Athletes A Century Apart
When most people think of national athletes, they commonly think of athletes that have accomplished championships, gold medals, and individual records. Generally, the greatest athletes are from the United States of America. This may be true for most sports, but the athletes that mean the most to Native Americans and Inuit natives are Jim Thorpe and Jordin Tootoo, respectively. Although the athletic careers of Thorpe and Tootoo are a century apart, they are ironically similar. They possess outstanding athletic ability, have native traditional back rounds, and made an impact on modern sports. Where they are different is how Thorpe had an established career that has become a legacy while Tootoo, entering only his second year, has yet to establish himself status as a professional athlete. Jordin Tootoo is revered as a hero among his native Inuit people. Since Tootoo became the first Inuit to play in the National Hockey League (NHL), the magazines, newspapers, and the Internet have carried Jordin Tootoo's name (Associated Press 1). Tootoo, who comes from a home less then 250 miles south of the Artic Circle, who calls the Nunovit Territory in northern Canada home, is already legend in his home
Jordin survived by playing physical hockey, 5sometimes fighting kids twice his size. Tootoo is said to have hit opponents into the boards so hard that he actually knocked himself out. Thorpe was one of the few from his immediate family to live a long and prosperous life. As a native of Sac-and-Fox land in Indian Territory, Thorpe was born on May 28, 1888, 19 years before present day Oklahoma became a state (Flatter 2). The Canadian government donated half of the Northwest Territory to the Inuit Natives of Canada. Perhaps the greatest difference between Thorpe and Tootoo is their reputations. Thorpe's athletic ability was more of a god-given ability, something he developed on his own, and harnessed within himself. Perhaps Terrence felt the same after the police dropped him off at home. The Nashville Predators scout, Rick Knickle, that discovered Tootoo, was simply in love with his style of play after first seeing him play once ( Adelson 3). The move from a cold, desolate, place like Nunavit; to paved streets, trees, ATM's, Fast-food, street lights, was like the difference between night and day (Adelson 2). After a successful training camp last September with the Nashville Predators, 2 Tootoo, a 20 year old, earned a spot on the Predators roster for the 2003-04 season after being drafted in 2001.
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Acceptance Essays
