Howl for the Female Athlete

A long while back, in a different life, I was a high school wrestler. I endured the brow beatings of has been gym rats, living vicariously through my youth. Ran wind sprints until I vomited up a viscous mucus that made up the last remnants of moisture in my body. Got mocked for my earrings. Watched my peers collapse into malnourished heaps at my feet.

And amidst all this time spent on canvas mats reeking of sweat and bleach, the most poignant memories I have of this part of my life occurred behind closed doors, in a private exhibition match. An involved a woman.

I had just shaved my balls for the first time in my adult life, and my groin area was itching as if under assault from a pack of vicious ants set ablaze. The singlet I wore constricted upon my nether regions, adding to the great discomfort. It only seemed prudent that I was paired up to go face to face with a girl that evening.

As we sat awaiting our confrontation, I would catch glimpses of her eyeballing me. Sizing me up. Feeling me out. And I returned her gazes. I remember her to be rather attractive. With a little makeup she would have looked like Drew Barrymore. I worried that I might pop a stiffy while rubbing against her on the mat.

And all the while I blatantly scratched my nuts. Much to her chagrin, and unbeknownst to me.

When the time came for our actual match, she balked. Citing an injury, she forfeited. But I knew the real reason. The only victory in my career came as a result of a girl wary of what she perceived to be pervert opposition.

And I could not blame her.

Women are born to be beautiful in this society. When a woman chooses a path that does not adhere to this standard eyebrows are raised. If a beautiful woman follows a path in which her looks can be detrimental, people begin to talk. This is why Danica Patrick will catch more flack for running over her crew member and posing in Maxim than she ever will for her accolades as a racer. Her great looks serve as a distraction. We expect her to fail just as Anna Kournikova did in tennis, because we find her out of place in her field. It is much easier to adhere to the pressures of being beautiful than to shoulder the load of being a female athlete

No, we expect Patrcik to follow the path of Ashley Harkleroad and pose nude in playboy. We expect her to take the money and run. And some of them will. And some will fail trying. And every now and then a Maria Sharapova arises who we embrace for her ability to command both worlds.

...

A year later at the Metro State Championships I witnessed my first inter gendered match. My teammate set to square off with the girl was known amongst the team as being the ultimate tough nuts. The kind of guy who would rather chew off his arm then get pinned in a match. Let alone lose to a woman.

The match began with him toying with his opponent, slapping at her head with pompous disdain, much like a cat batters a wounded mouse. Trying numerous times to perform the "Saturday Night Ride" on her, a move in which the aggressor locks his legs around an opponent and straddles them until they succumb. He treated her like a joke. He treated her the way the team expected him to treat a female wrestler.

And then something happened. She started to gain an edge. As the match wore on, her nimbleness proved to give her a distinct advantage. Her confidence grew as she launched her body into his countless times. I remember being truly inspired by her testicular fortitude. Especially for a y'know, girl.

But tough nuts would never allow her to win. Sensing a possible defeat and the resulting mockery from his peers, he wrenched her shoulder from the socket with a wicked head and arm take down that rattled the gymnasium. Pulling the wounded extremity further into his chest He rammed his back into her body until all the air escaped her lungs.

Tough nuts won the match, despite a non win situation. Had he lost he would have been the laughing stock of the team. With his victory, he had effectively beaten up on a girl.

Recently a girl was kicked off a youth boy's basketball team for playing too well. Parents from the opposition cited the unwillingness of the boy's to play hard against her. The dilemma in this is that she will most certainly face less challenging opposition on a girl's team. Every great athlete strives to challenge themselves to the fullest. For the boy's it becomes a no win. For the few girls talented enough to hang tough, it is an injustice.

...

When I was working on the school paper I was assigned a story about a girl trying out for our high school football team. My advisor envisioned a tale of courage in the face of prejudice. What actually happened was that the girl was making the attempt solely for attention and showed up to camp so out of shape that she injured her collar bone doing push ups and was shut down for the season.

Women's sports are on the verge of legitimacy. Candace Parker finally brings a face to the WNBA that exudes everything that is to be loved about the female athlete. An attractive tomboy, who can look stunning if she chooses to, but holds all the grit and competitive flare of countless male athletes before. Much better than the homely Sue Bird, the statuesque Lauren Jackson, or the masculine Diana Taurasi.

However the fear for the woman athlete can be seen on Parker's team, the LA Sparks, in the form of her teammate Lisa Leslie. Once the most dominant female basketball player in the world, Leslie has just returned from maternal leave and has not exhibited the same flashes since.

If one thought rehabbing an ACL tear is tough, try pushing out a kid and then returning to the hard court.

However this is a part of woman-dom as well. It is for this reason that number one ranked women's tennis player Justine Henin abruptly retired. She simply wanted to have children and raise a family. Not much to ask from anyone really. Unless of course that someone is a world class athlete.

And while it is easy for one to suggest that female athletes hold off on child rearing until after their careers end, the fact of the matter is that this is asking far too much. When a woman feels the desire to birth a child she knows. And sometimes the timing is not the most ideal.

...

The other day I caught the tale end of "WWE Friday Night Smackdown." The match was for the Woman's Championship. I half expected the competitors to be mud wrestling in a vat of green jello as has become the norm since the golden age of Sable long ago.

Instead I saw a hellacious match, complete with suplexes, moonsaults, and stiff strikes. The complete opposite of what female wrestling once was. I actually found myself more engaged by the match, then by the skimpy outfits adorned by the competitors.

I watched it and it gave me great encouragement.

Because if female wrestling can become entertaining without having to sell sex, than truly their is hope for the female athlete.

And if their is hope, it gives me confidence in the future generations.