‘Dream On’ celebrates women’s sports
It’s hardest to see “history being made when it’s happening before your eyes or in the recent past. Sports commentary is laced with hyperbolic descriptions from “legendary” to “classic” and “historic,” but the three-part “30 for 30” (8 p.m., ESPN) documentary “Dream On” makes the strong case that the 1996 women’s Olympic basketball team changed women’s basketball and women’s sport forever, and with them, societal attitudes.
Set just 25 to 30 years in the past, “Dream” can seem like ancient history. More than the hairstyles and makeup, the film recalls the notso-distant contempt and indifference to women in sports.
“Dream” doesn’t only commemorate the ‘96 team, but celebrates the 50th anniversary of Title IX, a federal law that forever changed the funding and emphasis on girls’ sports in public schools. Older baby boomers can recall school days when the closest female students could get to the big game was to act as a mascot, cheerleader or baton twirler. Title IX changed that overnight.
By the mid-1990s, some 20 years into the Title IX era, the level of women’s play had improved significantly. After a disappointing bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games that had been dominated by the male “Dream Team” of NBA superstars, the United States decided to create a team that trained together for months followed by a publicity-generating series of games leading up to Atlanta.
And corporate entities began to take note. Nike decided money could be made selling women’s basketball shoes like the Air Swoopes, named after female basketball sensation Sheryl Swoopes.
After the sensation of the men’s “Dream Team” in 1992, the NBA saw the possibility that a women’s league could capitalize on shifting attitudes. But only if the team emerged from Atlanta
with gold medals.
Part one (8 p.m.) of “Dream On” explores the changing attitude of both athletes and male fans, among them Michael Jordan. The second (9 p.m.) hour follows the team on its barnstorming tour and the conclusion (10 p.m.) recalls Olympics glory and the birth of the WNBA.
Along with the American win in the FIFA Women’s World Cup Soccer championship of 1999, the 1996 Games
marked a turning point and an announcement that American female athletes (and their fans) were no longer relegated to the sidelines.
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