The three icons I am choosing are McDonalds, UK Basketball, and Pete Rose.
McDonalds, the restaurant icon that was set the standard thru out the world of what a fast food restaurant must achieve. We cannot say that McDonalds is an icon for its food, but we can say it is an icon for the way that Ray Kroc changed the way the fast food industry would serve the people. McDonald’s do’s one thing, it wants to serve people. McDonalds has never set out to claim that it has the best tasting fast food, but it do`s lay claim to having the best fast food service. Even though McDonalds was not the first franchise restaurant, they rewrote the book on how all franchisees now operate. Almost ever, franchise to this day, now follows the way that McDonald has set-up the way it does business. It`s this reason alone that I would choose McDonalds. If you ever get a chance, try just standing back and watching a McDonald’s crew at work when they are busy, they have it down to a science the way to prepare those frozen patties. 
Somewhere in the state of Kentucky, there are all kinds of little boys out in the field, the courtyard and inside a gym if they can get in; in their hands is a basketball, not just a round ball that bounces, but a future, a way of life in the state of Kentucky. While only few will ever make it, almost all Kentucky boys always dream of wearing the blue. It would be impossible to say that you live or have lived in Kentucky and never watched or heard a UK basketball game. While most people could never tell you who was the governor thru-out the 60`s in Kentucky, they should can tell you who Adolph Rupp was. Kentucky basketball isn’t just a sport in this state; it is a way of life. Businesses of all kinds from restaurants and clothing shops relay on the success of the team, it’s not just Kentuckians team, Kentucky basketball is loved and watched all over the United States. While Kentucky has the winningest basketball program in the history of college basketball, the present day only counts to those true fans. A coach that comes to UK must win now or find himself unemployed quickly. It is a fact that in Kentucky, if you play basketball for the wildcats, you are a God.
Pete Rose, if you where a boy growing up in the 60`s and 70`s and played baseball, you either hated the name or you loved what he could do. No player in the history of baseball took his job as serious as Rose did. Though he might be known as the man that put himself above the sport that made him a household name, no one can ever take way what he did ever day on the job. I chose Pete as one of my icons, because I was one of those boys that would never miss a game that Rose played, I was one that was on the edge of my sit, when he was up or on base. You never knew what was coming next, but you knew it wasn’t going to be boring. Rose took his job serious and for that reason alone, is why he was so successful. He never took a day off, nor did he just walk to first. He ran everything out, and he played as if it was the bottom of the ninth with two outs in every game, from preseason to the World Series. Rose is an icon because of his work ethic and not his morals. It`s his work ethic I have loved and will always try to mimic.
David Wilson
HUMN341-E1WW (WI11)
References;
McDonalds, Our Company, retrieved at:
Pete Rose and Roger Kahn, Pete Rose, My Story (1989)
George lee Anderson with Dan Ewald, Sparky!, (1990)
Dave,
ReplyDeleteGreat choices! Especially Pete. he will certainly go down as one of the greatest to ever play the game, regardless of whether he ever gets into the hall. Unfortunately we can't deny the fact the fact that he did disgrace the game by hwat he did. None the less, I am one who beleives he has paid for what he did and deserves to take his rightful place. I remember watching a documentary once about Joe DiMaggio. He too, always played hard from start to finish no matter what. During one of the interviews it was said that Joe was asked about his constant hussle and why he played that way even if they were losing by 10 runs or winning by 10. The response back was that he played that way because there was always a chance that someone was in the stands who had never seen him play before and it wouldn't be fair if they didn't see what others had. I feel that Pete played the same way.