Shore up the Positive.

Ok folks,

I know I am far from the smartest man on the planet; but it seems to me that some simple things are regularly overlooked. Now this article is based on MY archery observations in recent months, so take it for what it is worth.

Nick Cage- Movie about becoming an archer despite problems in personal life ( although I believe the ball was dropped via an anti-hunting comment later on in the film).

Jessica Biel- Former Vegatarian, Blade III actress underwent extensive archery trainning for her role.

Geena Davis- Actress, Archer and Womens Sports Foundation advocate.

Those are just 3 that come to mind. When was the last time any one of these folks has heard from bowhunters and archers in a positive way? Look at the following links and just think about what the pictures say to Non participants.

Geena takes Aim
Read her 3 Articles too. Interesting, from a different perspective she is telling women to do the same thing Ted Nugent, the NRA and others tell us to do.

Jessica Biel
Of all the pictures she could have on her Join page, I find it telling that she is at full draw.

The Weather Man
Be sure to look at the photo gallery here. 2 of 12 pictures contain Archery, one with his screen daughter and one solo, plus the front cover photo. Notice how this is "real life" not some fantasy film or historical film. A regular guy using archery to hold himself together.

Now, I don't expect what I say here would make any difference in what these folks think of Hunting, Hunters or the outdoors community as a whole; BUT if we don't drop a small thank you for the positives we will never know for sure. I surmise that writing a letter or comment that says "Hey Thanks for having archery portrayed positively" will go alot further than saying nothing.

Here is how I see it. Kid sees film with popular star shooting a bow, kid finds out NASP is active in their school and tries archery, kid likes archery and seeks a way to participate outside of school and finds local club, Kids parents find out they can participate with kid, Both get exposed to other forms of archery and also the truth about hunting. This seems like a win/win situation all around to me. Kids exposed to a life sport, family unit is strengthend, local clubs gain members, industry grows and celebrities gain useful insight from folks they don't normally here from.

Take it for what it is worth, but if we don't try how do we know?