Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
Jocks- Misunderstood
It is Friday night in your home town. Your heart is pounding through your chest as you
exit the tunnel with approximately fifty others. You run out on to the field where the lights shine
bright and people cheer their heads off. You look around to see thousands of people, as it appears
all their eyes are on you. There is no better feeling in the world. This is how I feel certain Jocks
may experience their Friday nights in high school and it is how I view that Jocks who play
football experience their sport. So, what I and most people know about Jocks is that they are
associated with sports. I assume Jocks are competitive because that is why they play sports.
Likewise, stereotypes view Jocks as big, strong, and aggressive guys. Jocks are really just guys
who make their life about sports, and it often comes across different to others.
What I and others know about Jocks comes down to one single thing. Jocks are known by
their ability to play sports. That is what a Jock is characterized by. Sports are a part of every
Jock, whether they are being portrayed on television, the internet, or a magazine, or whether they
are playing football, basketball, baseball, etc. Jocks are portrayed as people who play sports
because it became popular to call the “athletic group”, Jocks when associating them with high
school or collegiate sports. The word “Jock” originates from back in the 1650’s. Jock was a
nickname for the name Jack, which later became slang for “penis”. Although being called a Jock
used to be a negative thing, I think that the significance of being called a Jock has been lost in
this day and age. Being called a Jock simply became more of someone who plays sports and their
life revolves around the sports they play. This is not unusual for kids these days to base their
Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
daily routine around the sports they play. I would have considered myself a Jock in high school,
simply based on the fact that I played baseball all four years of high school.
What I assume about Jocks is that they are competitive, active, and like to play sports all
the time. I think that saying that all Jocks are competitive would be true. Since being a Jock goes
hand and hand with playing sports, then stating that Jocks are active would also be a true
statement. Jocks love to play sports also is a true statement, because that is the reason that Jocks
got their name.
Although, what I assume about Jocks is not what others assume about them. Others
assume that Jocks are big, strong, and aggressive guys which are viewed in a negative way. I
think that society views them this way because of media. Television, the internet, and magazines
portray Jocks to be big, cocky, stupid, and strong. For instance, in the Pizza Hut commercial,
Reggie Bush, A professional football player for the Miami Dolphins, comes in and takes a pizza
from two “every day” guys, and walks out with it. Reggie Bush is massive compared to these
two “normal” guys, which stands him out over others. Other descriptions tend to be like dumb,
loud, conceited, assholes. They may be described as that because of a few people who knew guys
that are affiliated with sports that followed these traits. After a while, Jocks became affiliated
with these negative stereotypes.
There are three stereotypes that I think stand out about Jocks. One stereotype would be
that Jocks are aggressive. I think that this stereotype come from people watching football,
baseball, or basketball. When guys play these sports they come with emotions. Anger and
Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
frustration happen to be associated with all sports. Especially in football, aggression plays a key
role in how the game is played. Stupid is another stereotype that stands out to me. I personally
think that this is a bad stereotype. This stereotype came around in my opinion because of once
again, football. The fact that some guys take big hits, sometimes to the head, makes people think
that Jocks are all stupid. In my opinion, that is false. The third and final stereotype I will cover is
that Jocks are cocky. This stereotype most likely comes from those players in high school who
think that they were “God’s gift to Earth”. Some players are like this, but to say all Jocks are
cocky is also an incorrect statement. I think that Jocks are not portrayed accurately often
I chose this demographic over all others because I felt like I could provide insight to the
demographic from the prospective of someone who played sports and knew people like the ones
the stereotypes talked about. I think that I was able to show why the demographics were
portrayed in the way that they were as well as define what a Jock really is.
Jocks are a type of person in which I think are misunderstood. Seen as cocky, aggressive,
assholes, Jocks are really people who just love to play sports. Sometimes, through sports, Jocks
are viewed negatively based on their actions or intentions. Sometimes, the sports themselves
have premises which allow or intend on players being aggressive and competitive giving the
players a bad outlook. Jocks are really just athletes that dedicate their time to playing sports.
Although, my opinion is not the only opinion out there. Many people view Jocks in different
ways. Some see them in a different light. Maybe because that person is a Jock, or maybe it’s
because someone had a negative experience with a Jock.
Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
When you hear the word Jocks, does it make you think back to the jerks in your high
school? Maybe it makes you think of yourself, or of your friends. Jock is a word that gets tossed
around loosely. It could mean that you’re a complete jackass who plays sports. It could also
mean that you are very competitive and are seen as an athlete by the sports community and by
others. Jocks can be seen as multiple things; jerks, muscle heads, competitors, jackasses, bullies,
athletes, etc. Non-athletes and athletes view this word in different ways which is proven. Jocks
are viewed different, mostly because of the way certain people were treated by Jocks in different
groups other than those who play sports. Not all Jocks are what media and others make them out
to be.
