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Essay / OU Men's Basketball Team Analysis - 629
The OU men's basketball team is a monochronic, masculine, collectivist, and individualist co-culture. They are a team, but each player has their own identity attached in their own way to this co-culture. One of the teammates, Bob, was kind enough to answer a few questions that will provide a better understanding of how the players perceive themselves within their co-culture. All members of this co-culture are University of Oklahoma students and range from freshmen to seniors. This is a male co-culture because it is a male team. It is expected that the questions answered will differ from player to player as they have different values and perceptions, but there will definitely be some similarity. When asked why Bob joined the team he basically said OU was his dream school and why wouldn't someone go to their dream school if they got paid playing a game he likes? (Bob, personal communication, March 2, 2014) Playing a professional sport definitely takes dedication, you can't be expected to train once or twice a week and do your best. After watching a few practices, you can tell these guys take the time to do what they love! When asked how much time he spends training, Bob said about two to three hours a day. Two hours a day is fourteen hours a week, and those fourteen hours probably don't take into account time spent at games, driving to away games, or training to stay in shape. These things indirectly affect each player's free time and they are willing to sacrifice their time for their co-culture. When asked how his life would change if he were not part of this co-culture, Bob replied: "I would definitely say... middle of paper... of course not everyone is don't have to be friends, but getting with teammates probably helps. Finally, Bob was asked how important it was for him to be a part of the team and he responded, “I am very grateful to be a part of this team for the last 4 years and to be a part of the rebuild of this program. OU is back on the winning path, and it's such an honor to be a part of laying those foundations for the future! » (Bob, personal communication, March 2, 2014) All these guys are here because they are doing what they love to do, which is playing basketball. This means a lot to each of these players, and it's nice to see how much effort and dedication they put into doing what they love. Even former players probably look back and still identify the OU men's basketball team as part of their co-culture, even if they are not currently on the team..