Roller Skating

Roller Skating Museum

After visiting the National Museum of Roller Skating I not only learned several things I was unaware of before, I gained a greater appreciation of a sport that I always loved as a kid. The museum had an endless number of exhibits but the one that seemed to pull me in the most was the roller hockey exhibit. As a child I spent countless hours partaking in pickup games around my neighborhood. After visiting the museum I now have a better understanding of where the sport came from and how it originated. Originating in the Midwest in the later part of the 19th century the game of roller hockey has come a long ways in many areas from the rules of play to the equipment available to the players.
The sport officially came about in a Denmark roller rink in London, England in 1878, but since the Midwest region of the United States has exploded the sport beyond imaginable proportions. For example in 1991 a group of investors began the sports official professional existence. Thanks to these investors the Roller Hockey International began. The professional popularity of the sport has since ceased to exist, however the love of the game still carries on throughout the U.S. From small town pickup games to recreational programs roller hockey has become an American tradition and will continue to be for many years to come. The sport of roller hockey has come a long ways as a whole since its creation and the technology of the 20th century has aided a great deal to its success. When the sport started the skates and sticks were by today’s standards antiques. The original style of skates consisted of a leather sock attached onto three wheels and it was all held on the player foot by a set of laces. The skates today do resemble a similar image however the build of the skate has changed greatly. Skates today consist of a much harder shoe or boot with much more support and protection. They all have four wheels instead of three and the bearings inside the wheels allow the players to achieve much greater speeds than that of those in the past. The sticks and ball used have also come a great distance. The technology of the times has brought the sport along but every player to ever play the game is forever grateful to those members of the group that once came up with the idea to strap on a set of wheels to their feet and slap a ball around a rink for fun.

Edward Hoagland Response

How the Essayist Acquires Authority
Essays are how we speak to one another in print-caroming thoughts not merely in order to convey a certain packet of information, but with a special edge or bounce of personal character in a kind of public letter…
-Edward Hoagland



This quote form Edward Hoagland states the in order for an author to obtain authority and respect from its reader, one must project its opinion in any way possible and hope that the reader can relate. This statement seems to be arguably accurate to a great extent. This statement appears true on various levels such as the way the work is presented as well as the audience that it is directed towards. For example one must wholly support the idea that they are trying to present or there will be no drive or inspiration behind their work making the piece both unentertaining as well as weak.
When an author decides to create an essay on a certain topic the author will more than likely choose a topic of which they are both familiar with as well as have an interest in. By doing so they can use both their knowledge and passion for the piece to boost their work as well as put themselves up on a metaphorical pedestal creating the authority that Hoagland was talking about. By using their intelligence and interest as a tool in their writing the author can give off powerful vibes to the reader creating this sense of authority. No matter how hard the author tries, not all audiences will pick up on this form of authority. Some readers just don’t buy into certain authors work.
Therefore, audience is also an important role in what Hoagland is trying to convey in his statement. If an author is writing to the wrong audience, the audience will never pick up on any forms of authority. As I stated before the authority must come from intelligence and well as interest. If a reader is not interested in the topic at hand their will never be any connection and they will never appreciate the authors knowledge or passion for the subject. As a result the reader will never respect the author or give them any sense of authority.
Through his statement on an authors authority Hoagland shows that in order for an author to acquire any authority they must one, present to the correct audience, and two, have a background in the topic as well as a passion for it. Without these two pieces the author will lose the interest of the audience and appear to be uneducated in the subject, resulting in a lack of authority in their writing.