Were you invited to a Super Bowl party but don’t know who’s playing? Maybe your best friend is a huge fan of the Baltimore… Bills? Don’t know who Patrick Mahomes is and at this point you’re too afraid to ask? Look no further, this is the article for you. 

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest television events of the year. It’s the one day when it seems like everyone, even those who don’t care about football the other 364 days, suddenly come out with very strong opinions about what a bunch of millionaire men do or don’t do with a ball. I’m not here to turn you into a die-hard fan. If you’re tired of “Superb Owl” jokes, or saying you only watch for the commercials, or having nothing to talk to your friends about until the halftime show, then I’m here to help. 

These tips are applicable to most sports, but particularly to team sports, and can be adapted at your own discretion. Here are my top five things to say while watching a sporting event to convince others that you totally understand what’s going on: 

1. “Consistency”
How to use it:
“So long as we stay consistent…”
“If we can just stay consistent…”
“I’ve been saying it all season. It’s in the consistency.”
When to use it: When the conversation turns to discussing performance or strategy, also known as couch coaching or armchair quarterbacking. It’s particularly useful when the team your friends are cheering for messes up. This kind of talk is typically critical, but this is a good and versatile phrase to use. It’s also unique enough that you shouldn’t be suspected of simply parroting buzzwords. 

2. “Stay healthy”
How to use it:
“The players need to stay healthy.”
“We need to play smart and not get hurt.”
“There’s been a lot of injuries this season.”
Keep your tone light while still sounding like what you’re saying means something. Don’t be so serious as to let them think that you have strong feelings about a particular player or incident.
When to use it: Like talking about consistency, this is a good neutral option. You can throw this one out during small talk pretty much anytime. During a game, you can say this whenever someone on your team gets hurt. 

3. “Let’s hold on to it”
How to use it:
“Let’s see if we can hold on to the lead.”
“We need to hold on to the lead.”
“Alright, in the lead, let’s hold on to it.”
When to use it: This one requires you to be sure that the team you (or your friends) want to win is the one currently winning. Toss this out during the celebration moment after they’ve taken a lead, or when the other team scores and gets close to overtaking your team. This is a good one to use when your team is winning near the end of the game. 

4. “Big plays”
How to use it:
“Let’s see some big plays out there.”
“We’re playing too much small ball.”
“We need a big play. Make something happen.”
Repeatable. 
When to use it: When things are getting boring and your team isn’t doing great. At some point past the halfway mark, there’s bound to be a lull in the proceedings. This is a good thing to say to kindly pump some energy back into the room. You can also use this one anytime your team hasn’t done anything exciting in a while, especially when losing. Some games are just bad to watch, and this is a nice, optimistic contribution. 

5. Pick a non-score number on the screen and say it like it means something. 
How to use it: 
“Only eight minutes left!”
“Fourth-and-5.”
“52 passing yards already?”
Repeatable.
When to use it: This tip requires you to pay attention a bit to the function of the scoreboard. The score should be easy to find. Don’t say that one. There might also be a small number that keeps counting down separate from the game clock that starts at either 40 or 25. Don’t say that one either unless it’s about to hit zero. For all other numbers, you’re probably safe. The game time is a good one because it’s easy to find on the screen and will make it look like you’re staying invested in following the game. If you still aren’t sure, take note of what numbers everyone else is saying and use those. 

6. Extra: Just ask questions 
How to use it:
We all love to talk about the stuff we like. Sports fans love to talk about sports. Odds are that whoever you’re watching with won’t care if you don’t know a touchback from a technical foul, and if they do, they probably won’t be fun to watch a game with anyway.

Let yourself be curious, but don’t expect them to walk you through every single second. Ask about words you don’t understand, rules that you can’t figure out, or what a statistic is measuring. Try guessing what the referee is going to call or complain if they make a call against your team. Throw in your two cents about the slow-motion replay. 

Whatever you do, remember that at the end of the day, it’s just a game and games are supposed to be fun. Get out there and have a good time!

23 Grand Slam titles, 72 Women’s Tennis Association titles and four Olympic gold medals. Serena Williams has continued to be a role model, not just for female athletes but all women. Her consistent ability to break convention and push boundaries is a constant inspiration.

Tom Brady is the most accomplished player in the most popular league in the U.S., making it easy to be known as the Greatest Of All Time. With seven Super Bowl rings and five Super Bowl MVPs, and with so many nicknames derived from his clutch factor, Brady has a resume that is more than GOAT worthy. 

In the nearest equivalent to the NFL, Serena Williams has 23 Major titles to Tom Brady’s 7 titles. Williams has 33 such appearances, while Brady has 10 respectively. Williams ended the season as the number one ranked player (MVP) 5 times, while Brady has won 3 of the sort. In the final critical stat, Williams has won 358 games in Finals sets, whereas Tom Brady has 230 career wins. 

A study by ESPN ranked football the third most difficult skill set and tennis the seventh. Those making up the study consisted of “a group made up of sports scientists from the United States Olympic Committee, of academicians who study the science of muscles and movement, of a star two-sport athlete, and of journalists who spend their professional lives watching athletes succeed and fail.”

