Rowing is by far one of the most intense and demanding sports in the world. Oarsmen and coxswains devote countless hours of year-round training in order to maximize boat speed- the goal of any serious crew. The majority of the United States population, however, has no clue what rowing is all about. Quite frankly, I did not even know about rowing culture until joining the USC Men’s Crew Team. A rowing museum would solve this problem.
My proposed museum would be located in Southern California. The west coast is renowned for its great rowing programs, and the museum could be fully taken advantage of in an environment that is suitable for rowing year-round. The museum will double as a boat house so that community members (children in particular) can get involved in rowing. This will help rowing become more popular among the masses, hopefully propelling rowing back into the forefront of college athletics.
With United States collegiate rowing dating back to the mid nineteenth century, one would think that a rowing museum would already exist. The only established rowing museum in the world, however, is located on the Thames River in England- site of the world-famous Royal Henley Regatta. While this is considered a good museum, it does not represent United States rowing well. A museum in the United States, therefore, would make rowing more accessible to Americans in particular and truly show what a great sport rowing is!
the only problem with rowing is that i have never heard of a rower. while yes it has a great history, it has never been terribly popular in the public eye. it also seems to prohibit a true star from becoming the face of the sport. while popular sports in america are team sports, they allow for stars to emerge. perhaps this is possible in rowing but i dont know enough about rowing to say whether this is possible or not. what would be the big exhibit that would make people want to see a museum about rowing?
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