Wie, Patrick, etc.
Gwen Knapp of the San Fransisco Chronicle has a column on how the number of vocal doubters of women athletes - particularly women athletes competing in men's tournaments, races -- is going down.
Gwen Knapp of the San Fransisco Chronicle has a column on how the number of vocal doubters of women athletes - particularly women athletes competing in men's tournaments, races -- is going down.
If you are a SportsNation subscriber (or as they call it an "Insider") than you can listen to an interview with IRL driver Danica Patrick. She is out with a new book - an autobiography - which, frankly, I think too many of these autobiographies are written way to early in careers nowadays. USAToday also has an article on her.
Danica Patrick raced and came in sixth yesterday at the Chicagoland Speedway. Greg Couch of the Sun Times takes on "Danica mania" in his column "Danica still learning, rest of us yearning" where he complains about the media attention Patrick gets even when she loses, but also stresses she's a rookie who's going to make mistakes - there is too much hype on her needing to win.
Before Sunday's race, the San Jose Mercury News had a profile on Patrick's upbringing/family - "Danica Patrick's parents never set out to rear a race car driver"
An interesting piece today by Marcia Smith at the Orange County Register (reprinted here on the San Jose Mercury News Website) about women competing in men's competitions - "Sports world seems to only care about women when they face men" - and she touches on what I'm particulary interested in - why can't women's professional sports "make it?"
The Detroit News had a piece last week on women making inroads to male-dominated sports like auto racing - "In male-driven sports, women forge ahead" (7/28/05). On July 20, Frank Deford of Sports Illustrated wrote that this trend is not good in "Bad mix :Women's sports takes a hit when Wie faces the men" Deford argues that women playing in men's tournaments/matches/games takes attention away from the women's tournaments/matches/games. This is true, although I would argue it also brings attention to the women's game in a round-about way. Deford rehashes an old argument used by many sports columnists/editors for lack of women's sports coverage ...
"Women complain all the time that their sports don't get enough attention. It's true that many of those people in charge of providing attention to sports -- the editors and writers and producers -- just happen to be of the old male persuasion. But it really isn't true that they are anti-female sports. They just cover what sports people want to read about and see and hear about. Who, pray, would ever have guessed that sensible human beings in these post-millennium times would crave to watch other people playing poker? But that's what, with apologies to Mencken, the boobus televisionus Americanus wants today, and so that's what we give 'em.
Unfortunately, women don't support their sisters playing games nearly as much as men watch their brethren in athletic pursuits. Women don't boo very well at all. Understand, this is not another case of "frailty, thy name is woman." Instead, verily, it is tribute to the sensitivity of the daughters of Eve that they have their priorities so much straighter than us benighted guy sportaholics. Good grief, should we ever get women's sports radio, then it really will be time to hand this whole earthly kit and caboodle over to the Philistines." (7/20/05, Sports Illustrated.com)
I hope in my work over the next few years to find out if this is really true. Maybe it was true 20 or 30 years ago when women first starting breaking out into sports, but does this argument still hold today? When was the last time sports sections or TV sports shows polled or held focus groups with their viewers to see what they wanted? Just the recent example of letters to the Houston Chronicle and New York Times about lack of coverage of the WNBA shows that there is more interest out there than many sports editors realize. If it is true that women don't have an interest than why don't they? With so many women now growing up participating in sports, starting at a very young age, why aren't they turning into sports viewers?
P.S. In reference to the last sentence of Deford's quote - it appears he hasn't heard about the first all-women sports radio show that is now broadcasting on USA Radio Network.
ESPN's John Oreovicz had a great column yesterday "Andretti Green drivers are right, but too bad" about the latest sports media flurry over female race car driver Danica Patrick. A group of male drivers refused to sign autographs at an official session to protest the extra attention Patrick is receiving from the Indy Racing League, media, fans, etc. Oreovicz makes some nice points in the piece ... basically that yes, it's unfair and according to Oresovicz, "it's got to be galling for a guy like Sam Hornish Jr., who scored his record 14th IndyCar Series race win at Milwaukee, to walk into an autograph session and see signs directing fans one way for Danica Patrick and the other way for "All Other Drivers."
But Oreovicz believes the male drivers just need to suck it up and doesn't want people to blame Patrick.
"The person I feel sorry for the most in all of this nonsense is
Danica herself. She's handled herself with dignity and class throughout
Danica Mania. When you get down to it, she's a 23-year-old girl working
in an unusual profession who didn't ask to be thrust into such a harsh
and glaring spotlight. Remember, this is a girl who set out to make the
pages of Racer magazine, not People magazine. Those of us who have
followed her career for years already know she's a good race-car
driver. Now she's proving to be a damn fine celebrity as well.
But that's a double-edged sword, because to maintain her celebrity
cachet, she's going to have to start winning races at some point and
develop into a great race-car driver. And that's more difficult than it
looks; it took the average IndyCar driver 33 races to reach victory
circle, which for Danica, would be near the end of the 2006 season. Can
the mainstream media maintain interest for that long?" (Oreovicz, 7/26/05, ESPN.com)
I think he addresses nicely one of the problems when a woman starts to break ground in a male-dominated sport. There is tremendous pressure coming from all angles. On the one hand, you want her accomplishments to be noticed and respected; you don't want the media to ignore this person. Sports coverage, in particular, always has a soft spot for the stars, the latest and greatest, the record breakers (look at the Lance coverage - think of what autograph signings are like at bike racers and who is in most demand), On the other hand, you want a woman athlete to be treated as all the other male athletes in her sport. The special focus/attention can make her seem like a freak of nature or a one-time thing or an attention-getting stunt, etc. Some members of the sports media need to stop being freaked out - "oh my, she can really throw!" and just give the athlete her fair and balanced coverage.
