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How do men view sports? “It is a ritual designed to maintain the ideology and values of a competitive and hierarchical culture,” says Messener in this essay (668). According to the author, men see sports as an opportunity for public success. As young boys, they played sports as a way to make friendships and hold a stronger bond with their fathers, but as they get older, domination and success take over the once low-key sport (670-671). Even if the sport can lead to injuries and other health problems that can last beyond the end of their athletic career, the player sees it as a price well paid (671). Men see sports, especially big league, as a way to express masculinity in a form that they might not be able to do in a blue-collar society. The fame and money can also blind players into wanting more than to just play; they want to win and take home the top honors. In this paper, I review the October issue of Sports Illustrated by looking at ads and articles, in order to show the attitudes perpetrated towards the male gender. I choose this magazine, because its one of the top selling sports magazines today and it is generated towards the male gender. I thought it would be a great way to show how the male gender is represent