The Way We Were and the Way We May Be

Author's note: With March turned into July, spring fever has overwhelmed us all and drawn us out of our winter hibernation. The revitalized sun has brought on tan fever, and everyone has taken to the fields with a six of beer and a gallon of Coppertone. While engaged in some serious tanning the other day, I entertained a few wide-ranging thoughts. What follows is the result: no prophecies, just reflections.

Growing up in the '60s, with all the decade's revolution and radicalism, was still a stereotypical upbringing for most kids: the boys mostly played baseball and the girls mostly played house (and together they played doctor, but that's another topic altogether). No one had ever heard of some girl slugging her way into the Little League, and the idea that little Jane might spend her after-school hours playing basketball or lacrosse was quite "revolutionary."

Revolution Continues Quietly

When campus life turned from '60s activism to '70s passivism, the rebellious upheavals left over began to gather force in the sports world. Women were starting to take a more noticeablerole in sports, but we have yet to see but a small portion of the effects.

Like most male high school jocks, I never considered women's athletics a serious pastime. Sure, there were some good women tennis players, and there were those field hockey players that the guys referred to as the "big brutes;" but for the most part, women's athletics were obscure in our minds.

When one of the female jocks would make her case for women's sports, some all-knowing basketball stud was quick to retort, "But babe, can you jam?" And so knowing that there were no organized pro women's leagues, and confident that Jimmy Connors could wipe the baseline with Chris Evert, we male jocks simply pursued our daily practice routines while snickering at the women who were trying to do pushups on their field.

Idle Title

While we were wallowing in our self-decided superior role in the sports world, the women were slowly making determined progress. From the legislative end, the women got help from Title IX. (That referred to an educational amendment which requires an end to sex discrimination in federally funded public programs. Its major thrust was intended to equalize the male-female sports programs at public learning institutions, but its aims have not nearly been achieved.)

Yet the biggest change was one of attitude, and that was the change that many men have missed. Women were pursuing sports with avid enthusiasm. No longer were women sticking to gymnastics or a social game of tennis. They were turning to all sports.

Right in the middle of the tranquil '70s, women were preparing to bring about upheaval in the sports world. Perhaps we men have not paid attention to the women's activities because they have not yet had major repercussions. But they are coming. Marquette is still a sure victor over Delta State, but women's athletics are on the rise.

What makes me so sure? I see it happening all around. Having covered women's basketball and swimming this winter, I got my first close look at women's athletics. That view has convinced me that women are trying to make a place for themselves in the sporting world.

The members of these two Harvard teams were dedicated, serious, and improving. Their determination to break down the pro-male bias in sports has to be admired. But the rise of women's sports will be slow because there are many obstacles in the women's path to sports recognition.

Let's face it, there is a physical difference that in some sports leaves women at a disadvantage. Women just don't grow to seven-foot heights as often as men, and on the basketball court women cannot expect to compete evenly with the men because they are simply outsized. In other sports like track, golf, swimming and tennis, the best women are not equal to their male counterparts. But whether they can attain equality is a judgment that need not be made--equal or not, women's sports will still have a market.

If nothing else, women want to see other women compete. But I think the support for women's athletics will be far greater than from just the women themselves. What is needed is someone to step in and begin to coordinate, publicize and fund the venture. The place to start it all is in basketball.

Since 1900, women have competed in a basketball championship for Iowa high schools. (The NCAA championship for men did not tip off until 1919.) The Iowa Girls High School Athletic Union runs this tournament and has brought women's basketball to the forefront in Iowa (all but six of the state's 503 high schools sport women's hoop teams).

Sure, the tournament is played under the old women's basketball rules of six players per team (three offensive, three defensive). But despite the antiquated structuring, the tournament packed in 15,000 fans and an estimated 2.5 million television viewers.

Equality

Whether or not these high school women's games were of "equal" caliber with men's games is insignificant. A women's program was backed by one million dollars promoting competition and plenty of action was sufficient to draw the crowds. That is significant.

Perhaps we East- and West-coast cosmopolitans with our classy habits and our big-deal men's pro teams are too sophisticated to put up with women's athletics when they are not on a par with men's competition. But that attitude will not stop the "wheels of progress" in sports.

Chris Evert and company are getting the tennis world to equalize the tournament prizes for men and women. Judy Rankin and company are working on prize equalization in the golf world. Women's basketball has an equally promising future.

Every sports fan knows that Al McGuire has stepped down as Marquette basketball coach with a highly successful career and an NCAA title in his pocket. The retirement of a successful men's coach has always been big news, but women's coaching has, until recently, been basically ignored. However, this week even The New York Times was quick to acknowledge that Cathy Rush had ended her seven-year reign as Immaculata's coach of women's basketball. In her tenure as the head of the three-time national champions, Rush compiled a 149-15 won-lost record--an amazing feat for a man or woman.

Snicker and Change

So while the women continue working and the men continue snickering, the sports world continues changing. With proper funding, better organization, and more acceptance from the media, women's athletics will begin to gather more strength on the professional sports scene.

Look for the breakthrough to come in basketball. With millions of fans killing each other for high-priced NBA tickets, the day will come when thousands of fans will begin to turn to more readily available admissions to games in a new professional women's league, and the media will respond to this fan action. That will be the "shot heard round the world" in the revolution over women's athletics.