Women's sports

Japan winning the World Cup uplifted the entire nation, so we're told. And I believe it. In other countries, women's sports have the possibility to make a nation proud. Unfortunately, I don't see the same attitude here in the United States.

When the US women won the World Cup in 1999, female participation in youth soccer spiked. There was a slight unification process that took place, however, I was the only individual in my dorm room who actually saw Brandy Chastain tear off her shirt in excitement after the winning penalty kick. Others watched the highlights. This year, I'm afraid it was much of the same.

Hope Solo and Abby Wambach might be household names this week, but are they going to stand the test of time and be remembered? I'm willing to bet that more people know Landon Donovan's name this week than the two most popular athletes on the women's team. Why? Because Americans don't care about women's sports. The women's team was the lead story on Sports Center today, but the most memorable story was Landon Donovan's Make A Wish feature. It was touching and I appreciate it, but play that story tomorrow and let the women have their day.

I watched many games on network television last year during the men's World Cup. The women's World Cup final, which included the United States, could only be seen on ESPN (cable). Does this make sense? Probably since viewer ratings determine what programs are aired. Are the networks telling us that a Sunday afternoon infomercial is more important than the championship final of the World Cup? I guess they are.

Here's my conclusion: as a nation, we still believe women are inferior to men. How does that taste? I'm not suggesting that ABC should give the women a time slot if it's detrimental to their network because of ratings. I am, however, suggesting everyone reading this blog right now does a gut check and asks themselves why they weren't interested in this wonderful event? Is it because you had other things going on? You don't like soccer? Never mind that you watched the men last summer. Or do you think women's soccer cannot provide the entertainment you seek because they're women? Seriously, what's the deal? In the depths of your heart, do you respect women?

I started coaching women 7 years ago today. I didn't want to do it and it happened by accident. In hindsight, I can say that it was all because I didn't believe women's sports were "as important" as men's sports. There's no way I could have admitted that at the time, but after years of working with women, it's plain for me to see. When I ask someone to entertain the idea of women's wrestling and they don't, I can see that beneath the surface they're in the same place I was.

On a side note, I would add that women's sports capture the true intent of "sport" much more then men's sports do. I was watching the game with two wrestling fans and they noticed that the women were technically very sound and seemed to fake injuries much less than the men do. I stepped up and asked them when they were going to start coaching women's wrestling because women get it. They play sports for all the right reasons. Women's sports are still "pure." Women don't fake injuries because it's not in the spirit of the game. They play sports because they love sport. They're not playing for an endorsement (evidence by Solo declining endorsement offers this week), awards, honors, glory or any other external motivating factor. They just love to play. Period.

I see this in the wrestling world, too. I commented on a similar topic after last year's poor results by the men at the world championships. The wrestling community thought the sky was falling down despite the bright spot on the women's side. The women's program has been doing it the right way. They're on the right path leading into 2012. Why doesn't the male side stop to see this? Because they don't respect women. You don't hear our female wrestlers crying for more money or more attention. They just want the opportunity to play. And by the way, they're winning medals and the men aren't.

I don't know if I'm venting or trying to make a point here. I just can't help but notice how the Japanese women have successfully uplifted an entire nation and I'm sadden by the realization that we won't allow for women to uplift our nation. There's something inside us, as a country, that is keeping this from happening. What is it? In 2011 can we honestly say that we respect women? I sure hope it's something else, but I'm afraid it's not. I'm entrenched in the women's sports culture and see the uphill battles just to be recognized as legitimate. Well, women are a legitimate part of humanity and it's time for people to get past their insecurities and embrace this notion. Even though we shouldn't even need to discuss this, I'll be the one to initiate the conversation.