Assumptions of Jocks are found everywhere in media. When one athlete or jock
(which I view as two interchangeable words) does something wrong, that changes the outlook
and the way people feel about the entire group. For example, the instances where players like
Ben Roethlisberger, Kobe Bryant, and the Duke Lacrosse team get in trouble with the law for
doing something bad to women; things like rape and abuse become affiliated with athletes. Just
because a few individuals made bad life choices, does not make it fair to change the entire
outlook on Jocks in a negative way. Things like this give Jocks a bad reputation and possibly a
reason for the names like jackasses and jerks. For example, the show Blue Mountain State is a
thirty minute television series, all about how three college athletes handle situations like girls,
parties, drinking, classes and sports. It gives athletes a bad reputation showing that all they do is
drink and hook up with girls at parties. Although, some of the assumptions the media makes are
not all necessarily bad. In fact, most assumptions the media makes about Athletes are humorous
Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
and show that a lot of Jocks are funny. For example, the Head and Shoulders commercial where
Joe Mauer, of the Atlanta Braves, makes fun of Troy Polamalu, of the Pittsburgh Steelers, for his
“poufy hair”. They are portrayed as big, muscle bound, and funny guys. Not necessarily any bad
traits to have. But advertising commercials do not typically make fun of any particular athlete
unless they do something wrong or different and are willing to make a joke out of it. An example
of a commercial where it “pokes fun” at an athlete would be the Sears commercial with Brett
Favre. He could not make up his mind whether he wanted to retire or not and he went back and
forth about it numerous times. So, in this Sears commercial, he was looking at a T.V. and the
salesman is telling him about this deal. Brett says that he is interested in the T.V. so the salesman
keeps telling him about it. Finally, Brett makes up his mind and says he wants it, but before the
commercial ends, he says he is not sure, giving the commercial the funny element. In another
commercial, Brian Wilson, a closer from the San Francisco Giants, has a new idea on how to get
rid of the all new XXL Chalupa from Taco Bell. He uses comedy and is able to show his true
funny personality. This commercial also shows his humor and doesn’t put any kind of negative
light on him. So just like all Jocks are not bad guys, not all media portrays them to be bad or
mean guys. It is mostly the news that tells the public about mistakes that a few athletes make,
which usually leads to the public generalizing about all athletes.
Furthermore, most Jocks know how people view them. It could be a positive thing
and it could be a negative thing. “I do not consider myself a jock. From my personal experience,
I have known Jocks that are jerks, but I also have known Jocks that a normal, nice guys. I
typically think that Jocks are associated with the “jerk” stereotype, but I keep an open mind and
Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
give everyone a chance.” –Trent Snyder, a freshman at NIU, stated this when asked about what
he thought when he heard the word “Jocks”. Also interviewed was another freshman here at
NIU. When asked about what he thought when he heard the word “Jocks” he said, “To me, a
Jock is someone whose life revolves around sports and neglects to get good grades. They get bad
grades, not because they are dumb, but because they do not care.” When I asked about what he
thought others assumed about Jocks he said, “People assume that Jocks are big, thick headed,
dumb dumbs.” Josh played football all through high school and was considered a Jock in high
school by others.
Assumptions run in different directions when talking about different groups. The
media seems to portray athletes as comical in advertisements. However, in shows that portray
athletes, it usually involves cocky, drinking, teenage athletes getting in trouble. Society sees
Jocks as arrogant, jerks who have little to no IQ. Other things associated with Jocks are assholes,
drug abusers, alcohol abusers, muscle heads, competitive and aggressive guys, and bullies.
Media uses shows like Blue Mountain State to show the dark side of Jocks that choose to go that
path which leads to the names above that people associate with them. Although, some media
uses commercials to show that Jocks or athletes can be funny, nice guys with a sense of humor as
well. That is demonstrated with the commercials described above as well.
Jocks can be characterized in numerous ways depending on the person being
referred to as a Jock. It is not the Jock in a person that makes him a Jerk, but it is the person who
is a Jerk that makes up a Jock. They seem to be labeled jerks more often than other groups,
Taylor Nelson
English 103
Mrs. McCord
Due: 11/9/11
because some sports require an amount of aggressive and competitive nature. Even, to an extent,
an amount of cockiness is called for. I believe this can be misconstrued and seen as them being
dicks or assholes. I know many guys that are fierce and cocky on the field, but when they step
off, they are a different person and just as nice as they were before the game started. My personal
beliefs about Jocks are somewhat close to what other people that do not have complete negative
views on them think. I think that they are misunderstood when it comes to the fact of jerks. Not
all of them are jerks. I would have considered myself a Jock in high school, simply because I
played on the baseball team all four years. I also can understand why the media shows athletes as
laidback, funny guys since I know a lot of Jocks who fall under that same category.