As you watch the Super Bowl...

...think about Saints player Scott Fujita whose open support of gay rights including an appearance at October's National Equality March. His advocacy has gone nearly unnoticed with the recent Tebow controversy.

Also do not forget that women play professional football--and not just in their underwear (a la the Lingerie League). Here's my friend, Bobbi--sorry, Dr. Knapp, who is a former player herself and wrote her dissertation on women's professional football. She reminds us that the early years of the NFL---you know, like, the first thirty--were not profitable for the league. In other words, stop the doomsday talk about women's professional sports!

Finally, a quality American export

Roller derby has hit Britain! The American, largely female-only sport has been exported to Britain and is growing exponentially.
Check out this piece in The Guardian about the emergence of the sport overseas.
This is very good news for overseers of British women's physical fitness (note the problematic nature of having such overseers however well meaning). Because British women are quite absent in sport and physical activity. Which makes the popularity of roller derby a little curious. Much of the rationale behind the lack of activity is the need to uphold standards of femininity which many women find incompatible with sport participation. But roller derby is one of the most aggressive (an historically male trait) sports out there. But the performance of the sport with the self-styled "kits" (I love British-speak!) that often include skirts and fishnets and makeup might temper the perceived masculinity many women see in sport. Who knows.
Also I found out an interesting tidbit: skaters in the US have to register their derby names and no one is allowed to take an already existing name. (Kind of like when you sign up for an email account!)
And, by the way, Whip It! the movie by Drew Barrymore about roller derby in Texas came out on DVD this past week and I highly recommend it.

In case you didn't know...

...the Olympics are run by boys. Shocker.
But if you want some of the details check out Christine Brennan's column about the male-dominated USOC. All the National Governing Board (the groups that govern individual sports such as skating, skiing/snowboarding, luge, etc.) heads are men. The USOC briefly had a female president, but she got run out of town. And this is part of the reason why women are not found in these positions. All these men talk the politically correct game and the NGBs say they want to be diverse but, really, you think they want women in charge--of sports! Similar to the situations faced by female coaches and female administrators in intercollegiate sports (where there is also a dearth , though not nearly so bad, of women), women in Olympic sport administration deal not only with the pressures of their respective jobs but having to deal with the inherent sexism--sometimes overt, sometimes stealth--that honestly makes the job either impossible to succeed in or just not worth it.
Brennan asks why more past female Olympic athletes are not stepping into governance roles. But often these women have no administrative experience and thus any (male-dominated) search committee will fault them for that. And given the recent issues the USOC has had, I think we should be getting people with administrative experience. (No offense Bonnie Blair.) So what about the corporate world, she asks? (I would also add the non-profit world.) Well women who have succeeded in corporate America (or globally) certainly have dealt with sexism. But then we add the sports component and the proverbial ball game changes. Non-athlete women get questioned about their knowledge of sports in ways non-athlete men do not. Look at how many non-athlete men are sports journalists or television commentators. And how many women in similar positions do not have athletic pasts?
In other words, it doesn't appear that for a man to be a qualified USOC or NGB leader he has to be something special. But a woman has to be extraordinary.

So over Tim Tebow

Not that I was ever into him but this Super Bowl Focus on the Family ad conversation is getting old. Well not so much old as typical. Same old arguments. Same old sides. And in the end the "right" which is all about the self-martyrdom will have the ear of the greater public and call all left-leaning folks radicals--if only because on Sunday people just want to sit down and watch the game.
So instead of getting embroiled (more so emotionally--I don't see myself as a major player in this debate) I am just going to post this link to Dave Zirin's column on the issue and remind people that having an ad during the Super Bowl is not a constitutional right; it's an economic privilege.

When muscles and skill don't equal power

Business Week came out with its list of the 100 most powerful athletes. Only eight women made the list (which was based on both on-field and off-field earnings). Only two (Serena and Venus Williams) made the top 50. If only off-field earnings were taken into consideration more women would have made the list--including Annika Sorenstam and Lisa Leslie.
But the lack of on-field opportunities in team sports was a major factor. Lack seems to be an understatement actually: women have .037 percent the number of spots on team rosters as men.
So when I hear that we don't need Title IX in college sports any more, I think about the professional realm which is not subject to gender equity regulations. And I wonder what things would look like in intercollegiate athletics without it. It would probably be better than .037 percent but how much?

Uh-oh, the Sol go under

Last year when everyone was like "Oh the WPS is starting during troubled economic times" and "oh, the WUSA failed even after the success of the World Cup" and "oh women's professional sports don't draw enough fans to be self-sustaining", I--the perpetual Debbie Downer--remained hopeful and criticized all the naysayers. But I have to say that the news of the Sol's demise is hitting me pretty hard. I mean how can number one (or two depending how you view last season) team in the WPS fold? It's like the Yankees folding. (Well, you know, kind of--maybe.)
This is the team with Marta. This is the team with US National Team member Shannon Boxx. And it's L.A. Warm, California, soccer--right? What was happening out there in L.A.?
It's worrisome, even with the addition of two new teams this season.

Who's talking about Tebow?

So much for my one religion post a month. I guess I just can't will culture to limit my exposure to such things.
So who is talking about Tim Tebow--besides this reluctant blogger? Well every guy on Sports Center and Mike and Mike in the Morning (I sit through a lot of crap to get tennis highlights). Tim's currently in Mobile, Alabama for the Senior Bowl which is a parade of intercollegiate football players for professional franchises. And Tebow is all anyone is talking about down there according to the ESPN on-the-scene reporter. One of the Mikes was actually astute enough to ask whether the whole Superbowl ad controversy is being talked about by anyone who matters--i.e. anyone who might potentially draft Tebow. And no, apparently it is not on the radar screens of any powers that be. Not surprising, even though one of the Mikes contends that pro teams don't like controversy. Perhaps, but they have plenty of experience dealing with it! And this is probably a welcome controversy given there's nothing illegal about it.
So that leaves media outlets like WaPo and now The New Yorker to discuss Tebow's Focus on the Family 30-second spot. Writer Amy Davidson's opening line is pretty priceless: "Is Tim Tebow becoming the Trig Palin of the sports world?" The whole column is good and you can get the whole story of Tebow's problematic gestational experience.
If you want to talk about Tebow's professional career it seems "experts" think that he is maybe the 5th or 6th best quarterback in Mobile and that he shouldn't be picked before the third round of the draft. [Wow--that sounded like I know and pay attention to big-time college football.]