However, whoever holds the title of GOAT should be so based on  accomplishments both on and off the court, or pitch, or field. Operating under that definition, Serena Williams is far and away the greatest athlete of all time. 

In 2017 Serena Williams became a mother, narrowly so as Williams suffered a near-death experience due to blood clots coming up in the birthing process. Williams had been suffering from pulmonary embolism, which essentially is a blocked artery in the lungs. When Williams gave birth in her emergency C-section, it threw off her blood thinners and nearly killed her in the birth process.

 In order to prevent this from happening again, Williams debuted a made-for-tennis bodysuit, which the French Tennis Federation labeled “disrespectful.” The bodysuit, as well as compression clothing, is designed to reduce the risk of blood clots happening. Therefore, Williams was essentially receiving backlash for protecting herself from dying. 

This story, combined with the various racist and sexist remarks that have been thrown at her, are part of a long list of critics that continue to undermine her various successes anytime she breaks any convention. 

Tom Brady survived a cheating scandal infamously known as deflategate, which questioned the legitimacy of big victories following proof that some footballs were deflated to have a better grip. Brady suffered a four-game ban as well as the team getting fined, yet after the dust settled, Brady walked clean. 

It’s difficult to imagine Williams surviving such a scandal with all the sexism and racism she faces. Nonetheless the trending comparison of Brady and Williams can be discussed to no end. There will never truly be a single GOAT, but it’s safe to say that we are living in a legendary era of sports’ greatest.

Looking for something to do on campus this week? Here are some of the events that are hosted by and for the Jewell community:

On Tuesday, Feb. 23, the women’s basketball team will be going up against Drury University at 6 p.m. This away game, as well as other away games, can be viewed on the William Jewell College athletics page. 

On Wednesday, Feb. 24, Gender Issues and Feminism (GIF) is hosting a discussion about Black feminism in room 112 of the PLC at 10:30 a.m. The discussion will center around a video about Black feminism in celebration of Black History Month. 

On Thursday, Feb. 25, in room 221/222 of the Yates-Gill Union, Black Student Alliance (BSA) is hosting their annual Jewell Kitchen event to honor local Black foods and Black culinary influences. Tickets for this event will be sold during Jewell Time in the Union until the day of the event, or until all tickets are sold.

On Friday, Feb. 26, GIF is hosting a Menstrual Product Drive in the Union. Students can donate menstrual products to GIF for their “Take One, Leave One” campaign. This campaign allows the club to offer free menstrual products to the Jewell community in various bathroom locations across campus. 

At 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., the softball team will be going up against the University of Nebraska at Kearney and Northwest Missouri State University, respectively. At 5 p.m., the women’s soccer team will be going up against Drury University, and the men’s soccer team will also go up against Drury at 7:30 p.m.

On Saturday, Feb. 27, the softball team will be going up against Upper Iowa University at 11 a.m. The women’s basketball team will face off against Rockhurst University at 1 p.m. At the same time, the women’s and men’s tennis teams will be going up against Missouri Valley College. At 3 p.m., the men’s basketball team will play Rockhurst University. At the same time, the softball team will be going up against Midwestern State University Texas and the women’s volleyball team will be going up against the University of Southern Indiana. At 6 p.m., the women’s volleyball team will be facing off against Maryville University. 

On Sunday, Feb. 28, the women’s soccer team will play against Missouri S&T at 12 p.m. The men’s soccer team will play against Missouri S&T at 2:30 p.m.

When it comes to major sports in America, the first few that pop into your mind are probably football, basketball or baseball, not tennis. Tennis is a unique sport that people seem to confuse with an activity or a minor sport that holds little to no importance. The misconceptions about tennis are all fairly common amongst non-players, so here are a few of these debunked.

Is tennis really a sport?

First of all, tennis is easily one of the most popular sports in the world. Some of the most famous athletes of all time, such as Serena and Venus Williams, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, are all tennis players and make just as much money as the popular professional athletes in America. Secondly, tennis is unique because of all the variables tennis players have to face: weather conditions, speed of the court, the weight of the ball, racquet and string choice and mentality. Unlike many sports, tennis is a lonely game where coaching is prohibited, forcing these athletes to develop a stronger mentality for the sport than other sports that allow constant coaching.

Why is it important to be quiet during the points?

As previously mentioned, tennis requires a level of mental strength that other sports do not require, so during points players need to concentrate on the variables that are being thrown at them all at once. Making noise during points creates a hindrance, which is easily one of the most annoying scenarios to happen to a tennis player.

Why do tennis players grunt?

As true as this is, not every tennis player grunts. However, every tennis player exhales when they hit the ball, some just happen to exhale a lot louder than others. This allows for a better stroke and leads to better concentration when playing the game. Typically, whenever the grunt becomes louder, players are pushing themselves even harder during the point.

Is there a lot of running in tennis?

The majority of this sport is sprinting. Players will sprint from one end of the court to another in a matter of seconds. The court itself does not look that big, but the amount of back and forth and side-to-side running that is involved in this sport is beyond expectations. The entire game of tennis is a matter of millimeters, so it’s important to get from one end of the court to another as quickly as possible in order to recover for whatever shot the opponent will hit next.