Developing an athlete’s winning thoughts

Mental toughness is a requirement if you want to be an excellent athlete. Learning a thing or two from these guys can help us with our day-to-day dealings. What people need to remember is that athletes are just like the rest of us. They can fall prey to mindless criticism, careless comments, and occasionally have a bad day where things aren’t working out for them. To become a winner, they have to rise above all the thoughts and external factors that might bring them down. This process doesn’t happen overnight. Developing a winning mindset requires training and conditioning as well.

Image source: Menshealth.com

When working with athletes, it’s important to note that positive comments and constructive criticism are always taken to heart. Motivating them to work harder or giving them a pat in the back for a good game will give them strength even if their bodies aren’t at its peak condition. Have you ever watched a basketball player finish a game even with an injury? When athletes are motivated to win, their minds are stronger than their muscles. They will finish the game strong. Case in point: Michael Jordan’s Flu Game. On June 11, 1997, the famed Bulls player tallied 38 points even with a bad case of flu.

Image source: Changingthegameproject.com

Self-confidence is also a huge factor in making a winning athlete. When athletes want to achieve something, they will beat their bodies and train hard before a big game. Even if there are nerves, they trust in what they can do and focus on the prize.

Thanks for reading. I’m Jon Bunge from Chicago. For college, I moved to San Francisco where I am pursuing a degree in sports science and physiology. Visit my page for other sports-related stuff.

The rivalry between Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers

The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians are batting and battling it out in this year’s edition of the World Series. Both teams have not won the title in a very long time, and it looks like history will be rewritten by the end of this season.

In the NBA, there is a basketball rivalry between the two cities, albeit not often talked about. And the reason is not only because they play in the same division.

Image source: nytimes.com

 

The rivalry started when the teams met in the first round of the playoffs back in 1988. Both the Bulls and Cavaliers were teams on the rise. The Cavs were establishing a blue-collar squad that was prepared to grind it out to win it all. The Bulls were essentially the same, but they had a pair of players named Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. 

Their first postseason battle ended in a hard-fought Chicago win, as Jordan led them with an unreal 45.2 points per game. This would set the tone for the next four playoffs that saw the two teams meeting every year.

Image source: youtube.com

The Cavs would put up a fight, but His Airness would find a way to keep his rivals at bay. The image that best represents this is Jordan’s “The Shot” in 1989. The Cavs, though, were still able to hold their heads up high since they were up against a Chicago Bulls team that went on to win six championships and had the greatest player of all time.

Jon Bunge here, currently living in San Franciso, but still a major supporter of the sports teams of my hometown Chicago. Let’s discuss Chicago sports. All you need to do is follow me on Facebook.

How The Science Of Sports Bras Helped Women Excel In Sports

Sports should be accessible to everyone. This is what many sports scientists believe. This has helped them develop new technologies to allow anyone to fulfill their physical goals. In particular, women with larger breasts who want to run often find it difficult because of their additional weight. The act of running is painful for them. Additionally, health professionals say that left unsupported, the constant movement of the breasts can lead to other, more serious, medical conditions.

Image Source: runhaven.com

Thus, the development of sports bra science. As the name suggests, it is a branch of sports science that aims to develop better, more supportive undergarments so that women – of any breast size – can run or do any strenuous exercise uninhibited. The branch was relatively obscure until recently, when more women were noted to require bigger bra sizes. In the United Kingdom, it was surveyed that the average woman’s bra size went from a 36C to 36DD. The added weight places pressure on the woman’s lower back as well as prevent her from engaging in more physical sports.

Sports bras are necessary for support. They hold the breasts close to the chest in such a way that movement is not impeded. Breasts contain no muscle and have very little internal support. This is why breasts, which are mostly soft tissue, move independently by the motion of the torso. Sports bras reduce this movement and effectively decrease discomfort of pain. An independent research found that sports bras can improve a woman’s running technique when going past a distance of 5km.

Although further research is necessary, many sports scientists believe that sports bras have enabled women to excel in sports and gain equal footing with their male counterparts.

Image Source: sportsdirect.com

Jon Bunge from Chicago is interested in sports science and how its applications benefit countless of athletes worldwide. Learn more when you like this Facebook page.

Some Facts About Chicago’s Italian Beef Sandwich

Image source: culinarymamas.com

There are but a few food creations on the planet that are so impressionable that you wouldn’t mind going to its origin just to eat and go back to wherever it is you came from. Indeed, food creations do not often make it to the golden status of an icon, and when it does make it, it speaks highly about how absolutely delicious and heavenly it must be to the palate.

Such is the case of Chicago’s Italian beef sandwich. Of course, there are many versions, as the people of Chicago are quite known to be masters of the kitchen. But typically, the Italian beef sandwich is made with thinly sliced oven roasted beef inserted into a piece of bread dipped in broth. The sandwich is spiked with hot Italian giardiniera sauce. The rest of the toppings are as limited as the imagination of whoever makes the sandwich.

It is believed that this sandwich was created by Italian immigrants who worked for Chicago’s legendary Union Stock Yards, which used to provide America with a huge percentage of meat. Typically, workers would bring home the less desirable beef cuts, referred to as beef hash, which was relatively tougher and not so comfortable to the bite.

Image source: thecountrybasket.com

The key to enjoying the meat scraps was to find a way to tenderize them, and the solution was to simmer slowly in a broth accentuated by garlic and spices. When the first person to put a heap of this beef in a piece of bread took the first bite, the celebrated sandwich was born.

It’s quite hard to dispense with good food memories. If there’s one thing to miss about Windy City, the Italian beef sandwich has got to be it.

Jon Bunge is a native of Chicago, the home of the best Italian beef sandwiches in the country. He is now temporarily based in San Francisco, and he can’t wait to come home to the Windy City. Follow the native Chicagoan on Twitter.

The Greatest Bears in History

The Chicago Bears have nine NFL championships and a Super Bowl win to their name. They also have the most number of players in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the most retired jerseys. Here are some of the greatest Bears in the history of the franchise. 

Image source: Chicagotribune.com

Walter Payton

Walter Payton was a running back for 13 seasons for the Bears. He was selected for the Pro Bowl nine times. Payton was once the record-holder for most career rushing yards, carries, yards from scrimmage and touchdowns, among others. He had eight touchdown passes in his career, which in the NFL was second only to Frank Gifford. Many football experts hail Payton as the greatest Chicago Bear in history. 

Dick Butkus

Dick Butkus was a linebacker for the Bears for nine seasons. Standing 6 feet and 3 inches and weighing 245 pounds, he was fast, tough, and durable. Butkus was a beast on the field, being one of the most terrifying linebackers in the NFL. In 2009, in a survey conducted by NFL.com, Butkus was voted as the most feared tackler in NFL history. 

Image source: Si.com

Mike Ditka

Mike Ditka is a player, a coach, a three-time Super Bowl winner, and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer. What a life Ditka has had. He and Tom Flores are the only two people in history to win NFL titles as a player, an assistant coach, and a head coach. Ditka, Tom Flores, and Gary Kubiak are the only ones to win championships as the coach of teams they played for before. 

Jon Bunge loves Chicago sports. For more discussion on the Chicago Bears, Bulls, and other professional teams from the Windy City, follow Jon on Twitter.