It was July 10th and I was eating lunch. The television was on and my dad happened to be watching the US Women's Soccer Team struggle against Marta and the titans of the Brazil Women's Soccer Team. I've never recalled watching soccer with my dad before let alone women's soccer. But in this summer of two lockouts and the Derek Jeter Mr. 3000 saga, this was refreshing.
My dad has always been a proponent of Women's Sports. In college I would call and he asked if I saw the UNC Women's Basketball Game on that week and I'd always reply no. To my misfortune I did not see a game live or on television beyond a passing channel change. Not because I didn't want to.Anyone who knows me knows I go partially insane every March for hoops hoopla, but never women's hoops.
In some small place in the back of my mind, I resent hearing women's basketball, women's soccer instead of soccer and basketball. Guys sports are always more attention grabbing, eye popping and controversial because of how the press covers it. You never see a SportsCenter lead in with the WNBA game. It just doesn't happen.
However, when I saw and heard what had to be the most epic ending in a game since Dirk Nowitzki in Game 2 of the NBA finals, something in me went off. It was just like when the Spice Girls flashed peace signs and girl power in 1997. That feeling that you get when you go crazy for something that belongs to you in some way. Women's soccer in these past couple of weeks has challenged me to see sports as I try to see everything else in culture and life with open eyes.
Hope Solo saving those kicks will never leave my mind just as Brandi Chastain ripping her shirt off and going pre-Situation Situation on us did. It reminds us that just like anything else sports are sports and your skill level translates beyond your gender, color, high school class ranking etc. Indeed women's sports is getting the attention it deserves and I certainly hope it won't be fleeting because I have a feeling Hope Solo, Abby Wambach, and company will be back in black come 2015.
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