She is intelligent, meritorious and smart. She likes music and wants to be a singer. Her 'want' becomes her dream & dream becomes passion. That's where her parents enter her world, turning her dreams into a nightmare.She has two choices, passion and parents; where she must choose one. Will she be able to choose her passion over her parents? This is a story of an ordinary girl with an extraordinary passion of fulfilling her dream. Let's see if she can do it, because..."Life seems good until you start dreaming.With dream comes strong tenacity.And when that comes, you can fight a long way to... let's see where!"

Extraordinary stories and recollections dominate this energetic glimpse into the hearts and minds of the die-hard fans of the Australian Football League. Based on interviews conducted with 50 football supporters, this account takes the roller-coaster ride through the passions of triumph and despair, mourning and melancholy, joy and fulfillment, and sacrifice and resurrection. With a keen ear, this study listens to the fans talk about the emotions associated with the game, how it gives meaning to their lives, and shows that football is much more than just a game.

Professional football is the most popular sport in the United States today. With so many famous players from the past and present, some of whom achieved notoriety because of a persona they created, there are fans who have also made a name for themselves by either their work and loyalty for their team, or by creating an "alter ego" with respect to how they cheer or support their team. Some have incredibly wild and outrageous outfits. On game days, some of these diehard fans take longer to get themselves ready for games than the players they cheer for! The face paint, the outrageous outfits, the chants and cheers, and the attention to detail are what make these fans unique. During football season, these diehard fans can be seen each weekend as they showcase themselves in support of their team in front of hundreds of thousands of viewers worldwide. In 1998, Visa sponsored a national contest to find the wildest, most loyal, and most intriguing fans for each team in the league. The award was entitled, "The Visa Hall of Fans" Award as fans were chosen from each team based on their submitted essays and photos. Contestants had to explain why they should represent their respective team in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. At the time, a special wing in the Hall was created to honor these diehard fans. Visa awarded plaques to the winners - originally at the Hall, and later in front of the hometown fans at each team's stadium. The Hall of Fame displayed the plaques for a year until the new class of fans was selected and their plaques were displayed. At that point, the prior year's winners had their names placed on a permanent wall plaque in the "Hall of Fans" wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

This book presents a cross-disciplinary examination of the lived experiences of girls and women football players using theoretical insights from sports studies, psychology, sociology and gender studies. It examines the concept of ‘the football self’ – your own, personal football identity that encapsulates the importance of football to our everyday lives – and what that can tell us about the complex relationships between sport, family, gender and identity. The book draws on in-depth ethnographic research involving players and family members, and offers important new insights into the everyday experiences of those girls and women who play. It breaks new ground in focusing on the significant relationships between player and family with a particular focus on parenting through football. The book brings to the fore key debates around gender identity, barriers to participation, cultural gaps and discrimination. The author also brings a personal perspective to bear, drawing on experience gained over 20 years as a player, adding an extra critical layer to her important empirical research. This is essential reading for all researchers and students with an interest in football, sport studies or issues around gender, inclusion or the family in sport, and fascinating reading for anybody generally curious about football.

With The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Asperger's Syndrome at your side, you'll take the first steps toward understanding this pervasive development disorder and how it may impact your child. This complete handbook for coping with daily life helps you: Get a diagnosis and understand the results Discover the best options for education and learning Work to improve your child's social skills Identify triggers that lead to sensory overload, such as sounds, bright lights, or certain textures and fabrics Recognize symptoms of meltdowns and work with your child to prevent them Educate family and friends about Asperger's to provide a supportive and loving environment Explore other resources, including reading lists, Web sites, and support groups The Everything Parent's Guide to Children with Asperger's Syndrome shows you how you can maintain a positive attitude, honor your child's unique experience, and strengthen the bond between you and your child.

The modern day youth sports environment has taken the enjoyment out of athletics for our children. Currently, 70% of kids drop out of organized sports by the age of 13, which has given rise to a generation of overweight, unhealthy young adults. There is a solution. John O’Sullivan shares the secrets of the coaches and parents who have not only raised elite athletes, but have done so by creating an environment that promotes positive core values and teaches life lessons instead of focusing on wins and losses, scholarships, and professional aspirations. Changing the Game gives adults a new paradigm and a game plan for raising happy, high performing children, and provides a national call to action to return youth sports to our kids.

With Following the Ball, Todd Cleveland incorporates labor, sport, diasporic, and imperial history to examine the extraordinary experiences of African football players from Portugal’s African colonies as they relocated to the metropole from 1949 until the conclusion of the colonial era in 1975. The backdrop was Portugal’s increasingly embattled Estado Novo regime, and its attendant use of the players as propaganda to communicate the supposed unity of the metropole and the colonies. Cleveland zeroes in on the ways that players, such as the great Eusébio, creatively exploited opportunities generated by shifts in the political and occupational landscapes in the waning decades of Portugal’s empire. Drawing on interviews with the players themselves, he shows how they often assumed roles as social and cultural intermediaries and counters reductive histories that have depicted footballers as mere colonial pawns. To reconstruct these players’ transnational histories, the narrative traces their lives from the informal soccer spaces in colonial Africa to the manicured pitches of Europe, while simultaneously focusing on their off-the-field challenges and successes. By examining this multi-continental space in a single analytical field, the book unearths structural and experiential consistencies and contrasts, and illuminates the components and processes of empire.