficult because of the intensive maneuvers you do that require your leg strength. That is where the hard work is applied, and where bravery fits in. You also use leg strength in snowboarding. Balancing is part of snowboarding even though it can easily be scary to do. You have to be brave in order to use the board on the mountain as you are telling it where to go.

One way that people gain confidence through snowboarding is by holding their chest up and sticking out their butt. This is showing good posture while snowboarding. Another way is by showing your clean turns and feeling confident to jump off high jumps or railings. You could use these skills daily by practicing them in your day to day life or routine. As you gain confidence, you are able to move through life and accomplish what you set your mind to.

Snowboarding is one way you can show that you are a hard worker, brave, and confident. It can connect you to a community by bringing people together on the mountain. All of this is made possible because of this amazing sport.

A Recap of Super Bowl LIX

Charlie Means, Guest Writer

As many of you know Super Bowl LIX was last Sunday, February 9th, 2025. Whether you watched as a huge football fan, or just watched the game to see the commercials, the game was legendary and I am here to share my thoughts with you all, and give you the keys to the game.

Super Bowl LIX was unique as we saw the second part of an intense faceoff between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. After seeing these teams go head to head two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, there was a lot to gain and a lot to lose for both sides. Of course, a lot has changed since then. The Eagles have acquired Saquan Barkley (who, side note, carried me in fantasy this year), and the Chiefs now have Deandre Hopkins and Xavier Worthy. Despite these changes, the basic structure of both teams remains the same. It’s all about Jalen Hurts vs Patrick Mahonnes, AJ brown vs Travis Kelce, and football fans vs Taylor Swift fans. Now that main differences have been addressed, let’s talk about the keys of the game. 

Key 1

Key number one is pretty simple: turnovers. Neither Hurts nor Mahonnes has thrown a pick so far this postseason, but the bright lights of the super bowl tend to force mistakes. Last time these two teams faced off, a Nick Bolten fumble recovery shifted the momentum of the game in Kansas City's favor. On the flip side, Kansas City's main backs (Kareem Hunt and Isaiah Pacheco), did not give up a single fumble during the regular season, although Pacheco played just seven games.

Key 2

Now, speaking of running backs, they are our second key. The last time these two teams faced off Kansas City had more total yards on the ground, which no doubt contributed to their win. However, (imagine me saying this with all the authoritative gravitas of a courtroom lawyer), the Eagles were trotting out a combination of Kenneth Gainwell, Boston Scott, and Miles Sanders. Currently, only Gainwell is still with the team. As I mentioned before, the Eagles have Saquan now, who is no doubt an upgrade over the previous backs. 

Key 3

Last but not least, we get to talk about Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce (low hanging fruit, I know). Kelce is without question Kansas City's number 1 receiving option. He has been the team’s leader in both yards and touchdowns in postseason, prior to the superbowl. KC’s other receiving options are Xavier Worthy (a rookie), JuJu Smith Schuster (an all time great name but only a so-so player). More options include Deandre Hopkins (who arrived in Kansas City at the trade deadline), and Hollywood Brown (who missed most of the regular season). All this said, my point is Kelce is pretty much all the Chiefs have for reliable receiving options, and this lack of choices is evident in the game. 

In the end, the score was 22 to 40, with a victory for the Eagles. With public pressure, football politics, and team structure at the forefront of the game, the result was massively impactful. While we don’t know when the Chiefs and Eagles will have their next showdown, we do know that Super Bowl LIX will not be forgotten.

Run Like a Girl and Mistreated as One Too

By Sophie Bui, Staff Writer

“Could you give us a twirl and tell us about your outfit?” was apparently the most dire question to ask Eugenie Bouchard, a Canadian tennis player after her winning match in the 2015 Australian Open. This question caused a flood of criticism towards sports media and opened the discussion about gender discrimination within the industry itself. How could a twirl be so important?

Female athletes are discriminated against. Shocker. Female athletes endure mistreatment time and time again. In the male-dominated sports world, women must suffer sexism in the media. We are all aware that sexism = bad, but as we dissect the sports media industry, lines are easily blurred.

Why are women's sports deemed uninteresting?

Apparently, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) is a common target for criticism on this front. There is a clear lack of media coverage and an absence of marketing of women’s basketball compared to men’s basketball. Time has proven that women’s sports can be entertaining to an audience. The notion that “women's sports are not interesting to watch” is simply untrue. Both the WNBA and women’s sports in general are growing in popularity, yet sports media has used their platforms to highlight predominately male athletes. We cannot ignore the clear underlying sexism within that statement. This criticism invalidates much of female athletes’ accomplishments and achievements. It perpetuates the old-fashioned stereotype that women are weak. If we, as a society, continue to allow these stereotypes to grow, it prevents equity among genders. Imagine a world in which women’s sports and merchandising were just as prevalent in society as men's. The lack of media coverage and marketing only perpetuates the stereotype that the sport is uninteresting.

Let's put it into a different perspective.

Sports like cricket and rugby are not prevalent in American media. This doesn’t mean that those sports are uninteresting, but simply, they are not as popular. Now we ask ourselves, how do we increase the popularity? We have to learn how to market the sport to Americans. This is also applicable to women’s sports. We live in a capitalist world in which everyone is a consumer. The lack of marketing and media coverage truly affects this industry and as a result, decreases the popularity of women’s sports.

According to a study conducted by Purdue University in 2021, women's sports coverage is only 5.4% of sports media even though women represent over 40% of professional players. Only 5%. Let that sink in for a minute. The consistent media spotlight on men only perpetuates male dominance in this field. Even with the limited spotlight many of these female athletes receive, the coverage of women vs. men is strikingly different. A female athlete's personal life seems more important than the sport they play. Rather than focusing on the accomplishments and game at play, many interviews target their focus on the outfits these women wear and the body that is displaying it. That little 5% doesn’t even focus on the importance of the sport the women are playing.

Why does this happen?

It is a pretty simple and straightforward answer. Money. As sad as it is, women’s bodies are often capitalized and profited from. Sexualization amongst women isn’t anything new. Sexualization often objectifies the individual and diminishes her sports career to just a Sports-Illustrated cover in a tight uniform.

Why does representation matter?

Representation in media can amplify voices and bring to light diverse stories. Because of low representation, there has been a decrease in young female athletes. The youth need role models to look up to and sports media is the most influential way to highlight female athletes. Our perception is always changing due to our environment—an environment that disregards female athletes' accomplishments.

A twirl. To some, it is a minuscule request. To most, it is a symbol of the long history of gender discrimination within sports media. A twirl. It represents that little 5% that us, female athletes grasp at. A twirl. Means nothing, but at the same time, it means everything. A twirl.