I don't know if anyone besides me saw the NCAA Women's Basketball quarterfinals (judging by the ratings, that's a no), but there was an incredible display of toughness, possibly even "heart". Tennessee's Candace Parker dislocated her shoulder reaching back to steal a ball. Somehow, she actually came up with the ball and proceeded to dribble halfway down the court with one shoulder hanging out of its socket. She went to the locker room shortly before halftime, where they put everything back in its place, then came back in the game! At which point, it popped out again when someone tossed a pass directly into her outstretched hand. Once again, they put it back and once again, she returned and played the last 10 minutes. Pretty bad-ass, eh?
So later in the week leading up to the Final Four, I read a shorty article on espn.com about her injury status and how likely it was that she would play (she did in fact play, and win a national championship). The article mentioned her toughness and her decision to forgo her final year of college eligibilty (she got a medical redshirt for her freshman year) for the Olympics and the WNBA. In short, it was an article you wouldn't be surprised to see setting the stage for the men's Final Four, but it was kind of nice to see it done for the women.
I never really click on the comments pages, but I do tend to read the few comments that are stuck at the bottom of the article. On this article, one said, and I quote, "yawn. i still won't watch."
Now, I realize that the internet is not known as a forum for politeness, but this seems above and beyond to me. Why even bother? Are you such a pig that you can't even stand women getting any attention at all? Do you think women's sports are inappropriate? Taking up space on espn.com? How could you not have better things to do with your 30 seconds? And the kicker? YOU READ THE ARTICLE! How bored could you be with it?
As I've said before, thanks for being rude for absolutely no reason.
2 comments:
Well put!
Also, the treatment of women's professional sports by your, um, everyday sports fan drives me up a frakkin' wall. Huge HUGE pet peeve. Huge. Argh. Blergh.
The perception - or misperception - of women in sports extends to less publicized sports as well. Just this past weekend, I ran into a friend who I don't know too well at a bar. Amidst casual chit chat, this friend, who is male, said, "I heard you're like a guy on skis."
While he intended it to be a compliment, I later left the conversation questioning why the passion for a sport and display of skill in that arena equates to the male domain. Why can't I, as I female, tear down the mountain in my own right? Every weekend, I am elated to see girls on the hill who can rip like the guys. Unfortunately, there is a disproportionate number of men to women on harder terrain and in the park. Gals: I know you can do it, so where are you??
Future reading: www.shejumps.com
It's founded by a few female skiers, but is all about girls who rock and the literal and figurative leaps they take to succeed in their various disciplines. Check it out.
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