Women worth watching
Billie Jean King, who founded the Women’s Sports Foundation, unveiled a new promotional video and hashtag during the U.S. Open tennis championships.
The hashtag — #womenworthwatching — caught my eye, and I’ve been using it quite liberally lately. I especially championed the phrase as tennis greats who competed at the Aurora Games reached the semifinals and finals of the U.S. Open.
I served as the moderator of two installments of the “Conversations with Champions” series — with team captains Nadia Comaneci and Jackie Joynerkersee — as part of the Aurora Games festivities at the Albany Capital Center. And I attended the games themselves.
Indeed, the women were worth watching.
Just think, if you attended the tennis event at the Aurora Games, you could be one of those who could say, “I saw Bianca Andreescu before she won her first Grand Slam.” Your child could be showing off Andreescu’s autograph as a “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” artifact.
I’m proud to say I took my daughter, when she was young, to watch women play. She has framed autographs and signed books by Mia Hamm, Michelle Akers, Abby Wambach, Sheryl Swoopes and Sue Bird, to name a few.
This week, I’m heading to Scotland to watch women play golf.
I’ll be attending the Solheim Cup at Gleneagles. The U.S. team is going for its third consecutive victory in the biennial golf tournament.
Here’s what you need to know: It’s Europe vs. United States, the U.S. has won the past two tournaments, the U.S. is 10-5 overall but has lost twice in Scotland.
From the fabulous play to the patriotic outfits to the fan frenzy, it’s a sure bet I’ll be using my new favorite hashtag #womenworthwatching throughout the 3-day event.
The inaugural Solheim Cup event in Orlando in 1990 didn’t draw much of a crowd. Tickets couldn’t be given away to the event at Lake Nona. Television didn’t step up to cover it.
It took time for the event to become popular. After the first blowout by the U.S. in 1990, the U.S. women lost in Scotland two years later. It took a bit of controversy — in particular, a quote from American golfer Beth Daniel that derided the relative skills of the European team — to fire up the British press and the competition. Slowly but surely, the event has grown more and more popular. Now, television viewing of the event is available worthwide, both on cable and streaming.
Let’s face it: The media deserve a big part of the blame for women’s athletics not getting recognition or sponsorships. The Women’s Sports Foundation’s #womenworthwatching promotion video is narrated by King, who kicks off the video by saying, “Today, only 4 percent of sports coverage features female athletes.”
Some reporters and editors look at events such as the Aurora Games and make the case that they lack big names and thus deserve more limited coverage — especially in newsrooms where resources are already stretched near the limit.
My counter-argument comes in two parts: First of all, for fans of particular sports, the names on display at the Aurora Games were plenty big. But in a larger sense, the no-big-names argument becomes circular, and does particular disservice to women’s sports: Perhaps the names aren’t better known to the general public because we don’t cover them enough.
It’s a long, complicated debate. King has a tactic for success. She ends the video asking people to tag videos and photos of the “indomitable women athletes who inspire you.” The overall campaign through the Women’s Sports Foundation, called She Is, is an effort to increase fan engagement for women’s sports and girls’ participation in sports.
But it takes time. Look at soccer. Most of America didn’t know who Megan Rapinoe was before this year’s World Cup. They didn’t remember her even though she was the player who served up the assist to Wambach, a Rochester native, when she scored a fabulous header against Brazil in the 2011 World Cup — a feat that still ranks as one of the top World Cup goals ever scored. In this year’s World Cup, it once again took some Beth Daniel-style controversy to get the U.S. team to the front of the sports pages — from some robust celebrating during the team’s 13-0 rout of Thailand to Rapinoe’s statement that she wouldn’t go to the White House if they won the World Cup.
They continued to win. They drew the biggest crowds. They were honored in a ticker-tape parade down New York City’s “Canyon of Heroes.” They kicked butt in television revenues and sponsorships and — gasp! — made it clear they want equal pay.
In their first World Cup win in 1991, the women’s team came home to be met at the airport by just three reporters. Some say Brandi Chastain ignited the modern soccer movement in 1999 when she tore her shirt off after scoring the game-winning penalty kick in overtime of the World Cup match against China.
But there were 90,000 in the stands at the Rose Bowl that day, folks. And 40 million more tuned in around the world. The goal celebration was big, but the team had earned its following thanks to the hard work of superstars like Michelle Akers, Julie Foudy, Kristine Lilly and Mia Hamm paving the way.
Now it’s time to cheer on the U.S. women in golf. Here are the teams:
Lexi Thompson, Nelly Korda, Danielle Kang, Lizette Salas, Jessica Korda, Megan Khang, Marina Alex, Brittany Altomare, Angel Yin, Annie Park, Morgan Pressel and Stacy Lewis are on the U.S. team. On the European side (which I predict will win this year) we have Carlota Ciganda of Spain, Anne van Dam of Netherlands, Caroline Hedwall of Sweden, Charley Hull of England, Georgia Hall of England, Azahara Munoz of Spain, Caroline Masson of Germany, Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, Bronte Law of England, Celine Boutier of France, Jodi Ewart Shadoff of England and Suzann Pettersen of Norway. They all play on the LPGA tour.
Remember the names. Cheer for them.
And come out next year to the Road to the LPGA, the Symetra Tour. Maybe you’ll see the next Morgan Pressel or watch her sister Madison, who I enjoyed following and watching play this year.
Or buy tickets to watch women’s college and high school sports. Better yet, watch this area’s inaugural women’s high school golf qualifier next month. Yes, first.
It takes time.
And then in two years, come out to watch the Aurora Games in its return to Albany. You will be glad you did. #womenworthwatching
I’ll keep reminding you.